A new study shows that the up-and-coming generation is very confident in its ability to seek entrepreneurship as a viable career path.
Key Details
- A new research study from ZenBusiness in Austin, Texas, shows that 93% of Gen Zers—born between 1997 and 2021—have taken steps toward building their own small businesses.
- The study sampled 1,000 young people between the age of 18 and 25, showing that 84% of them consider small business ownership as a viable career path, with 75% wanting to become entrepreneurs, Yahoo Finance reports.
- 82% of survey respondents say they are better suited to being entrepreneurs than pursuing a traditional career path.
- 72% say traditional career tracts are unavailable to them, and 90% want to create something new to make the world a better place.
- 69% of respondents say they have learned about entrepreneurship through self-directed research and online videos.
- 80% of respondents say that their generation is better suited to entrepreneurship than their parents due to social media and tech savviness and that they are “primed to be the most entrepreneurial in history.”
Why It’s Important
It is no secret that Millennials and Gen Z are considered different than their parent’s generations in the workplace. Younger generations have different ethics—more concern for environmental, social justice, and diversity issues—and have displayed different work habits than their predecessors. They prefer greater flexibility and remote work options, and they are willing to collectively pressure employers at the negotiating table through trends like “quiet quitting.”
As we previously reported, studies have shown that Gen Z is both poorly motivated, difficult to employ, and yet offers employers the advantage of tech savviness and proficiency. Their communication skills are more rooted in direct messages through phones and computers, and they actively dislike in-person meetings and interactions.
However, ZenBusiness’s research also shows how Gen Z’s differing business ethics and morals could be driving a movement of young people towards starting their own businesses in place of pursuing traditional career tracts.
Some of this comes from a major change in mindset among younger people. One of the most desired jobs among young people is to become a content creator or social media influencer. The survey found that 84% of respondents rank “creator” as a feasible career path. Young people are primed from a young age to consider “creator” and “side hustles” a viable means to success, and they may embrace it to entrepreneurship success.
Notable Quotes
“People quickly realize that as you start producing content, and as you start getting paid, you’ve just become a business,” ZenBusiness SVP Michael Fanuele tells Yahoo Finance.
“They may just say, ‘I want a healthier, more prosperous or flexible work environment. And since you older folks aren’t going to create that for me in our formal structures that we have. I’m just going to create it for myself.’ That mindset is very, very novel compared to the last several generations—all the way back into probably the 1930s is the last time we’ve seen this kind of movement, this entrepreneurial spirit at this great rate,” says author Dr. Corey Seemiller.