What Kind of Home Based Entrepreneur Are You?
Thursday April 24, 2008
Entrepreneur.com/MSNBC provides an excerpt from Jeffrey A. Landers' book, The Home Office from Hell Cure. In it, Landers examines two types of entrepreneurs, what he calls Growth Mavens and Lifestyle Gurus. While I really enjoyed the article, it may be oversimplified because in reality there are probably many more than just two types of entrepreneurs.
Landers describes Growth Mavens as those who want to grow from a one-person business to a multi-employee corporation and beyond. He says Growth Mavens know there's no limit to the amount of money they can make. As a result, Growth Mavens are typically driven to move their business out of the house as soon as possible and into the corporate world. My argument would be that Growth Maven types are not really home-based entrepreneurs in the true sense of the word anyway, as so many of them go out to find venture capital and don't start their business at home in the first place.
I can relate more to the Lifestyle Gurus, and I suspect many of us with home businesses would. Landers says Lifestyle Gurus made their dream happen the first day they didn't have to go in to the office. "He is psyched to be his own boss, have a flexible schedule and decide for himself when to work and when to take time off. " Landers says that successful Lifestyle Gurus "Have a plan for making it work. They make themselves look big even when they're small. They outsource the things that both drain their time and aren't revenue-producing. And they get their customers' attention."
I agree that you need a plan to be successful. It may or may not amount to a formal business plan, but it's a plan nonetheless.
His categorization neatly breaks down these two types of entrepreneurs - maybe a little too neatly - into those who want to get big and those who want to stay at home and make enough money for a good living. Included with the excerpt is a quiz to see which type of entrepreneur personality you have - or at least which of these two groups best fit you.
What Kind of Home Based Entrepreneur Are You?
Do You Really Need a Business Plan?
Business Plan Basics
Is Starting a Business Right for You? (Quiz: About Small Business: Canada)
Landers describes Growth Mavens as those who want to grow from a one-person business to a multi-employee corporation and beyond. He says Growth Mavens know there's no limit to the amount of money they can make. As a result, Growth Mavens are typically driven to move their business out of the house as soon as possible and into the corporate world. My argument would be that Growth Maven types are not really home-based entrepreneurs in the true sense of the word anyway, as so many of them go out to find venture capital and don't start their business at home in the first place.
I can relate more to the Lifestyle Gurus, and I suspect many of us with home businesses would. Landers says Lifestyle Gurus made their dream happen the first day they didn't have to go in to the office. "He is psyched to be his own boss, have a flexible schedule and decide for himself when to work and when to take time off. " Landers says that successful Lifestyle Gurus "Have a plan for making it work. They make themselves look big even when they're small. They outsource the things that both drain their time and aren't revenue-producing. And they get their customers' attention."
I agree that you need a plan to be successful. It may or may not amount to a formal business plan, but it's a plan nonetheless.
His categorization neatly breaks down these two types of entrepreneurs - maybe a little too neatly - into those who want to get big and those who want to stay at home and make enough money for a good living. Included with the excerpt is a quiz to see which type of entrepreneur personality you have - or at least which of these two groups best fit you.
What Kind of Home Based Entrepreneur Are You?
Do You Really Need a Business Plan?
Business Plan Basics
Is Starting a Business Right for You? (Quiz: About Small Business: Canada)
Comments
Randy,
Thanks for bringing this book to the attention of your readership. I clicked the link to the main article, and enjoyed it very much.
I agree with you that the differentiation is, perhaps, just a little “too neat”. Then again, sometimes you have to be that direct to get your point across.
Thanks again for the review, and for all your work at about.com
Great post, I like how you pointed out the lifestyle guru and I think everyone has the dream of not having to go to work, but rather work at home.
Hi… I came across your article on the web. It was well done. Looking forward to reading more.
Nice article. Every potential home business entrepreneur needs to add a dash of common sense before launching into an expensive venture. This is one of those occasions where you wade the shoreline before jumping in.
Earning a living from a home business requires intelligence. It’s not really about “how much you know” but how well you’re able to access or find the information you need to keep moving forward. I think one of the biggest challenges for the “work from home” or “home business” crowd is with promotion. The average person isn’t a marketing expert, and in today’s market, you need to know a thing or two about marketing if you ever hope to succeed in a home business. Luckily, those who are knowledgeable in marketing can help those who aren’t with “quick-start” guides and such, designed to point the average person in the right direction. People are making huge sums of money honestly and legitimately in the home business industry… you just need to do your due diligence to find the right mentor who’s willing to help people succeed.[URL removed by moderator]