Seniorpreneurs, Youngpreneurs, Minipreneurs, Mompreneur, Innerpreneur, Extrapreneur, Intrapreneur and Wantepreneur. What kind of entrepreneur best describes you?
At Telsec Business Centres, we have a wide variety of professionals, including small businesses, large business, branches and entrepreneurs that either rent office space from us or have virtual offices. Someone asked us to define an entrepreneur, but in trying to define what one is, we found that there seems to be various types of entrepreneurs. Each type of entrepreneur has its own definition, so we decided to share the various types of entrepreneurs rather than create one generic definition.
Let’s start off with Innerpreneur. These types of entrepreneurs are people who find their inspiration within themselves and start their businesses as a way to achieve their personal growth, rather than that of the company or corporation. Innerpreneurs are driven by a strong purpose and find their personal fulfillment and satisfaction through their work. They tend to be somewhat optimistic about the future of society, and refuse to listen to cynical and pessimistic views. They also know that there is a need of their active participation in creating a new and better way of life in their community.
Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a large organization. We have office tenants that you would call Intrapreneurs because they are running a branch office their own way. For a better definition of an Intrapreneur, we had to go to the Urban Dictionary which said it was “A career manager who creates shareholder value by utilizing and managing the assets of the corporation as if he or she is the owner…A person who starts or manages a new business within an already established company or group…A person within a company that is given the ability and responsibility to create and develop new directions in business, with few traditional controls of risk and fiscal responsibility.”
An Extrapreneur is the Intrapreneur who not only chooses to apply their talents to their own organization, but also applies those talents externally to other organizations and then brings those experiences back internally. The are able to do what large corporations are not able to do themselves – that is, cooperate and share ideas. These agents of change seek to solve problems by moving between companies, organizations and sectors, spreading ideas and solutions from one to another like the way that bees pollinate flowers.
Mompreneurs describes a woman who has children and family and runs a business at the same time (even stay-at-home dads are often referred to as Mompreneurs). Mompreneurs is a relatively new trend in the realm of entrepreneurship, and has come to increase prominence with the internet age. The ever expanding internet marketplace is allowing entrepreneurs to sell products out of the home rather than relying on foot traffic to their brick-and-mortar stores. The term Momtrepreneurs even has a dedicated section on the Entrepreneur.com website. There is also a Canadian magazine devoted to the topic The MOMpreneur Magazine
A Seniorpreneur refers to a self-employed individual who is aged 55 and older. They are mainly people who did not want to stop working after retirement or have left their job to pursue their own goals by running their own business. Seniorpreneurs is not a new concept, but is becoming much more of a trend as Baby Boomers are aging. For some Seniorpreneurs, opening their own business can be a way of supplementing their pensions, but for most it is a desire to create something that keeps them busy and active. Some say that Seniorpreneurs are rewriting the rules of retirement.
Minipreneurs are that vast army of consumers who are turning into entrepreneurs. They including freelancers, side-businesses, weekend entrepreneurs, web-driven entrepreneurs, part-timers, free agents, co-creators, cottage businesses, Seniorpreneurs, Mompreneurs, Solopreneurs, pro-ams, eBay traders – even advertising-sponsored bloggers and advertising-supported YouTubers. The main reason they are called Minipreneurs is that they are part-time entrepreneurs who are running micro-businesses.
Youngpreneurs (while not actually a coined term) are young entrepreneurs (under 21) who decide to start their own business in high school or college, before they ever work for another company. Youngpreneurs are not a new phenomenon. Even Warren Buffet bought his first stock at age 11 and started a few business ventures before he was 21.
Lastly, you have Wantrepreneurs who think about being an entrepreneur or starting a business, but never get started. Given the right time and motivation, they may eventually start a business.