Are you an “entrepreneur” or a “dealer”?

I have asked this question to many people in business and from the responses I have been receiving, many seem to not know the difference between the two. You see just like the sides of a coin, “Heads and Tails” in business, the same applies we have entrepreneurs and dealers.

I will give you an example of two business scenarios I want you to evaluate.

Scenario 1.

I have a client of mine whom I once worked with Mr. Andrew. This gentleman would sell anything and everything in demand at any given point. Whether be it minerals, clothes, furniture, as long as it would bring money in his pockets he was not hesitant to sell. Over the years I got to know him, he really made some good money in as much as that in the little space of time I got to do business with him, he managed to buy and built three houses in the middle and lower density areas of Harare.?

But the biggest challenge was this, despite all the growth in his personal life he never bothered to grow his business. Instead he maintained the small one-room office he had started with at the beginning of his venture. He had built a beautiful home in Chishawasha Hills, and to match his newly acquainted lifestyle he imported a stylish Maybach into the country. Indeed he was now the Mbinga of the town. He was the business himself , despite have an accountant, he would authorize everything in his company , even pens, and?lunch. He was the procurement officer, receptionist, marketer, accountant, and security guard. Most of his staff members were in operations helping him whenever he had a big deal .?

Then in 2020, Covid-19 happened……

Because his business had nothing, no savings no assets, the pandemic hit him really strong. As it would in any economy where there are lockdowns, cash flows started to dwindle and there were no longer balancing and operating the business started to get difficult for him.?

There was no option but to start selling the personal assets he had amassed over the years. Things got so bad that he even started pulling his kids out of school money was massively disappearing from him. He started disposing most of his assets.

Scenario 2

Another client I have is John. You see, John started his solar business just a year after Andrew had begun, and within 3 years, he had managed to grow his business to a team of 20 people, that is, the sales and operations departments combined.?

One of John’s secrets was this; he did not directly handle any of the company’s funds. He would respect his accountant so that no money would leave the company without them and him knowing. His books of accounts were in order, and he would make quick decisions based on the figures presented to him by the accounts department and above all he was on salary and not mixing the company funds and his personal monies.?

By the fifth year, he had grown his business to the level of managing to rent the entire wing at Takura House, and he was growing his brand very well even to being well-known and respected in the industry. In his personal life, he was also slowly building his assets bit by bit. He had managed to buy and build a house in Madokero, and was still maintaining his old Toyota Camry car, while his wife was driving a Toyota Vitz.?

His business acumen and intelligence in investing was resulting in his company value increasing to the extent that he was now making close to seven-figure revenue per annum.?

However, as the world would have it, in 2020 as Covid19 struck his business was also affected, but he and his team managed to cushion themselves from what the effects could have done if they had failed to act and plan accordingly as a team.

You see what made John survive was this, in the midst of all the chaos he was not alone, his team was ready to assist him in decision-making. Even during the time when people were asked to work from home by the government, the team continued working. His team would get and win contracts without his direct involvement.?

Right now he has signed a contract with a Chinese firm and the company is was now getting branded solar panels from China and his company is growing bigger and bigger by the day.?

When his company achieved a seven-figure revenue that’s when he intended to buy a new car.?

Here are my two simple questions for you?

1. Of these two businesspersons, identify a DEALER or ENTREPRENEUR.

2. If you are in business, are you a DEALER or an ENTREPRENEUR?