Are you an inventor or an entrepreneur?

Most individuals probably haven’t asked themselves, “Am I an inventor or an entrepreneur?” But in my opinion, significant differences exist between the two. Knowing where your strengths and interests lie may help you identify the ideal partner(s). This isn’t to say that inventors cannot be entrepreneurs, or vice versa. But I’ve discovered personally that it’s a challenge to don both hats at the same time and succeed at both.

If you love being creative, solving problems, and coming up with new ideas and solutions, you’re an inventor. You look at life a little differently. You probably don’t mind working alone and you often let your creative spirit guide you. Being an inventor allows you to find and nourish your inner freethinking child. On the other hand, entrepreneurs are less likely to care where an idea comes from – their goal is simply to bring it to market. Entrepreneurs must excel at a number of different tasks relating to getting the job done. What’s it going to take to pay the bills? They may have to wear a ‘marketing hat’ one day and a ‘manufacturing hat’ the next. If you’re invested in the daily grind and your diligence ensures that business is profitable, you’re an entrepreneur.

Clearly, an idea cannot be transformed into a retail product without both sets of these qualities working together. Some people are better able than others to do both. If you’re not, consider finding someone with the opposite set of strengths as yourself. Let’s face it: we all have to get up and go to work in the morning. If you can spend your day doing something that excites you rather than something that doesn’t, all the better.

over 20 products in the past 30 years. Along with business partner

Andrew Krauss, Stephen runs inventRight,

a company dedicated to educating inventors about selling their ideas

and the skills needed to succeed. You can listen to the weekly radio

show on inventing. Get In The News, list your invention to have media

outlets find you for news stories.