Tradies in business, is making money your driving force?

Why did you start your trade business in the first place? Were you most motivated by money — or was something else the driving force? Do you think of yourself as a tradie who owns a business or do you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur? What makes a business owner separate from an entrepreneur? Well, entrepreneurs want to make more money, are willing to take more risks, look for ways to be inventive, and explore more opportunities. It’s a mindset. On the other hand, business owners often say they’re in it because “I didn’t want to work for someone else” or “It seemed like a natural progression”.

In this article, we’ll explore the differences between business ownership and entrepreneurship to work out what’s really driving you.

Which one are you?

Do you tend to be reactive and feel like you’re always putting out fires, just want employees to do their jobs, customers to pay on time and software to function as it was designed? Or, do you envisage developing a customer experience that solves their pain points because you’re always looking for a better way to do things? If you’re an entrepreneur, you’ll have made some specific structural decisions with your longer-term view of the business. For example, you want a business that’ll run without you one day. You’re looking to lock-in an exit strategy from early on. For business owners, you’ve created a job and you’re caught working in the business.

ARE YOU PROVIDING A SOLUTION OR IS YOUR BUSINESS YOUR JOB?

How important is freedom to you?

Freedom is the ability to spend your time and money as you see fit. Mostly, it means growing your business and paying your employees, also giving your family the quality of life you want for them. Money is the medium to achieve this. Having financial freedom is about investing your time and money into things that matter to you: your family, your friends, your hobbies. Freedom means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?

Want to make an impact?

Making an impact and leaving a legacy are reasons you may have started your trade business. This puts you in the entrepreneurial camp. If you clearly defined the impact you want to have through your business, you’re more likely to achieve your goals. The key is to have a vision for what kind of impact your business can have and let that be a driving force. For business owners, you’ll be in this: “This is the only thing I know how to do”. See the difference? Having an impact has to be intentional. All the greatest entrepreneurs will tell you their goal is making money, and lots of it. At first, it may seem like greed to those who’ve been living paycheck to paycheck. But it’s the lifestyle that they actually get used to and want to maintain and improve. Money is the medium that gets it to them.

Finally, you’re not getting up in the morning to lose money in your trade business, right? You’re in business to make money. So yes, money has to be a driving force. But there’s more at play. Are you in it because you’re “tired of making someone else money” or are you in it because it’s not JUST a way to make money?