Each entrepreneur has their own path, based on their personality, skills, and environment. However, what they do have in common is that at its core entrepreneurship revolves around the same ideas—developing, establishing, and operating a business.
When an entrepreneur defines their personal brand and adequately develops it, it denotes actual thought leadership and fosters a brand. Brand positioning starts by defining this entrepreneurial focus, owning the space and committing to a personal style. Financial value to the business will be commanded by this instead of just a particular enterprise, service or product.

This starts with appreciating the line of business an entrepreneur has chosen, and tying this to the products and services offerings. Below, we outline different types of entrepreneurship and lend insight into what it means to have a sociable brand.

Small Business Entrepreneurship

According to the Small Business Administration, 99% of all US businesses are considered small businesses. Small business entrepreneurs focus on creating and running their own businesses, either individually or with the help of family members.

Small business entrepreneurship is often limited to small companies or ventures. Entrepreneurs in this model don’t always make huge profits from their ventures. Instead, their main goal is to improve their lifestyles. Most small business entrepreneurship hire employees locally and don’t necessarily seek venture capital funding.

Examples of small business entrepreneurship include

• Plumbers
• Hairdressers
• Grocery stores
• Electricians
• Small supermarkets
• Daycares
• Dry cleaners, etc.

Large Company Entrepreneurship

These fall under the category of macro business. Large company entrepreneurship is unique since it includes buying small firms instead of starting new ones and introducing new products/ enterprises to existing markets.

Additionally, large company entrepreneurship is ideal for professionals who understand how to sustain innovation. This entrepreneurship type aims to grow large companies based on existing business models.

Large company entrepreneurship:

• Concentrates on generating profit, supporting the continued growth of the business while sustaining the business owners’ lifestyle
• Strives to grow the existing business models, distinguishing it from innovative ownership, which introduces a new product to the market.

Examples of large company entrepreneurship include:

• Google
• Microsoft
• Disney.

Large company entrepreneurs also have a commitment to building company culture. They ensure all employees are part of the company’s growth and expansion.

Also Read: From Garage To Boardroom: The Rise Of The Serial Entrepreneur 

Social Entrepreneurship

This form of entrepreneurship leads towards providing innovative community-based solutions. Businesses/ companies in this category use their platforms to solve social challenges, such as:

• Supporting equitable economic development
• Engaging with environmental concerns
• Addressing social inequalities, such as racial injustices.

Social entrepreneurship may begin as nonprofits, and in some instances, they can pursue profitable business ventures that support the community. Their main aim is to start ventures that do social good, but can also do so with a slight focus on financial gain. Examples of businesses in this category include:

• Banks
• Universities
• Financial services in third-world countries (organizations such as Bill Gates, Scott Harrison, etc.).

Scalable Startup Business Entrepreneurship

Scalable startup entrepreneurship typically start with the founder’s idea and conviction of changing the world. These founders and entrepreneurs typically seek funding from venture capitalists and hire specialized staff to address market gaps and disrupt entire industries. They attempt to grow quickly and become successful companies.

Additionally, startup entrepreneurship tend to start small in unconventional places as an idea that is being tossed around. They mostly have a “garage to riches” narrative.

Scalable startup entrepreneurs seek a market gap and focus on fulfilling that need. They also seek to create scalable businesses ready to expand and serve larger markets. Since their main focus is growth and scalability, the key metrics for success often include customer retention, gross margins, and conversion rates.

Popular examples of scalable startup entrepreneurship include:

• Amazon
• Apple
• Uber (Uber began as an ideal to revolutionize the taxi sector. However, after attracting massive investments, it exploded and grabbed a massive market share in a relatively short time to become a household brand).
• Social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)

Intrapreneurship

Intrapreneurs are self-motivated, action-oriented individuals or employees who think outside the box in their employment settings. These employees often work within other large companies. Gradually, they notice the potential to spin off new products or services that gain traction and market share on their own.

Intrapreneurs use entrepreneurial mindsets to employ the resources availed to them by their current employers. Common examples of intrapreneurs are:

• Steven Sasson, who invented the portable digital camera while working at Kodak
• Spencer Silver, who invented Post-It Notes while working at 3M.

Arguably, intrapreneurs owe a large portion of their success to their employers when they innovate their products/ services.

Innovative Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs in this category constantly come up with new inventions and ideas. With time, they turn these ideas and inventions into actual business ventures. Innovative entrepreneurs aim to change how people live for the better. They are motivated and constantly seek ways to make their products and services stand out from others in the market.

Innovative entrepreneurs:

• Focus on how their idea/ invention will change the community
• Are driven by a vision/ mission for the world
• Come with a different set of goals, priorities, and measures of success.

Real-world examples include:

• Walt Disney
• Bill Simons
• Andrew Rose
• John Hanke
• Tesla.

Hustler Entrepreneurship

A hustler in business is a self-motivated individual driven to succeed. Hustler entrepreneurship style grows directly from the entrepreneurs often expected to be fearless, confident, and have strong work ethics.

Hustler entrepreneurs put in constant effort, with a significant focus on hard work and less on capital to grow their money-making ventures. Their aspirations motivate them, and they can go to lengths to accomplish their goals. For instance, they can cold-call many prospects to land a single client or make one sale.

A popular example of a hustler entrepreneur is Ray Kroc, a milkshake salesman. Kroc traveled widely across America, and when he saw an opportunity in McDonald’s (a small restaurant by then), he was determined to make it a huge success.

Also Read: The Ultimate Guide To Social Entrepreneurship

Researcher Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs in this category rely on data, facts, and the conviction that they can succeed in a venture with the right presentation and knowledge. Researchers take time when starting their business ventures. They ensure they have a thorough understanding of every business aspect. Detailed business plans are important to these individuals to reduce the chances of failure.

Researcher entrepreneurship is a business concept using educational research and discovering ways to enhance scarce resources. An example of a researcher entrepreneur is Theodor Hänsch, a Nobel Prize winner, physicist, and researcher who co-founded MenloSystems. He used his winning optical frequency comb tech to make products for the intended market.

Key Takeaways

What stands out from this list is brands whose founders owned right from the start. They were able to capitalize on it to grow both initial product and services, but also cross-sell to others that came after. Indeed, every entrepreneur, the area of focus notwithstanding, needs a brand that forges an emotional connection with its customers. Such brands that compel their audiences to act   can only emerge from relational, interactive, and strategy-led solutions.

Digital Marketing expert, Eric Elliot, consults in creation of simpler, more sociable consumer-facing brands that connect with the expectations of the modern consumer. Our full-service marketing agency serves clients ranging from small enterprises, startups, privately held businesses, through to large corporations.

So why be generic when you could own an identity and derive more value from it? We regard every brand opportunity as a special chance to establish an authentic relationship with your audience.  Contact us for everything from market research, strategy, creative concepts, deployments and measurement of your brands.