Employees are interested in starting businesses & entrepreneurship
More than half (59%) of employed adults are interested in starting their own business or becoming an entrepreneur – however, 39% don’t feel like they have enough money to do so.
A new survey from Justworks, while looking at the possibility of a “looming recession,” shows that while 42% of US employees were worried about layoffs last year, only 25% are concerned this year. Also, more than half (59%) of employed adults are interested in starting their own business or becoming an entrepreneur – however, 39% don’t feel like they have enough money to do so and 29% don’t think they have the knowledge to start a business.
Of those adults looking to start their own business, Gen Z (18-44) is the most likely interested cohort. There are several things that could help employed adults feel more confident in becoming an entrepreneur, namely: gaining a better understanding of the financial (34%), operational (32%), and legal (31%) aspects of starting or running a business, having a mentor to help guide them (29%), acquiring capital investment/having initial access to capital (27%), and creating a business plan (27%).
Interestingly, 22% of employed adults don’t feel the economy is favourable now or in the near future for running a business.
Employed adults are interested in starting their own business or becoming an entrepreneur, but their biggest barriers are feeling like they don’t have enough money or knowledge to start. While most employed adults (87%) agree that starting a business is risky, 3 in 5 (59%) are at least somewhat interested in starting their own business or becoming an entrepreneur, including 1 in 5 (21%) who are very interested.
Many employed adults appear to not be held back by their own biases, stereotypes, or a lack of confidence about business ownership, as 72% agree that anyone can be an entrepreneur if they want to be, and 71% say they are confident they could run their own business successfully.
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What appears to be holding people back from entrepreneurship are financial and knowledge constraints. The biggest barriers to business ownership or becoming an entrepreneur are:
- not having enough money or financial resources to start a business (39%)
- not knowing where/how to start (29%)
- being afraid of the uncertainties involved in running a business (27%)
- not knowing enough about running a business (25%)
Another big barrier among small business owners was a fear of failing (59%). Yet today, 59% agree that overall, it has been easier than they had anticipated to run a small business and more than 9 in 10 (93%) would recommend small business ownership to others.