Exactly so.
He's a businessman in many ways. He's had the ability to be eclectic and follow his interests (as do most all wealthy people who inherit their money) but he has set into motion many organizations, over which he exercises directional control. He is massively well-informed and it has everything to do with the work he does in the world, outside of his royal obligations. If you look into what he has done, his achievements are impressive. It took work.
Nope, what Charles has done is very, very different from the charity photo-ops most royals do, though Charles does those, too.
Charles has generated personal wealth from his business endeavors, that he is able to then use to support his personally developed charities. This is not the norm. Most royals do not plow money into the charities they represent. Charles does, plus he also fundraises for them.
He is a wealthy man in his own right, able to bank-roll aspects of William's and Harry's lifestyles out of his own money. Like most 'CEO-types' he does determine his own schedule but it's not really that free ('does what he wants when he wants') since he is networking with others, just like any businessman. He has a schedule, and from all accounts it's pretty intense.
That's a career in my book.