Face to Face : Businessman vs Entrepreneur.

The other day i was chatting to my fiance she suddenly said "Businessmen like you", it pained me because i kind of considered myself an entrepreneur. So instead of arguing i took down my note pad and and pen and asked her if she could write characteristics of a Businessman and i would also reciprocate by writing down characteristics of an entrepreneur.




We sat down for almost and hour scribbling and noting down facts, we were going to have a debate in the house, between me and her, and well the judge was going to be the one who has the last word and who doesn't repeat points or facts as we called them. All i can say is, it was a really interesting and heated debate. We were both astonished by what we then researched about, here is a few of stuff that can help us differentiate a businessman to an entrepreneur.

Businessman or business person	Entrepreneur
1. Starts a business from an existing idea or concept	Starts a business from his own unique idea or concept
2. Has many business rivals	His business rival is himself
3. Focuses on competition	Focuses on cooperation
4. Is always busy on his business “busy-ness”	Is only busy in preparing his new enterprise
5. Don’t have enough time for his family and personal life	Have a lot of time for his family and personal life
6. His business gives him a living	He gives life to his business
7. Traditional	Innovative and revolutionary
8. Stays safe	Risk taker and accountable
9. Worried	Excited
10. Profit oriented	People (i.e., employee, customer, public) oriented
11. Has an active income or profit	Has a passive income or profit
12. Hire people to increase business productivity	Hire people to give them productivity
13. A market player	A market leader
14. Has not yet achieved financial freedom	Has achieved financial freedom
15. Only gives importance to a part of the business world (atomistic)	Gives importance to the business world as a whole (holistic)

18th century entrepreneurs

• Samuel Crompton(Spinning Mule), UK
• Thomas Newcomen(Steam Engine), UK
• James Watt(Steam Engine), UK
• Robert Lee(Candy Maker), USA

19th century entrepreneurs

• Sam M. Walton(Retail), USA
• John Jacob Astor(Real estate), New York, USA
• Andrew Carnegie(Steel), Pittsburgh, USA
• James Buchanan Duke(Tobacco), Durham, North Carolina, USA
• Charles T. Hinde(shipping), (railroad), (hotels), California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky
• J. P. Morgan(Finance), New York, USA
• John D. Rockefeller (Oil), USA
• Leland Stanford(Railroads), California, USA
• Joseph Seligman(Banking), USA
• Cornelius Vanderbilt(Railroads), USA
• Jamsetji Tata(Iron and Steel, Various), India

20th century entrepreneurs

• Oprah Winfrey(Entertainment), USA
• Steve Jobs (Computers), USA
• Coco Chanel (Fashion), France
• Otto Beisheim(Retail), Germany
• Madam C.J. Walker(Retail, Philanthropy), USA
• Sir Richard Branson (Media and Transportation, Philanthropy), UK
• Larry Ellison(Computers), USA
• Bill Gates(Computers), Seattle, USA
• Carlos Slim(Telecommunications), Mexico
• Henry Ford (automobile, manufacturing) USA
• Dhirubhai Ambani (Reliance industries,Various) India
• N. R. Narayana Murthy(Information Technology), India
• Estée Lauder(Cosmetics), USA
• Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw(Biotechnology), India
• Vijay Mallya(Breweries), India
• Anita Roddick(Retail), UK
• Ingvar Kamprad(Retail), Sweden
• Henry Hu (Technology), Hong Kong
• Mary Kay Ash(Cosmetics), USA

21st century entrepreneurs

• Ahmed Kidwai(Internet), Canada
• Mark Zuckerberg(Internet), USA
• Wu Yajun (Property developer), China
• Drew Houston(Internet), USA
• Jack Dorsey(Internet), USA
• Kevin Rose (Internet), USA
• Jan Cameron(Retail), Australia
• Larry Page& Sergey Brin (Internet), USA
• Elon Musk (Internet, Space, Energy), USA
• David Karp(Internet), USA
• Steve Huffman&Alexis Ohanian (Internet), USA
• Sara Blakely (Retail), USA
• Oday lajeeb(Retail), Lebanon
• Strive Masiyiwa(Telecommunication), Zimbabwe

So what are you? Entrepreneur? Businessman? Employee???