Carland & Carland (1997) noted three categories of entrepreneur:
| Macro-entrepreneur | Risk-taker seeking self-actualization. Innovative and creative, and highly driven despite extreme wealth. More willing to accept debt and equity financing in order to grow their businesses rapidly. |
| Micro-entrepreneur | Includes the smaller family businesses with only a few employees. These individuals could be described as those who work to live, rather than live to work. They are also typically much more casual about their businesses. |
| Entrepreneur | This group falls in between the other two groups and is less likely to take risks, as their goal was to preserve the business. Would likely include the accidental entrepreneurs, whose businesses developed gradually out of a hobby or a particular interest. |