What's the difference between a business person and an entrepreneur?

You hear the term entrepreneur a lot these days; Richard Branson is an entrepreneur, Mark Zuckerberg is an entrepreneur, and Steve Jobs was an entrepreneur. But what sets these people apart from other business people?

Is there really too much of a difference between an entrepreneur and a successful businessperson, and if so what are the main differences... I know we are all going to have an opinion on this (which is a good thing).

Here's my thoughts on what makes a difference between the two:

Originality: Entrepreneurs have done something to break the mould. If you look at Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and J.K Rowling they've all taken big risks with their products and effectively, changed the world with their success. Business people traditionally travel a path which has already been walked before, so while they may be exceptionally good at what they do, it's not particularly inventive.

Purpose: You'll be hard pushed to find a successful entrepreneur who was in it for the money. Their ideas and drive come from a passion to create great social change on a large scale, and they respond to the human needs of society. Sure, they might make a lot of money doing it, but that's rarely the main driver.

Risk: A successful entrepreneur is not afraid to take a risk or two to get where they need to be. An entrepreneur will pass their business card to the president, buy a property with no funds for a backup plan and travel the world to see their dream come to fruition. Entrepreneurs are often driven by passion and as such, don't often consider that they might need a backup plan. And that's because they rarely do!

Views on staff: A business person is a boss with employees, an entrepreneur is a leader with peers.

Outlook on competitors: A business person tries to outdo their competitors; an entrepreneur collaborates to succeed.

Views on money: A business person relies on a healthy bank account to quantify his success; an entrepreneur doesn't need a cent! They have confidence in themselves which means they can start from scratch if the need ever arises.

Creativity: A business person follows rules, structure and timeframes; an entrepreneur is creative and fluid, working on their timescale and to their rules!

Definition of success: This is the key difference between a businessperson and an entrepreneur. A business person looks at sales figures, output, and the happiness and value of stakeholders as a marker for the success. An entrepreneur defines it as "Have they made a difference?"

Of course, this list is just an opinion and is no way meant to put one above the other. Both are key members of each society but in case anyone was wondering, as I have been recent, this is what I think are the key differences between an entrepreneur and a business person!

I'd love to hear your thoughts. .