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Business owner vs business leader

The differences between business owners and business leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a business owner and a business leader. Additionally, a business leader has an average salary of $90,430, which is higher than the $50,934 average annual salary of a business owner.

The top three skills for a business owner include customer service, payroll and financial statements. The most important skills for a business leader are analytics, project management, and customer service.

Business owner vs business leader overview

Business OwnerBusiness Leader
Yearly salary$50,934$90,430
Hourly rate$24.49$43.48
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs107,663117,296
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4444
Years of experience66

What does a business owner do?

Business owners, also known as Entrepreneurs, are responsible for their company and brand's success. There are many areas of responsibility when you're a business owner, such as in the aspects of planning and budgeting, arranging finances and legal documentation, and even hiring the workforce essential for the business to grow. However, these responsibilities will vary according to how a business owner will uphold them. Moreover, building a business from the ground up requires dedication and a vision and mission for the brand.

What does a business leader do?

Business Leaders are considered trailblazers in their field. They are innovative thinkers who often introduce solutions to their industry's challenges. They inspire people pursuing careers in their field and even those outside the industry to strive harder and create their paths to success. Employees often look up to Business Leaders, which is why they must be motivating. They also oversee their business operations and often set long-term targets and strategies to achieve these targets. They think outside the box to set their business apart from their competitors.

Business owner vs business leader salary

Business owners and business leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.

Business OwnerBusiness Leader
Average salary$50,934$90,430
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $94,000Between $56,000 And $145,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WANew York, NY
Highest paying stateWashingtonNew York
Best paying companyBDLyft
Best paying industryRetailPharmaceutical

Differences between business owner and business leader education

There are a few differences between a business owner and a business leader in terms of educational background:

Business OwnerBusiness Leader
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Business owner vs business leader demographics

Here are the differences between business owners' and business leaders' demographics:

Business OwnerBusiness Leader
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 51.4% Female, 48.6%Male, 64.4% Female, 35.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between business owner and business leader duties and responsibilities

Business owner example responsibilities.

  • Manage the budget and insure operations run smoothly.
  • Create, own and manage a LLC for grind pet transportation.
  • Establish and manage a beading boutique via the Internet by utilizing Photoshop to post designs on a personal website.
  • Manage sales, customer service, billing, A/P, A/R, vendor relations, negotiations, repairs, and maintenance.
  • Manage end to end business operations including hiring, scheduling visits, conducting customer consultations and performing pet visits.
  • Handle all aspects from A/P to A/R, payroll, ordering and dealing with all distributors and city officials.
  • Show more

Business leader example responsibilities.

  • Create and manage SharePoint portal site for SFA department.
  • Lead process and results metric development for all components of Medicaid business system.
  • Develop project plans, project status reports, manage the team and resolve day-to-day issues with emphasis on SDLC.
  • Set up a governance document to be share throughout all of department which outline how SharePoint would be manage.
  • Manage sales and technical group to complete a custom online shopping system and CRM system for digital and print products.
  • Utilize GMP to manage department budgets for capital expenses, spare parts, tools, and yearly contracts with outside vendors.
  • Show more

Business owner vs business leader skills

Common business owner skills
  • Customer Service, 31%
  • Payroll, 12%
  • Financial Statements, 9%
  • Business Plan, 7%
  • Business Model, 3%
  • Real Estate, 2%
Common business leader skills
  • Analytics, 9%
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Business Development, 6%
  • Lean Six Sigma, 4%
  • Continuous Improvement, 4%

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