Last January, holding company Employers Holdings released a survey finding 46 percent of Millennials – individuals aged 18 to 25 – plan to start a business within the next five years, while an additional 8 percent claim to have already started a business.
This report, along with a number of others, have prompted many analysts to take a look at the entrepreneurial drive of Generation Y. While the rate of startups among this age group is certainly impressive, most agree that it is their social or humanitarian drive that sets them apart from their predecessors.
“Back in the 60s and 70s many college students took to the streets to protest,” writes Rieva Lesonsky for AllBusinss.com. “This generation is still taking it to the streets, but they’re hyper-focused on creating social change.”
Whether such change comes in the form of the growing social entrepreneurship movement or through philanthropic initiatives, Millennials represent one of the most driven generations in quite some time.
However, the age group is not without its critics, as many argue they are largely self-entitled, disloyal and lack focus as a result of their technological upbringings. However, in the right light, these critiques can be viewed as advantages, as today’s technology-infused world needs multi-taskers, while entrepreneurship, almost by definition, requires a sense of independence and ambition.
Are you a Millennial who has started, or is thinking about starting your own business? We’d love to hear your story.
The newest generation of American workers may be the most entrepreneurial in more than a decade, new research by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation suggests.
The U.S. economy added 192,000 jobs last month, as the national unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nearly two years, the Labor Department said Friday.
Cash-strapped startups and entrepreneurs
When small businesses and startups begin filing their taxes in coming months, many will be eligible for a number of new tax credits, such as the 35 percent tax break for small businesses that pay for their employees’ healthcare coverage.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the implementation of a new program aimed to boost federal contracting opportunities for the nation’s small women-owned businesses.
Over the past few years, encouraged by the advent of mobile and cloud-computing technologies, home-based small businesses have become increasingly commonplace.
The U.S. Department of Treasury announced Friday that North Carolina and Michigan will be the first states to receive funding from the State Small Business Credit Initiative – a $1.5 billion initiative aimed at helping small businesses achieve lending through the backing of private loans and state programs.
The economy is gradually beginning to improve; consumer spending rose dramatically in December, manufacturing activity is up, small business borrowing is increasing and the availability of credit is improving.
