Self Employment is not the same as being an Entrepreneur

The word “Entrepreneur” gets bandied about by many people, suggesting that this is the best way out of unemployment. People who are made redundant are advised to “Become and Entrepreneur!”
Well, it is not as easy as that. A person who has been employed in a corporate environment, and who is used to the facilities and structure of a big business does not easily walk away and become an entrepreneur.

An entrepreneur is someone who starts a business and intends to grow it into a substantial company, or at least to a point of being able to employ others. In the South African context Adrian Gore is an entrepreneur. So is Brian Joffe, and there are quite a number of others. They are people who have built enterprises that have thrived. They are the real entrepreneurs, and all the more so if they have been able to list the business on the Securities Exchange and have made big money.

Self Employment on the other hand is what has been done by a great many more people who simply have set themselves up as one-man-bands, who offer their services as consultants, lawyers, medical specialists, geek techno “freaks” and an army of others who ply their various trades as individuals, and not in teams or corporations. Self employment could, of course develop into entrepreneurial ventures. This however, does not happen as a matter of course.

Most people who decide to live a portfolio life are self employed. Some have invested in entrepreneurial ventures started by friends or others in their network, and some have started their own companies, but generally they are self employed individuals. 

If you are thinking of self employment and want to know how to start, here is a great deal of information available. Start with Bloomberg Businessweek's 20 steps to self employment

Click here to see, "The Changing Face of Entrepreneurship in South Africa", by Gareth Cotton.