Assessing the Psychological Traits of Entrepreneurs
The fall 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Entrepreneurship features an article I co-authored entitled Psychographic Segmentation of the Self-Employed. The paper actually grew from my doctoral coursework. In one class, the discussion turned to the subject of entrepreneur personalities and the general feeling was that many entrepreneurs are paranoid control-freaks. Wondering if this was true, I put together a panel of experts and explored whether entrepreneurs should be viewed as a segment, or a group consisting of smaller segments defined by unique psychographic (i.e. values and lifestyles). Research findings showed that entrepreneurs fall within four general categories, which we named: Exemplars, Generals, Moms & Dads, and Altruists.
Exemplars are the smallest segment. The are the true visionaries in the entrepreneurship arena and responsible for most of the revolutionary advancements in business. Researchers have shown that about 30 to 40 percent of new jobs are created by less than 1 percent of entrepreneurs. That 1 percent would be Exemplars.
Generals are the stereotypical entrepreneurs who have an overly developed need for control. They are usually subject matter experts, but have difficulty growing businesses to any significant scale due to their inability to delegate and lead effectively. Generals think they are great leaders but in reality they're not.
Moms and Dads are small business owners who have somewhat parental relationship with ventures. Their businesses are like a part of the family, and they will often sacrifice their own well-being (i.e. working for less than they could for others) than close the business. The business is an important element of this segment's lifestyle. Small business owners and franchisees who are willing to trade limited income potential for job security fall into this segment.
Altruists are primarily non-profit business owners. They are driven by the idea of fulfilling a mission, but often lack the business acumen to maximize the venture's true potential.
The paper should provide value to entrepreneurship educators and marketing practitioners. For example, a B2B service provider would want to identify the psychographic segment the entrepreneur he/she is selling to and act accordingly. If your company or clients may benefit from this research, or you would like help developing strategies that would be most effective towards reaching psychographic segments I'd be happy to discuss it with you.
If you'd like to read the complete article it can be viewed at: https://www.sacredheart.edu/download/3539_neje_fall10.pdf
