Many people really confuse being an entrepreneur and being
a CEO. They think they are the same thing, but over the
years I've learned that they are actually two VERY
different things.
An entrepreneur has a mind that is creative. Entrepreneurs
are full of ideas, they're eager beavers - and they are
often hard to "control." There are exceptions, of course.
But all entrepreneurs tend to have that "pioneering" streak
in them - and they never really lose it.
When an entrepreneur starts a business, he/she is the CEO
by default. But many entrepreneurs are not well suited to
remain the CEO over an extended period of time. (I'll
explain why in a minute.)
So after their company gets some success, many
entrepreneurs hire a "professional CEO." Then the
entrepreneur assumes a different and more targeted role,
doing what he or she does best. The role might be in
marketing, inventing, creating, innovating...or it could be
technical in nature.
Of course, there are also many entrepreneurs out there that
have proven to be great CEOs. Every day, I work hard to be
that entrepreneur-turned-great CEO (and I must say that
I've done a pretty good job at it so far). But it does
require a lot of concentration!
That's because a CEO is basically a manager. A CEO should
have a talent for building organizations, structuring,
overseeing the details, watching the financials, and in
general keeping the company in the black.
Also, a CEO's job is to keep the company moving forward.
The single biggest responsibility of a CEO is to build
"shareholder value."
And the fact is, most entrepreneurs don't want to think
about shareholder value. Often an entrepreneur just wants
to paint on the canvas - not worry about selling the
painting, advertising, and fulfillment. Often the last
thing an entrepreneur wants to do is figure out how much to
charge for his or her masterpiece so the company makes a
profit and doesn't go broke!
One of the biggest differences I have personally witnessed
between an entrepreneur and a CEO is this: the entrepreneur
is FULL of new ideas and is eager to implement them, while
new ideas are the stuff of nightmares for a CEO. New ideas
challenge structure and organization, and they can mean a
whole lot of extra and tedious work for a CEO.
Of course there are many entrepreneurs-turned-CEOs who can
do both. Sometimes a "start-up" kind of CEO can be creative
and full of ideas, but still have the very structured
mindset of a good business person.
So an entrepreneur-turned-successful CEO is still an artist
- but business is his art. Real artists never paint with
the selling price of the painting in mind. Real artists
paint to fulfill an inner need.
Business is the art that fills that inner need of a CEO.
----------------------------------------------------
The Mystery CEO is a young entrepreneur who started a
company now doing close to $2 Million a year right in his
DORM room!
Now he lets you watch over his shoulders as he learns more
about entrepreneurship. You can even listen-in when he
interviews CEOs who manage $100 Million+ companies!
Read his entrepreneurship blog right away for all the
entrepreneurship training you'll ever need!
http://www.MysteryCEO.com
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