16 Business Owner MBTI Personality Types: What Type of Entrepreneur Are You?

Have you ever heard of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?

Or maybe you’ve heard the term “entrepreneur MBTI.”

Don’t feel bad if you haven’t. Myers-Briggs is a personality “inventory” (a.k.a., a test…but not one of the scary ones), and it’s one of the most well-known assessments used in American culture.

Myers-Briggs personality type indicators (MBTI) represent how people prefer to work and interact with others. Entrepreneurs have their own types, because, of course, we do things a little bit differently.

In this post, we’ll explain the entrepreneur MBTI personality types and why they’re essential to understand as a small business owner. If you haven’t taken the test, don’t worry. Here’s a link where you can take it for about $60, then read on for a description of each entrepreneur personality type.

Why Your Entrepreneur MBTI Personality Type Matters

Wait, we write a blog for a small business platform. So, why do we care about personalities?

Knowing more about your personality type helps you optimize your workflow, because it helps you understand why you think and act the way you do. Your MBTI can also influence choices like your career path and business decisions.

As a business owner, it’s important to understand your MBTI and how that personality type might affect the decisions you make at your company. It will also help you surround yourself with people you know you can work with and help you achieve your goals.

Before we tell you more about your personality type, let’s explain how the Myers-Briggs assessment works.

How does the Myers-Briggs test work?

Here’s a quick breakdown of the Myers-Briggs test. We’ll use these indicators to describe the most common “types” of entrepreneurs and small business owners.

There are 16 business entrepreneur personality types, and each is defined by an individual’s preference in four areas:

• How you interact with the world: Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I)
• The way you interpret information: Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)
• Your decision-making process: Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
• How you approach new ideas: Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)

Your personality type consists of your preference in each of the 4 categories. For example, I’m an introvert (I) who prefers sensing (S), thinking (T), and judging (J)—an ISTJ.

Business Personality Types

Here’s a list of the 16 business personality types. We’ll review each in the section below.

Entrepreneur MBTI Personality Types

What type of business owner are you? Here’s how we would describe the most common personality types for small business owners. See where you fit in!

The CEO Entrepreneur (ESTP)

The CEO entrepreneur is an MBTI personality type common to small business owners. These individuals are outgoing and energetic, have excellent people skills, and thrive in fast-paced, deadline-driven environments.

CEO entrepreneurs quickly react to crises and prefer a spontaneous workflow that doesn’t involve many routines or fine details. While this makes them great at identifying a campaign’s bigger picture or goal, it doesn’t make them as strong at executing as other personality types.

• Strengths: Reaction, charismatic, drive
• Challenges: Organization, can be seen as demanding
• Famous CEO Entrepreneurs: Theodore Roosevelt, Madonna

The I Can Do Anything Entrepreneur (ENTP)

Perhaps one of the most stereotypical personality types of leaders and entrepreneurs, the I Can Do Anything Entrepreneur loves leading and being in the limelight.

Curious and creative, they are naturally innovative and have many new ideas they can’t wait to turn into reality. Regardless, their drive to act fast can tend to leave others in the dust.

• Strengths: Vision, drive, confidence
• Challenges: Impulsion, trouble interpreting emotions, risk-taker
• Famous “I Can Do Anything” Entrepreneurs: Amy Poehler, Nikola Tesla

The By-the-Book Entrepreneur (ESTJ)

By-the-Book entrepreneurs are among the most organized and structured personality types. They make decisions based on facts, details, and logic.

Equally important, their tendency toward structure makes them incredibly organized, and their preference for extraversion makes them great leaders and supervisors. These business owners don’t let any details slip through the cracks.

But don’t let their focus and order fool you — they’re not as detached as they may seem.

