Hi Upananda. Interesting question. Let me see if I understood it correctly.

Let's separate it in three different parts: succeed entrepreneurs, surviving entrepreneurs and "entrepreneurial terminology".

Your argument is mostly related on growth and success for a entrepreur to be considered a entrepreneur. if you look from an individual point of view, you will see that these people have specific personality traits such as self confidence, tolerance for ambiguity, creativity, need for independence, etc. Now, we look at another point of view such as environment influence, Shane and Venkataraman also present the important construct of Opportunity.

Therefore, entrepreneurship should be termed to an individual and not to a business.

Now, about the surviving stage, it can be seen from different angles: if we travel to the future and look at the business you have three different outcomes: growth and success, fail and mortality/shrinking or a hybrid which is a new form of work called protean career

In sum, it depends on the approach you have to the topic of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Different direction can be faced by different kinds of individuals and not the environment or situation they are living in.

Here are some interesting references to the topics I mentioned on my dissertation.

DRENTH, P. J. D. Work Meanings: A Conceptual, Semantic and Developmental Approach. European Work and Organizational Psychologist, v. 1, n. 2-3, p. 125-133, 1991. ISSN DOI: 10.1080/09602009108408517. Disponivel em: .

ECKHARDT, J. T.; SHANE, S. A. Opportunities and entrepreneurship. Journal of management, v. 29, n. 3, p. 333-349, 2003.

LEYS, C. Interpreting African Underdevelopment: Reflections on the ILO Report on Employment, Incomes and Equality in Kenya. African Affairs, v. 72, n. 289, p. pp. 419-429, 1973. ISSN ISSN: 00019909. Disponivel em: .

SHANE, S.; LOCKE, E. A.; COLLINS, C. J. Entrepreneurial motivation. Human Resource Management Review, v. 13, n. 2, p. 257, 2003. ISSN ISSN: 10534822. Disponivel em: .

SHANE, S.; VENKATARAMAN, S. The Promise of Entrepreneurship as a Field of Research. The Academy of Management Review, v. 25, n. 1, p. pp. 217-226, 2000. ISSN ISSN: 03637425. Disponivel em:

WELSCH, H. P.; YOUNG, E. C. The information source selection decision: the role of entrepreneurial personality characteristics. Journal of Small Business Management, v. 20, n. 4, p. 49-57, 1982. ISSN ISSN: 00472778.

WILLIAMS, C. Entrepreneurship and the informal economy: an overview. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 2010. Disponivel em: . 2 cites: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=1476614370463340856\&as_sdt=2005\&sciodt=0,5\&hl=en\&num=100.

WILLIAMS, C. C. Entrepreneurs operating in the informal economy: necessity or opportunity driven? Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship , v. 20, n. 3, 2007. Disponivel em: . 16 cites: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=6158514107819246930\&as_sdt=2005\&sciodt=0,5\&hl=en\&num=100.

If entrepreneurship is viewed as some ideal-type and entrepreneurs are viewed as the heroic icons of contemporary capitalist culture, then of course these would not be treated as 'entrepreneurs'. However, if one adopts a more 'lived practices' approach towards entrepreneurship, then of course these people are entrepreneurs.

Thanks for providing interesting answer, along with informative explanation. However, there are still gaps. emergence of a small business, very often, is an act of an individual. this individualism disappear when it grows and the entrepreneur become an important part of the entity. When individualism disappear, entrepreneurship start to flourish. this is what I discover over several years of experience and research. this postulation also endorsed by Schumpeter (1934). He says, "the instance one exploited an opportunity, entrepreneurship in individual disappears".

Opportunity identification alone (without pursuing the opportunity successfully for gain) does not amount to entrepreneurship. I am sure that is the reason why some researchers distinguish entrepreneurial ventures from ordinary small businesses that do not grow.

Ability to link to many people, take risk, then you are an enterpruener

family buisiness, traditionally is for self sustanance.

An enterpruner thinks he is too good, where as family buisiness is for lower risk and lesser profits.

Schumpeter's "Theory of Economic Development" suggested that entrepreneurship and managers are very different. A survival type of entrepreneurship can be wiped out by creative destruction very quickly, unless they excel in building demand inelasticity.

Upananda,

There are necessity business owners and true opportunity entrepreneurs.  The term entrepreneur does not apply to replicative business owners who merely repeat a previously proven technology and business model.   Entrepreneurs are a sparate breed. These papers will explicate.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299747565_Towards_a_talent-driven_outward-oriented_globally-competitive_SME_framework_Discussion_Paper

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305687139_Priority_policy_recommendations_for_transforming_individual_productivity_and_SME_competitiveness_in_Jamaica

Technical Report Towards a talent-driven outward-oriented globally-competitiv...

Technical Report Priority policy recommendations for transforming individual ...