The New Zealand lifestyle entrepreneur

The New Zealand lifestyle entrepreneur is an opportunity based entrepreneur, opting for work-life balance versus wealth creation. They rank greater independence as a primary motive for creating and developing new business ventures. Wealth creation is seen as a secondary motive, despite a strong desire to profit from new ventures. This study introduces a two-tiered research focus on lifestyle entrepreneurs; incorporating GEM (2005) data and empirical analysis from the Thompson (2002) entrepreneurial character theme questionnaire. Findings are indicative of a predominant desire for greater independence, correlated to character themes such as woo, relator, developer and time focus. Implications include recommendations to synergise the independence motive with wealth creation by enabling the leadership associations in New Zealand entrepreneurs.