• Strengths: Order, organization, direction
• Challenges: Trouble expressing emotion, often seen as uptight
• Famous “By the Book” Entrepreneurs: Michelle Obama, Condoleezza Rice

The Charming Charlie Entrepreneur (ENTJ)

Some of the most charismatic business owners, Charming Charlies, are motivated by ambition and success. They’re not shy (in fact, they’re the opposite), and they get a lot done thanks to their unique combination of analytical prowess and drive. They’re constantly chasing problems, and are experts at quickly finding and implementing the right solutions.

• Strengths: Energetic, optimistic, adaptable
• Challenges: Forcefulness, ego
• Famous “Charming Charlie” Entrepreneurs: David Letterman, Angela Merkel

The Quiet Inventor Entrepreneur (INTJ)

Quiet Inventor entrepreneurs have imaginative, decisive, and curious personality types. Often recognized as bookworms, the Quiet Inventor is private in their studies and is fueled by mastery of their craft.

But, once they’ve built something they’re proud of, they can’t wait to share it with others. These INTJ entrepreneurs prefer to start small and slowly prove their success before they expand.

• Strengths: Logical, principled, independent
• Challenges: Perfectionism, pessimism, judgmental of others
• Famous Quiet Inventors: Jodie Foster, Sir Isaac Newton

The Judge and The Jury Entrepreneur (ISTJ)

Smart and loaded with integrity, Judge and The Jury entrepreneurs value predictability over imagination. While they may seem stoic, their personalities make them hardworking and persistent, often working to exhaustion to get the job done.

• Strengths: Practicality, detail-orientation
• Challenges: Overly-serious, difficulty trusting
• Famous “Judge and Jury” Entrepreneurs: Amal Clooney, Kim Kardashian

The “Helper” Entrepreneur (ESFJ)

Helper entrepreneurs are providers. They like to build a collaborative team that helps each other succeed. These entrepreneurs are people leaders. They’re supportive, practical, and emotionally intelligent.

One challenge that Helper entrepreneurs may face is getting things done on time. If there’s a tradeoff between helping others and achieving results, these individuals will usually lean toward the well-being of their team over meeting a business goal.

• Strengths: Energetic, empathetic, caring
• Challenges: Reacting to crises, being adaptive
• Famous “Helper” Entrepreneurs: Taylor Swift, Lebron James

The “Adventure Is Out There” Entrepreneur (ESFP)

These entrepreneurs are independent, often enjoying hands-on work where they can see results forming fast. That’s not to say they don’t crave collaboration. These folks typically act as peacemakers because they have strong people skills and are gifted at navigating stressful situations.

• Strengths: Resourceful, collaborative, curious
• Challenges: Easily distracted, informal
• Famous “Adventure Is Out There” Entrepreneurs: Magic Johnson, Miley Cyrus

The “Caregiver” Entrepreneur (INFP)

Caregiver entrepreneurs are philosophical. They want to leave the world a better place than where they found it. They are typically value-driven and often plan for the future.

One challenge Caregiver entrepreneurs may face is that they’re often very quiet individuals. They may not outwardly take charge in every situation, or might shy away from the spotlight when it shines on them.

• Strengths: Loyal, empathetic, great communication skills
• Challenges: Thinking quickly, being spontaneous
• Famous “Caregiver” Entrepreneurs: Derek Jeter, Alicia Keys

The “Idealist” Entrepreneur (INFJ)

These entrepreneurs are dreamers as well as doers. They have big plans for their businesses and thrive in independent environments where they can freely pursue their visions. They also have strong written and verbal communication skills and are great at reading people and situations.

While their strong beliefs make them determined and confident, they can also be a bit stubborn. They may hesitate to back away from an idea until they’ve confirmed it won’t work.

• Strengths: Planning, strategy, logistics
• Challenges: Adjusting plans, tense confrontations
• Famous “Idealist” Entrepreneurs: Eleanor Roosevelt, Nicole Kidman

The “Freethinker” Entrepreneur (INTP)

The Freethinker entrepreneur loves theory and using logical solutions to solve practical problems in the workplace. They typically gravitate toward technical fields because these industries encourage them to optimize processes and create new approaches to outdated systems.

