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| Entrepreneurial Taxonomy, ET Quadrant |
Ikakke Bassey|26 June 2019
BUSINESS/ENTREPRENEURSHIP SERIES
Title: Entrepreneurial Taxonomy: Understanding the Quadrant.
The very act of stepping out and taking (informed) risk to start a business venture is Entrepreneurship. But for Entrepreneurship to be sustainable and at scale, entrepreneurs need to understand what side of the entrepreneurial quadrant they function. This does not only enable them to appreciate the entire entrepreneurial experience, but will help in guiding both their input, impact and expectations. It will also help government and the society at large to measure the economic contributions and progress of such venture.
So, Entrepreneurial Taxonomy is the description and classification of entrepreneurial behaviours based on their characteristics, objectives and economic/ social contributions. Having said that, I have categorized entrepreneurs into two segments; stable entrepreneurs and fragile entrepreneurs. I’ve also classified them into four based on their behaviours: Job Seeker; Opportunist; Capitalist; Social Entrepreneur.
Job Seeker: wants to gain from the economy. For example: when someone sets up or start a business with just the mindset to earn an income, that person is seeking to gain from the economy. That’s good, but not sustainable over a period of time. So, he/she probably hawks her goods or opens a shop but has no clue as to what expenses is going into the business to produce the income. He/she does not have proper business books (book keeping), they can’t calculate their profit etc. That’s a Job Seeker, he/she wants to earn a living. So they are Fragile Entrepreneurs.
Opportunist: this category of entrepreneurs are looking for every slightest opening to tap into with or without preparation; qualified or not. You’d find some “contractors” and “project managers” in this category. They have their eyes on the money, they like taking advantage. They may have registered businesses, but do not have a plan. These also do a lot of “cooking the books” to pass certain government regulations. They’re mostly not organised, just spontaneous business people. I call them economic looters. That’s so because they take so much from the economy but add so little or nothing to the system. So, they’re Fragile Entrepreneurs.
NB fragility in this study does not take into account the volume of business an entrepreneur processes per time, or the cash flow. It just mean that those kind of businesses are not sustainable.
Capitalist : this category deliberately seeks human needs and satisfaction gaps, then takes informed risk to fill those needs and close the gaps with the sole intention to make profit and expand their market share. This category of entrepreneurs are sophisticated and very organised. They’re driven by research, vision and control. They are Stable Entrepreneurs, because they have a system that is measurable, expandable and sustainable. Above all, they are the economic developers.
Social Entrepreneurs : this category of entrepreneurs wants to see a change in the society. Their business model is not driven by profit, but by social development. They may earn a reasonable financial profit, but their objective is different. They will not think they’ve failed if they bring about desired changes in the system, even though without immediate financial gain. They are people focus, culture /society driven. They are basically coming to ensure a change of status quo. They are – like capitalists – very deliberate, visionary, research driven and organized. They are Stable Entrepreneurs.
*The idea of Stability or Fragility is not determined by the volume of businesses processed or the size of the business, but by their behavioural contrast. See chart for clarification.
Stay tuned for more next week…! I’ll be writing on Entrepreneurial Taxonomy: Business Objectives.
With love,
IKAKKE BASSEY, amt
Organisational Expert/Business Development Consultant.
