Where does my passion lie? I have asked myself this question a lot lately. In my current situation there are three options: founder, entrepreneur, employee. Founder and entrepreneur aren’t far apart, my definitions differ in the speed they grow the company and their vision of success. I have provided a breakdown of my definitions below.
Founder
I use this word to describe people who start businesses with the idea of being a fast-growth startup.
What is a startup? I like this definition “A startup is a temporary organization used to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.” At the end of finding a repeatable/scalable business model there is an exit, usually being purchased by another firm.
In my opinion, founders are chasing the quick high. Yes, they are making a big difference in the world by creating value, but they are also pitching their creation to investors or other businesses as to make money and exit.
Entrepreneur
Not much unlike a founder, entrepreneurs see problems in the world and try to make a difference with their own two hands. My definition of an entrepreneur differs from a founder on the “motivation” of their product. Founders are more motivated by high growth, scalability, venture capital and pitching a dream. Entrepreneurs try to tackle everyday problems with the same way you learn fundamentals. With a resilient approach of habit training and a day-in, day-out belief that their blood, sweat and tears will make a difference.
I am not saying entrepreneurs aren’t searching for money, or that founders are only chasing money, but entrepreneurs are looking for opportunities to create a better world with a methodological, planned, slower approach. They look at problems as things that can be corrected by the market. And they find solutions by either developing them or joining a group that’s solving the problems.
Employee
An employee is someone who does the tasks for a founder, entrepreneur, or established business (small, medium or large). They can be on all ends of the risk spectrum and can have differing mentalities. There’s the apathetic employee who only goes to work to collect a paycheck, there’s the employee who is trying to help their company make a difference, and there’s the employee who is using the opportunity to grow their personal skill-set.
I’ve been all three…
Employees should be value creators. They should implement processes, add to the business’s dream, and develop rapport with clients and vendors. However, they differ from founders/entrepreneurs because they aren’t the ones risking it all. There is nothing wrong with being an employee and businesses will always need them to grow the business’s dream.
Which Do I Want To Be?
Sometimes the life of an employee can eat at me. I don’t want to go to work for someone else’s dream. I want to build my own dream. And a lot of times I convince myself I can. Until I go be the employee. It’s comfortable, and even if I don’t always agree with the businesses direction or capabilities of my company to execute, they are the one’s risking it and paying me to do my job.
Until I can convince myself I WILL be the entrepreneur, who goes out on a limb to start my own business or freelance on the side, I am the employee. My next step is shedding my shell as employee and going out on that limb. It’s coming. I know I’ll break free, probably fall to the ground like a sack of rocks, but will inch my way back up.
Time will tell, but I believe my passion lies as the entrepreneur.