The word ‘entrepreneur’ is heard a lot these days and has come to mean different things to different people. You hear it when someone introduces themselves at a networking event, you see it pinned to a LinkedIn bio, and it’s worn as a badge of honour by business people great and small. It’s everywhere.
The problem is, not everyone is an entrepreneur, despite what they claim. Because, very simply, an entrepreneur is not the same as a business owner. It’s a subtle distinction, but an important one. Business ownership is not the true test of entrepreneurship. The real test is independence – in other words, your independence from the business. If taking a week off means your business comes to a screeching halt, you’re not yet a real entrepreneur. You’re a critical part of a machine that can’t function without you.
If that’s the case, how can you get from there to real entrepreneurship? Let’s dive in.
Business owner and/or entrepreneur
There’s an incorrect and unhelpful belief that starting a business is synonymous with being an entrepreneur. But they’re not the same thing. You can be in business without being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is all about vision, leverage, systems, and freedom.
A business owner can be super-involved in the day-to-day work, whether that’s tracking clients, running payroll, answering emails, and so on. They are well paid for what they do, but the minute they stop, the flow of revenue shuts off. If you’re in this situation, then you don’t have entrepreneurial freedom.
The true entrepreneur has created something that no longer needs them. Once the system they have created is complete, they can step back – or even step away completely. The real value of a system lies in the fact that its creator does not need to be there. They hire the right people, scale processes, and trust others. The ultimate goal? To make themselves redundant.
There’s a quick litmus test: If you’re still the first in and last out, and if you’re controlling every last detail and micromanaging every decision, it’s time to scale back.
Find the entrepreneurial freedom
For many, the desire to start a business is fuelled by a yearning for freedom: freedom of time, freedom of finances, creative freedom. However, the first few years of small-business ownership often seems the opposite of freedom. There’s a stage where you have to hustle, where you’re doing sales, marketing, operations, admin, customer service, fixing the fridge – the list never ends. That’s normal. But it’s not sustainable.
Too many people get stuck at this point because they believe that’s what entrepreneurship is supposed to look like. They instinctively internalise the grind as evidence of commitment. The problem is that the whole idea of ‘hustling’ seems to encourage this, with working long hours and foregoing holidays seen as signs of commitment. But the kind of freedom would-be entrepreneurs are seeking doesn’t come from endless labour. It comes from building something that functions without you.
The most difficult part of switching from operator to entrepreneur is not lack of expertise, it’s turning the page. Most business owners find it hard to delegate because they think no one else will care as much as thy do or do such a good a job. They get stuck in the perfectionism trap, afraid that without their oversight everything will go off the rails.
Others hang on to the work for reasons of habit or ego. Being indispensable is their identity. But being indispensable isn’t a virtue in business. In fact, it’s a vulnerability. If the entire business is resting on your shoulders, you’re hindering its ability to scale.
Of course, there’s also fear that if you give up control, things will go wrong. The fact of the matter is they may well go wrong, but there are always lessons to be learned from mistakes. Control might bring a degree of safety, but it extinguishes potential. Becoming better at delegation is like getting strong at the gym – the more you do it, the better you become. The muscle grows.
Becoming a real entrepreneur
Going from the thing that makes your business run to the thing your business can most easily run without is no small task. But it can be done. Here’s how to start:
- Document everything: Begin by charting the daily, weekly and monthly processes you’re a part of. What do you do that other people might be able to do with a bit of training? Write a guide, taking it step by step. Develop a playbook for your business, so that others can run it consistently, even when you’re not there.
- Systemise and automate: Try to avoid repetition. Would a CRM be able to track customer follow-ups? Can invoices be automated? Are there email templates or scheduling tools that could save admin time? Systems save time, help make things consistent and minimise human error.
- Hire the best people: You want to find team members who are devoted to the growth of the business, who think strategically, and who take on responsibility. Having found them, you can step back and let them guide. Micro-managing is a sign that you do not trust, and it kills initiative.
- Think ‘performance, not presence’: For many business owners, value is often judged in terms of visibility. But in a genuine entrepreneurial venture, it’s output and not face time that counts. Establish clear KPIs and measure those rather than hours put in at the office.
- Change your role: When you escape the day-to-day slog, you can start thinking more strategically. Spend your time on vision, culture, innovation and growth. That’s the job of a real entrepreneur – not signing time sheets.
- Redefining success: Success is not just about revenue. It’s about how much of your time is really your own. It’s whether you really can say you have the freedom that defines a true entrepreneur. Can you step back for a period of time and see that your business still operates and grows?
Making that leap to an entrepreneurial perspective
Many of us become entrepreneurs to break free of the nine-to-five. But in starting a business, we end up creating something that demands even more of our time and energy. However, this doesn’t have to be the case.
It’s possible to create systems and build a business that can run without you. It won’t be easy, and the changes won’t come overnight, but it begins with that all-important shift in mindset. When you ask yourself, ‘Am I actually an entrepreneur or just a business owner?’, try to be very honest in your answer. That’s the first step to making a meaningful change.
