An employee walks into a coffee shop, orders a coffee, sits down, sips on the coffee and thinks “this tastes good”.
An entrepreneur walks into a coffee shop, counts the number of occupied seats, estimates the revenues from customers currently in the shop, multiplies by a factor of around 25 to get the day’s revenue, multiplies by 7 and then 50 to get annual revenue, estimates the total staff costs, rent, and other costs, and comes to an estimate of the profit the coffee shop is making.
Entrepreneurs accept risk,something that non entrepreneurs don't have.. Many non entrepreneurs are risk averse( Now buying a lottery ticket is not accepting risks, it's avoiding risks and expecting to catch a whale by your sitting room fish tank.)
Innovation is another trait of entrepreneurs vs non entrepreneurs. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Elon Mask, Mark Zuckerberg (Warren Buffet-he however is an investor not a pure entrepreneur ). In many businesses if you lose innovation, you will lose business (Nokia, blackberry)
Entrepreneurs see problems as opportunities that can be exploited for cash. Eg. a new University in some area will mean a housing crisis, however an entrepreneur will see. It as a chance to get a loan and build 10 story buildings to provide for off campus students.
Entrepreneurs have the drive. They accept those long hours, no weekends, no holidays lifestyle. The sacrifice mostly that non entrepreneurs would demand double the pay. Ever wondered why the Asian shop owner rarely takes off days compared to the Accountant. Many would steal that 1 hour off work, get dope sick notes anything to escape work.. Entrepreneurs are opposite.. They seek work. Hunt for more opportunities any time (Steve Jobs would call someone at 2 am if he came up with a new idea)
Entrepreneurs also seek new knowledge. They are early adopters of many things and trends, they stay ahead of the market. It's those guys who still buy the newspapers at times, use internet, check international exchange rates, use Alibaba and are always looking for loopholes and opportunities. Turns out organizations, government and some people still use newspapers as tools to communicate to the public. Now by the time it's in fashion, these guys already have shares in those companies and trends you chase now.
Entrepreneurs are multi takers who know numbers and can do financial statements. They are not accountants but they can tell you how much profit they made(P&L Acc), they will tell you how much capital they need, how much assets they have, how much cash flows in and out of them. They(entrepreneurs) make it a must to get that cash out of you into their pockets.. That's why prices always go down as long as you are REAL DEMAND (backed with cash).
Entrepreneurs have an internal Locus of control vs external.. Mostly introverts(That's why lawyers, arts majors don't do well as entrepreneurs)
Entrepreneurs see education as a tool not a bed to sleep on and earn a salary mu. Every form of education they gain, they use it for business.
Entrepreneurs are comfortable to leave the big office lifestyle, with its salary and allowances and start something of their own.
Entrepreneurs also don't get stunned by big cash amounts.. The lotto effect. Some people die if they saw some big figure cash amounts. Majority overspend and get back to broke lifestyle. Majority would buy useless overpriced stocks(those are actually the smartest among non entrepreneurs).. An entrepreneur would invest in a business.. And hedge his net worth with a decent stock. He is a businessman who also throws cash into other businesses to keep its value.