To answer this challenging question, one must compare both entrepreneurs to small business managers or owners and entrepreneurial ventures to small businesses. One must also ascertain the meanings of the terms, entrepreneur and small business owner. The definition of an entrepreneur is a commonly argued point, with several definitions having been given by many different people. The dictionary gives an entrepreneur as 'A person who engages in business enterprise, usually with some personal financial risk`. Under this definition, a small business owner could definitely be classed as an entrepreneur, as anyone who runs and owns their own business is taking risks with their finances every day of trading. However, this definition does not go into enough depth and only takes into account one trait of the entrepreneur's personality and behavioral patterns, which, according to most other sources, does not give the whole picture.
Risk-taking is one of the main characteristics attributed to entrepreneurs, one cannot introduce brand new ideas and practices into the workplace without bearing an element of risk, as one cannot be assured of the success of the innovative idea until it has actually been put into place. Mill (1848), the man credited with bringing the term entrepreneur into general use among economists, believed that risk-taking was the key distinguishing factor between business managers/owners and entrepreneurs. Managers are unlikely to take risks with their business (especially in small, family run businesses) as they strive for security and stability whilst entrepreneurs have to take risks to seize opportunities and maintain the rapid growth rate that entrepreneurial ventures must maintain. However, Schumpeter (1934) who was one of the first to study and define the entrepreneur as a different kind of business person claimed that risk-taking was not so much a major trait to entrepreneurs, rather that taking risks is a natural consequence of business ownership.