Demystifying the Misconception between Entrepreneurship and Business

By Sidney Kawimbe
“This year, I want to work very hard so that I have a fat bank account, own numerous vehicles,
become famous and be recognized as a successful entrepreneur” lamented my friend Mweshi
Hamududu as he dispatched a gulp of an ice cold mosi lager down his catholic throat last week.
With the sweltering September heat, he justified his gulping habit as the only immediate panacea
to lowering his body temperature.

In this disposition, I will explicate the misconception that has been tolerated far too long between
an entrepreneur and a businesswoman/businessman. You see, it can be quite difficult to clearly
explain the difference between a business and an entrepreneurial attitude, but, as this is
something I have been reflecting on a lot recently, I would like to share my draft outcome with
you. In my opinion what distinguishes a Businessman/woman from an Entrepreneur is the mental
model (way of thinking)
A Businessman/woman is more an „Analytical Thinker? while an Entrepreneur is more a
„Possibility Thinkers?. This means that, for example, a Businesswoman/man?s main focus is not
on innovation, but more on making sure an enterprise/company is making profit. For instance, a
businessman will order for resell a lot Zambia national soccer team replica jerseys prior to
Zambia national soccer team playing a soccer match with South Africa (perennial arch rivals)
and can surely make a lot of money. Entrepreneurship on the contrary focus on generating new
value, and this value could be social, emotional, aesthetic and/or financial. I will write another
article on the concept of value as it is a quite complex topic. What counts for now is that value
for an entrepreneur is not necessarily profit, but can also be something less tangible but
considered more rewarding for the person running a business.
Also, whilst a Businessman/woman focuses more on small improvements of an existing
situation, an Entrepreneur tries to imagine how things may be in the future and work toward
making that idea a reality (pushing the boundaries of what we know, entail higher risks but also
higher rewards when successful).
2. To simplify, the main focus for a Businessman/woman is: administration of business, search for
truth, short-term, logical, linear, utility, incremental, verbal, measure minimal risks, predictable,
smaller rewards, profit. On the contrary, the main focus for an Entrepreneur is: invention of
business, search for what is interesting, intuitive, long-term, holistic, leap forward, benefits,
emotion, visual thinking, risk, uncertainty, potentially high rewards, and value addition. So the
showdown continues. A Businessman starts a business from an existing idea or concept while an
entrepreneur starts a business from his own idea and concept. So if you are into rearing broiler
chickens, you are a businessman and not an entrepreneur, unless you can add features to this
business not mundanely used by every Jim and Jack.

Further, a Businessman/woman has manyrivals while an Entrepreneur has his/her business rival himself or herself. A Businessman focuses on competition while an entrepreneur focuses on cooperation. A Business man/woman has an
active income or profit while an entrepreneur has a passive income or profit. Again a
Businessman/woman stays safe (scared to the bone to take risks) while an entrepreneur takes
risks and is accountable. There is a leaderly quote that says “If You Don’t Take Risks, You Will
Always Work for Someone Who Does”
Conclusion
From the comparisons above, we can learn that entrepreneurship is not an easy feat compared to
merely doing business. We can also realize that an entrepreneur is a business person who has
evolved into a more complete person – one that is not simply a business person but a real human
being. Being a businessman is good. Being profit oriented, market player, business competitor,
traditional, busy and active income earner is not bad since all business owners have been on
those stages. Even the successful entrepreneurs, before they succeed, have been into that. It is
just that they have taken the right move to evolve into a better and even the best businessmen
that they can be. That is why they become not only businessmen, but rightfully they become
entrepreneurs. So, how about you? Are you a businessman or an entrepreneur? Are you merely
doing business or are you taking it into a higher level, which is called entrepreneurship?

The Author is an Entrepreneurship Trainer and Lecturer in Business Studies & Finance at
ZCAS University
For comment write to skawimbe@yahoo.com