There are more than 27 million entrepreneurs in the United States. Are you thinking about becoming one of them? You’ll have a lot to learn in a short period of time, such as different business models.
It’s refreshing to know that there isn’t one way to start a business. There are many types of entrepreneurship that you can enter. Read on to learn what they are and the qualities you should have as you’re getting your business off of the ground.
1. Social Entrepreneurship
People. Planet. Profits. You may have heard of that before, and that’s the essence of social entrepreneurship. These aren’t necessarily nonprofit organizations, but profitable companies that can solve a major problem in the world.
One of the best examples of social entrepreneurship is TOMS Shoes. The company built a loyal following for creating quality shoes to be sold online. That’s not all, the company pledged to donate a pair of shoes for every one sold by the company.
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream is another example of social entrepreneurship. The company creates ice creams with a cause and donates a portion of the proceeds to a related nonprofit.
There are plenty of examples like TOMS Shoes, and they’re usually listed as BCorps. These are companies that have a purpose to help the greater good while being profit-driven organizations.
2. Solopreneurship
This is one of the most common forms of entrepreneurship. Many businesses start off with one person with a big dream doing all of the work. A solopreneur can be found in just about every industry.
Consultants are popular job titles for solopreneurs. Bloggers are a growing type of solopreneur as are ecommerce sellers.
The advantage of being a solopreneur is that startup costs are usually small. Most of these businesses can get up and running with less than $1,000 invested. You can be nimble and get ahead of the competition easily compared to larger companies with bigger marketing budgets.
3. Merger and Acquisition Entrepreneurship
Why reinvent the wheel when someone already did the work for you? Large companies tend to leverage cash on hand into buying other companies to improve profits.
Facebook grew to become the company it is now due in part to the acquisitions it made over the years. The company spent billions to buy Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus VR. It tried to buy up Snapchat and the app we know of today as TikTok.
As a beginning entrepreneur, you may not have a lot of cash on hand. However, if you find that you can start a business that someone is willing to sell, that can be a foot in the door.
4. Franchise Entrepreneur
When you build up a business, you’re going to look at ways to scale the business up. One of the top ways to do that is through franchise agreements.
You sell the licenses for others to use your systems and branding. In exchange, your reach grows and you make money off of licensing and royalty payments.
It’s a great way to grow as long as you work with the right franchisees that have financial backing and are committed to making the business work.
5. Innovation as Entrepreneurship
The wonderful thing about technology is that so many industries are being disrupted by innovative entrepreneurs.
Taxis are replaced by Lyft and Uber. Hotels take a back seat to Airbnb. The yellow pages are now relics thanks to internet search engines. Tesla has turned the car industry on its head.
The list goes on and on. You can join this group of entrepreneurs by showing an entire industry that the status quo doesn’t have to be that way. You can create an entirely new product like the iPhone or come up with something just as impactful.
Innovation is a challenge to many entrepreneurs because you will be surrounded by naysayers and come across one obstacle after another. You need to have an undying belief in your work and be persistent.
6. Startup Entrepreneurship
Every business is a startup. The difference with startup entrepreneurship is that they have an exit strategy and a team of advisors and investors. An exit strategy is how an entrepreneur and investor will exit the business.
For entrepreneurs, an exit strategy is usually to sell the company to a large competitor. For example, you developed a unique phone as the main product of your business. Selling to Samsung or Apple would be your exit strategy.
For investors, you can stay with the company until it goes through an initial public offering or you can exit by selling your share in the company at any time. Many investors will exit after an IPO because that’s when the company is most valuable.
7. International Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs can start off dreaming of an international reach. They can start a business that relies on imported goods or focus on exporting their goods across the world.
One industry that comes to mind is the food industry. There is a high demand for quality international goods from all over the world.
How to Become an Entrepreneur
Do you know which type of entrepreneurship is right for you? You’ll need to learn how to become an entrepreneur next. Here are some tips that will get you started on the path of entrepreneurship.
Know Your Strengths
As an entrepreneur, you need to do everything under the sun, from finance reports to customer service. You should know the qualities of a successful entrepreneur and assess what you can do well and where you can use extra help.
Have a Business Plan
You cannot be in business without a plan. You’ll want to have a formal business plan whether you’re a solopreneur or a company that is planning to scale up quickly.
You’ll carefully vet your idea and make sure that it’s profitable before you take it to market. That’s how you’ll know you have a viable business or not.
Choose From the Types of Entrepreneurship
The successful business stories are littered with thousands of different paths and types of entrepreneurship. You’ll hear about college dropouts and people who decided to start a business in their 50s.
If you’re inspired to start a business, learn as much as you can, write a business plan, and make it happen. If you want more great startup tips, come back to this site regularly for more helpful articles.
