There are very few (and I mean very few) resources to track the impact of entrepreneurs on the economy. Part of the problem is that we don't have a collectively agreed upon functional definition of entrepreneur. The other part of the problem is that we don't separate out entrepreneur statistics from small biz statistics. And before you ask...yes, I think there is a difference between small businesses and entrepreneurs ...sometimes they are one in the same, but not always...
A comparison of entrepreneurship vs. small business:
Many people use the terms "entrepreneur" and "small business owner" synonymously. While they may have much in common, there are significant differences between the entrepreneurial venture and the small business. Entrepreneurial ventures differ from small businesses in these ways:
Amount of wealth creation- rather than simply generating an income stream that replaces traditional employment, a successful entrepreneurial venture creates substantial wealth, typically in excess of several million dollars of profit.
Speed of wealth creation- while a successful small business can generate several million dollars of profit over a lifetime, entrepreneurial wealth creation often is rapid; for example, within 5 years.
Risk- the risk of an entrepreneurial venture must be high; otherwise, with the incentive of sure profits many entrepreneurs would be pursuing the idea and the opportunity no longer would exist.
Innovation- entrepreneurship often involves substantial innovation beyond what a small business might exhibit. This innovation gives the venture the competitive advantage that results in wealth creation. The innovation may be in the product or service itself, or in the business processes used to deliver it- http://www.quickmba.com/entre/definition/
I think this is a fairly succinct definition...probably one of the most accurate I have found...what do you think? What definition of entrepreneur works for you? The critical issue is that until we are able to create a standard definition and use it consistently, we will have a hard time quantifying the impact of entrepreneurship on the community. And quantifying the impact is one of the most important things we can do to show what a giant benefit entrepreneurs are to our communities.
This post written by Jean Ann Van Krevelen, Development Director of OEN. Jean Ann also has a blog at http://www.edgyentrepreneur.com.
