IOD is the UK’s organisation for Directors (Executive and Non-Executive) of all sorts of companies big and small. Many of those millions of small business owners running single person operations and are directors. I’m asked regularly whether that means they are just self-employed or entrepreneurs. I’m sure they’re both.
I’ve been both at different times.
I’ve worked for myself because I like the freedom. It’s the main reason people give for working for themselves. You build the business the way you want and operate it as you think best. You’re the boss and the decisions are yours. If something goes wrong there’s no one else to take the flak and if it all goes wonderfully well you can take all the credit. The flip side of freedom is the isolation many people find difficult. It’s not just that there’s no one to talk about the business decisions with but there’s no one to about how you’re feeling about the ups and downs that come with being in business. When the contract you thought you’d nailed and was about to be signed, goes away and it all goes quiet, not only have you lost the work, but you’ve got the worry about where the next contract will come from. It’s times like that you need to talk about your own wellbeing as well as the business strategy.
There are lots of other reasons why we choose to work for ourselves. We might need the flexibility to care for family members, or to fit work in around managing illness, a medical condition, family commitments, a disability or perhaps there’s the need to work from home rather than travel to and from a workplace, even if it is only a couple of days a week.
We might have spent some time working for other people and find we’re not really at heart an employee. The office politics and corporate structures aren’t for everyone. Not everyone has the choice: some have to stay employed because of the income but others may find themselves redundant or losing paid employment because a firm has gone bust. There are reluctant self-employed people who start up businesses because they have no other option at a point in time.
Whatever the reason. If we’re working for ourselves we’re working, paying taxes, contributing to the economy and are deserving of respect and the support we need to make our businesses resilient and sustainable. We are carrying all the risk and bringing our ideas to fruition. We are innovating. I say that makes us entrepreneurs.
It’s on us if things don’t work out and we lose money. We wear all the hats: marketing, sales, contracting, billing, the finances as well as make sure we deliver for their customers. That’s hard but it comes with an entrepreneurial mindset and that makes us entrepreneurs. Until we get to the point where we have enough income to hire people to do some of the jobs for us or where investors are happy to take some of the financial risk and invest in our businesses. we’re still self-employed but we’re also entrepreneurs. We don’t have to be big to be entrepreneurs; it’s the mindset that matters.
However there are those who feel that a person is only awarded entrepreneur status when they set up an operation that attracts investment and create roles for other people to fill from the outset. The view is that only those who set out to grow something lasting are entrepreneurial. I can relate to both sides of the debate. I’ve done that too. I’ve loved being the person starting something and bringing in people to do the marketing and sales, HR and finances. I’ve loved being surrounded by people who know their jobs much better than I do and allowing them to achieve the best they can.
Increasingly I am hearing from people who are taking the entrepreneurial route, whether as one-person operations or with intent to grow because they want a purpose driven business that will stand the test of time and will contribute to the community, economy, wider society and create a legacy. Those entrepreneurs are looking for sustainability and resilience, and the possibility of making a lasting change. Many of those are in their 40s and 50s and have had it with corporate life: freedom, control and the chance to put their experience to work for future generations as well as themselves.
Whatever your reason for doing it and however you define entrepreneurs, it’s the drive and determination, ideas and dreams and the will to make those into reality that is entrepreneurship. That takes entrepreneurial spirit and mindset. I believe that’s a better definition than size.