• Strengths: Logistics, technical skills, creativity
• Challenges: Taking chances, testing unproven concepts
• Famous “Freethinker” Entrepreneurs: Albert Einstein, Tina Fey

The “Artist Formerly Known As” Entrepreneur (ISFP)

These entrepreneurs are creatives with a strong appreciation for the arts. They value aesthetics and making products and services look as good as they perform. They’re typically great at branding and crafting visuals for a business.

ISFP entrepreneurs know exactly what they want to create – which can be off-putting if they’re not open to new ideas. These individuals must balance bringing their vision to life with collaborating with others.

• Strengths: Creative, outside-of-the-box thinkers
• Challenges: Adopting new ideas, formalizing processes
• Famous “Artist Formerly Known As” Entrepreneurs: Jackie Kennedy, Kobe Bryant

The “Rise and Grind” Entrepreneur (ISFJ)

The Rise and Grind entrepreneurs are quiet, unsung heroes who excel at their work every day. They’re great team players and they always look out for others. They have an excellent sense of awareness and seem to go wherever the business needs them most.

One challenge that these entrepreneurs may face is burnout. Thryv’s Small Business Index report found that 86% of small business owners work more than 40 hours a week. With a tendency to overwork and the pressure to keep the lights on, these individuals may exhaust themselves quicker than other personalities on this list.

• Strengths: Determination, tenacity, work ethic
• Challenges: Work-life balance, “hustle” culture
• Famous “Rise and Grind” Entrepreneurs: Beyoncé, Selena Gomez

The “Get It Done” Entrepreneur (ISTP)

The ISTP entrepreneur type is resourceful and excels in technical skills that involve using tools. They tinker and like to know how stuff works — and are willing to take something apart to see if they can put it back together again. They’re great at problem-solving and can handle themselves during a crisis.

• Strengths: Working with tools, taking charge
• Challenges: Introversion, opening up to others
• Famous “Get It Done” Entrepreneurs: Michael Jordan, Scarlett Johansson

The “Team Player” Entrepreneur (ENFJ)

The Team Player entrepreneur is constantly learning. They’re students who appreciate working with others and developing their skills over time. These individuals are gifted problem solvers, possess strong communication skills, and value the perspective of others with diverse and unique experiences.

One challenge that Team-Player entrepreneurs may face is boredom. If they aren’t in an environment that constantly keeps them on their toes, they might lose interest and turn to something else.

• Strengths: Curiosity, collaboration, strategy
• Challenges: Making quick decisions, thinking independently
• Famous “Team Player” Entrepreneurs: Nancy Reagan, Matthew McConaughey

The “Challenge Accepted” Entrepreneur (ENFP)

ENFP personality types are natural leaders. They have strong written and verbal communication skills, and don’t shy away from the limelight. They’re good team players who know when to take charge and get things done.

ENFP entrepreneurs possess many skills, and because of that, they often switch careers to keep themselves engaged. This constant career jumping can make it difficult to master every skill in each industry.

• Strengths: Adaptive, personable
• Challenges: Letting go of control, following strict schedules
• Famous “Challenge Accepted” Entrepreneurs: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock

What is the most common entrepreneur personality type for Myers Briggs?

There’s no “best” type, but there are trends for each including the career or job they tend to be most successful in. The ESTPs, ENTPs, ESTJs, ENTJs, INTJs, and ISTJs are the most common personality types for entrepreneurs and business owners.

Not sure where you fit in?

Remember, no personality type is the “right” one for entrepreneurship. A lot more goes into managing a business than the personality type that owns it.

However, knowing your entrepreneur MBTI type can help you understand why you react or interpret situations in different ways. They can help you hire employees or find partners who are best suited to work with you.

You don’t have to live by these personality types, but they can be a handy tool for understanding yourself and other people you interact with in the workplace.