Peacock (2004) makes the distinction between small business owner manager as
“The person who sets up a business as an own account worker simply to replace a job may be less enterprising than the person who creates a product, finds a market niche, sets out to maximise a capital gain from a business idea, or helps provide skills and networks for the unemployed,” the entrepreneur.

If we make these distinctions clearer by classifying the small business owner and entrepreneur as in Carland et al. (1984), the small business owner sees “the business as an extension of his or her personality, intricately bound with family needs and desires” and the entrepreneur “is characterised principally by innovative behaviour and will employ strategic management practices in the business” to create innovation, profit and growth.

If we assume that a typical small business falls into the first category, then readiness or restraint is more important to decision to start up, unless other factors like “window of opportunity”, “precipitating events” or “risk” are more relevant as laid out in Peacock (2004)

If we look only at the small business owner in relation to the question then it seems that the decision to start up a business is largely driven by readiness. According to Peacock (2004), - P. R. Liles (1974), says more control over lifestyle, general self-confidence that comes with age and work experience, and industry knowledge, but that unless there is some dissatisfaction with their occupation or career, this will also be a significant restraint to their decision. The combination of these readiness factors, and the absence of the restraints, is what make the small business owner take the step of starting up a business venture, whether it is small or large scale.

The entrepreneur is also influenced by these factors but with the added proclivity to have some other