The Doer vs. The Deal Maker
Entrepreneurs can be categorized into two groups. On one hand, you have the doers. These are the people who organically grow a business over time. They plod along for years, or even decades in the same business. They look for small, incremental improvements every day. Their natural tendency is to say no to new ideas and they have to be thoroughly convinced before they change strategy.
Then you have the deal makers. These are the entrepreneurs who are constantly on the prowl for partners or arbitrary opportunities where they can create value. They spend little time operating their business and favor investing time in new relationships, partnerships and strategies. The deal makers natural tendency is to say yes to new ideas, which can occasionally get them into trouble.
Jonathan Jay is a deal maker. Through his 20-year run as an entrepreneur, he has started and sold three businesses, bought two distressed businesses, been sued and had a falling out with a partner. Jay has emerged as a wiser entrepreneur with the scars to prove it.