Innovator or Entrepreneur: Which One Are You?

How many times have you listened to a friend or loved one wax poetic about the brilliant idea that came to them in the shower? Really. Think about it.

How many pitches have you heard in your life for a new product, business venture, service, or invention? Can you come up with a number?

Or, how many times have you been the one to bend the ear of a friend or your spouse about the brilliant innovation that “just came to you,” as if in a dream?

And now, how many of those ideas — from others and your own — have actually moved past the idea stage and turned into something real?

The World Is Full of Innovators

In the words of Nolan Bushnell, “Everyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it that makes a difference.”

Those other people Bushnell is talking about? Those people are entrepreneurs. They’re the people who make things happen.

You see, it takes a lot to move a concept from the idea stage to a real, viable product or business. It takes focus. It takes diligence. It takes flexibility. It takes a willingness to persevere against obstacles, refusing to give up long after others would have become distracted or lost hope.

That process requires a certain kind of personality. Not every innovator has what it takes — which is why many of the world’s greatest ideas remain just that. An idea. Nothing more. Nothing real.

Entrepreneurs Don’t Always Have the Best Ideas

It’s a big misconception among innovators (aka not-quite, maybe-later, thought-about-it-but-got-too-scared, would-be entrepreneurs) that in order to be an entrepreneur, you have to have the very best idea out there.

That could not be further from the truth.

There are a ton of mediocre ideas that people have turned into real live, operational, and sometimes even profitable businesses. It really, really isn’t about who has the best idea, or who did the most market research or tested the best in a focus group.

The only difference between an innovator and an entrepreneur is the wherewithal to continue marching forward long after everyone else has chickened out or lost sight of the goal.

Truly. It’s that simple.

Do you want to be an entrepreneur, but don’t have an idea? That’s okay! Just go find an innovator and offer to make their idea happen. They probably weren’t going to, anyway.

(But I suggest waiting until they get out of the shower. No one likes a peeping Tom.)

Entrepreneurs Aren’t Always Original

Another common excuse fallacy I hear from not-entrepreneurs (and have even said myself in a moment of weakness) is that they can’t make their idea happen because it’s slightly similar to another product or business that is already on the market.

Now, tread lightly here. Intellectual property is a real thing, and stealing other people’s protected business ideas, product plans, or brand elements is against the law. That’s what trademarks and patents are for.

But there’s a difference between exactly copying another entrepreneur’s business idea and creating something that solves the same problem in a different or better way. You’re not going to invent the wheel. It’s already been invented. But if you try, you might improve upon what other innovators have already done by turning your idea into action.

So, for now at least, stop worrying whether your idea is the best, or if there’s something else already out there that is similar. Just get out of the shower and make it happen.

(Note: I hope you’re not reading this in the shower. That’s ridiculous.)

Entrepreneurs Persevere Through Challenges

Even if you do have the best, most original idea out there, the path to making an idea happen is rarely smooth sailing the whole way. Entrepreneurs face challenges from every direction.

Funding issues, problems with patents or trademarks, production problems — the list goes on and on. Now, an everyday innovator may see any one of these challenges as a “sign” that it “wasn’t meant to be.” But entrepreneurs know better.

Successful entrepreneurs are those who take challenges in stride, adapt, and adjust their plans to accommodate whatever problems do come up. They learn to recognize the difference between a deal breaker and just another bump in the road.

And no matter what the challengers say, entrepreneurs don’t give up — even when the odds are stacked against them.

Entrepreneurs Aren’t Afraid of Risk

But what if it doesn’t work? What if it’s too hard? What if we can’t break even?

Yes, all of those things are possibilities. The unfortunate truth is that while you can endure many bumps in the road, there does exist the possibility of reaching a deal breaking, insurmountable challenge. That’s a reality that entrepreneurs have to face every day.

The difference is that the kind of folks who make things happen are excited by those risks. They see potential risks as challenges, as adventures on the pathway to success.

Instead of being held back by the risk of failure, they are motivated and inspired to try even harder. Because entrepreneurs truly believe that they would rather try, fail, and try again with a new idea, rather than staying where they are without ever having made an attempt at all.

So, who are you going to be? Are you an innovator? Are you an entrepreneur?

Go take a shower and decide.