USA Today writes that a tough job market, an uncertain economy and a general distrust of large institutions have combined to turn Generation Y into perhaps the most entrepreneurial generation in history.
“According to a 2012 report by the Kauffman Foundation,the largest entrepreneurial foundation in the U.S., 29.4% of entrepreneurs were 20 to 34 years old, and roughly 160,000 start-ups a month were led by Millennials in 2011,” the paper writes. And studies show that even those Millennials who are not starting business would like to, but don’t have access to capital or a good idea.
“According to a 2012 report by the Kauffman Foundation,the largest entrepreneurial foundation in the U.S., 29.4% of entrepreneurs were 20 to 34 years old, and roughly 160,000 start-ups a month were led by Millennials in 2011,” the paper writes. And studies show that even those Millennials who are not starting business would like to, but don’t have access to capital or a good idea.
- KC's View:
-
I’m a born-again entrepreneur - I only went off on my own when I turned 40, when the company I was working for laid me off as a way of saving money. It seemed like a good time - Mrs. Content Guy wasn’t working for pay (she was raising our two sons) and she was pregnant with our daughter. Just kidding...it actually was lousy timing, but I was tired of other people screwing around with my career, so I stopped looking for a job and concentrated on trying to do good work that would pay the mortgage. I got lucky ... I’m still doing it, 17 years later.
My point here is that I don’t blame the younger generation for not wanting to work for other people...but I would also suggest that entrepreneurship can happen anytime. Sometimes it helps to have experience under your belt.
But I also would suggest that companies can take advantage of these entrepreneurial leanings, because this also means that this generation would like to take ownership of their work and careers. There has to be a way of channeling that, of giving them away to be entrepreneurs while working for a larger company.
