Intrapreneur – The difference between entrepreneur and intrapreneur

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

Back in Minneapolis, MN I started my Sales career.  It was March of 1989.  My new career in sales was exciting.  It was exactly what I was looking for.  No cubicle, no time clock and no boss wondering what I was doing all day.  To me, this meant freedom.  I did well, and was always told that we needed more people like me on the team.  I had an entrepreneurial spirit, as they used to say.

Later when I was promoted to Sales Manager, my goal was to hire more people that possessed the same entrepreneurial spirit as I had.  This unique mindset and internal drive proved perfect for the vast responsibilities of an Outside Sales Rep working on straight commission.  The fact was, we had a very profitable business with a very bright future, but it took time to build up a client base of repeat customers.  That sort of risk without security was reserved for the entrepreneurial type.

Entrepreneurs are pioneers, innovators, and risk vs reward warriors in the the business world.  This mindset and skillset of the entrepreneur was critical to the growth of this Country over the past 40 to 50 years.  The entrepreneur was the creator of all business.

Multi Level Marketing – The New Entrepreneurship

As our pioneers continued to create the business landscape in America, competition became fierce.  As small businesses expanded, those that created them often found themselves looking for a new venture to capitalize on.  After all, the entrepreneur was born to create businesses.  In 1949 this drive and determination to capitalize on opportunity spawned the creation of something completely new:  Network Marketing.

Since the dawn of MLM / Network Marketing, success as an Independent Distributor has been about finding and empowering other Entrepreneurs.  Back in the day, the industry was evolving quickly and the role of a true pioneer entrepreneur was essential to growing this new type of business in the marketplace.

It was this group of 2%ers that launched this concept into the living rooms of America.  They literally created a new space.  They pioneered a new industry.  They sold, convinced and influenced others like them to take on the risk to realize the reward.  This was a reward most people had never imagined for themselves.  Selling this dream required the most confident pioneer entrepreneurs of this time period.

What is an Intrapreneur?

As with every business, there is a beginning, middle, and unfortunately for many an end.  It has been said that if a successful entrepreneur sticks with a business long enough, they are likely to end it, in search of something new.  It’s their nature; a sort of internal framework that yearns for a new challenge or opportunity to seize.  So, in many cases, they choose to either  sell out, delegate, or shut down.

Understanding why entrepreneurs succeed and also why they can fail is important.  For instance, while a entrepreneur will thrive at creating a franchise business model, they will most often not thrive working within one.  It’s this phenomenon that led to the discovery of a new class of entrepreneur.  Similar, yet very different.  Thanks in part to Ed Ludbrook, the Intrapreneur is born.

This type of businessperson sort of picks up where the Entrepreneur left off.  They love working on their own, they often have strong outgoing personalities and they love to get things done.  Point them in the right direction and look out.  Instead of creating businesses, this type of person works extremely well within an existing business framework.  They are perfect for the franchise model, as they thrive on working for themselves or leading a team within an existing business structure.  They know how to follow instructions, and implement proven strategies.  On the other hand, these people also do best with and respond well to 1 on 1 coaching and guidance.  Having this sort of mentorship program in place keeps them focused on impact or profit producing activities without getting distracted.

Why Intrapreneurs are the Future of

Network Marketing

Hopefully, you’ve already begun connecting the dots on this picture.  It’s important to realize that although entrepreneurs were essential to creating the network marketing business model, they are not best suited to work within it.  Instead, this is where the intrapreneur shines.

Executing the coaching, training and recruiting strategies put in place requires the intrapreneurial spirit.  For that reason, Intrapreneurs are the future of Network Marketing. It’s extremely important to understand that your success in Network Marketing is about finding, coaching and inspiring Intrapreneurs… not Entrepreneurs.

Have you ever seen a person join a network marketing business and quickly create a new unique marketing tool, or online system?  This is an entrepreneur, and they will usually achieve great success in the business.  However, while these innovators are great to help propel the business structure forward, there success is often times short lived.  Why?  Because they’re an entrepreneur.  Working long term under the direction of a corporation, or a system is not their desire.  So, even though they often experience success well beyond the norm, they choose to walk away in search of something new.

The point is important to understand, so I’ll say it again.  Your success in Network Marketing is about finding, coaching and inspiring Intrapreneurs… not Entrepreneurs.  By doing so, you’ll provide an environment that will sustain growth and also avoid the destructive turbulence of massive departures.

Leaders understand the difference between Intrapreneurs and Entrepreneurs

It’s also important for the leadership of these companies to instill a level of confidence and security in the minds of the masses… mainly intrepreneurs, to ensure they don’t choose to follow their entrepreneurial up-line leaders as they exit.  When a company founder steps back and allows team leaders (often times an entrepreneur)  to gain too much influence, bad things can happen.  Attempting to regain control of these team leaders will be a challenge.  They’ll often choose Flight instead of Fight.  When one leaves, the depth of the departure will depend on the experience, confidence and posture of the Founder.  Leaders need to continue to lead from the front.  Leaders need to provide a vision that is large enough to house all other visions.  Leaders need to stay out front to create massive goals and empower their leaders toward them.

From my experience, there are 3 key factors to consider when joining a Network Marketing company:

The Owners Experience.  The Owners Vision.  The Owners Integrity.

A strong entrepreneurial owner with a clear vision and undeniable integrity is paramount.  This is even more important than your own white hot burning desire to succeed.  Your long term security and stability within a company has nothing to do with your sponsor, the products or the compensation plan.  I’ve been in companies with fantastic products, rich compensation plans, and even an incredible sponsor; yet the decisions of the Owner led to our total demise.

Looking to lock arms with the best team of leaders in the industry? 

If you feel it’s your time, this may be the place for you to achieve your dreams.

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