Millennials say there’s more stability in business ownership

Once the up-and-coming generation, millennials are the here and now, the thought leaders and game-changers in a host of industries both longstanding and fairly new. Born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s, 18- to 35-year-olds represent the largest generation in America, outnumbering baby boomers by nearly 10 million, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

And contrary to what's been previously reported, millennials are taking the small-business world by storm, as a majority view entrepreneurship as a calling that's worth shooting for or maintaining, a recently released report suggests.

Greater job security found in business ownership
Roughly 6 in 10 millennials believe there to be more job security in owning a business than working for one as an employee, a new survey conducted by The Center for Generational Kenetics found. Many of those who indicate as much feel this way because they've been – or are – business owners themselves. Indeed, the poll found almost 40 percent of millennials were part of a start-up company when it first launched and approximately 1 in 4 – 26 percent – don't know anything other than entrepreneurship, having always been their own bosses, or at least since completing their schooling.

What makes millennials uniquely qualified to for business ownership? Jason Dorsey, president and co-founder of the Center for Generational Kenetics, told CNN Money it's a by-product of the times they grew up in.

"Millennials have a different native relationship with technology by virtue of growing up with the internet and the mobile revolution," Dorsey explained. "[They] are at the right life stage to be able to see what's not working and be courageous enough to challenge it."

While many representatives of the U.S.' largest generation have the fortitude and resolve business owners need to get their companies off the ground, millennials are lagging behind their predecessors in terms of creation. For example, nearly 7 percent of baby boomers are self-employed, according to a separate report released by the SCORE Association earlier this year. Similarly, a larger share of Generation X – those born between 1961 and 1981 – are business owners at 5.3 percent compared to millennials at 4 percent.

However, this percentage may push higher, given the seriousness with which millennials are considering becoming their own bosses. Almost two-thirds of 18- to 35-year-olds in the Center for Generational Kenetics poll said they have a good idea for a small business that they'd love to see through to fruition, and almost half indicated that they fully intend to create such a company by 2020 at the latest.

Millennials are planners, mapping out how to accomplish their goals.

Millennials more likely to have a game plan
An action plan can serve as a guidepost for where and how to begin, and millennials are more likely to have one than older generations. Thirty-five percent so-called "millenipreneurs" have a formal business plan, the SCORE Association found. This compared to just 27 percent of Generation X and baby boomers combined. Millennials were also found to be more optimistic about what's to come, with 77 percent encouraged about the future compared to 51 percent of older entrepreneurs.

Still, millennials aren't peering through rose-colored glasses, as they well understand that business ownership comes with its fair share of challenges. Nearly two-thirds of millennial women believe access to capital is the most difficult aspect of launching a business, the Center for Generational Kenetics analysis revealed, a sentiment shared by 45 percent of men.

"A barrier, by its nature, keeps many people from crossing a threshold that they would otherwise gladly cross," the report said. "Such is the case with would-be entrepreneurs and access to capital. Money is what most people view as critical for starting a small business, yet also the most difficult to access."

Furthermore, many aspiring millenipreneurs don't know where to begin. The overriding rationale for millennials not entering the business-owner fray is concern about who they can turn to for assistance, the report found.

With a name like the Law Offices of Donald W. Hudspeth, P.C., you may consider our services to be in the legal sphere. While this may be true, our wheelhouse is helping entrepreneurs turn their small-business dreams into reality. And for a quarter of a century, this is precisely what we've helped make possible for our clients, not just in Arizona but around the world.

Find out how we can help you reach your potential by contacting us directly.

Categorised in: Starting a Business in Arizona

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