It’s unlikely that anyone will remember 2020 fondly. It was a year of cancellations, sickness and despair, generally speaking. However, it’s also a year that saw thousands of us deciding it was the right time to ditch the 9 to 5 and take our destinies into our own hands. Of all those who started their own businesses in 2020, however, it would appear to be the youngsters who are taking to it a little more naturally.
According to data found in a recent study by poster printers, instantprint discussing new business startups in 2020, Britons set up nearly half a million new companies in 2020. When it came to generational impact, however, 32% of Millennials said they were likely to start a business in the next year and 39% of 18-24-year-olds (generation z) said likewise.
Does this mean the younger generations are more entrepreneurial than earlier generations? We thought we examine a few reasons why this might be the case.
More learning resources available
Even twenty years ago at the turn of the century, the kind of resources that today’s 20 and 30-somethings take for granted simply didn’t exist. The internet was a part of the equation, of course, but it was dial-up internet and there were nowhere near as many resources available once you were actually able to log on. From online lectures and courses to full-blown university degrees, it’s now possible to learn almost anything from the comfort of your own sofa.
Exposure to better lifestyles through social media
Social media has done a lot of good for the world but it’s also given us all unrealistic expectations about just about everything. For younger users who grew up glued to Instagram, there’s a lifestyle they’re seeing that seems tantalisingly within their grasp if one they are willing to work for it. That kind of aspiration just didn’t exist until this last generation.
Many more business models available through the internet
The pandemic has taught us that even the most traditional business can pivot its model to be online-focused. There are so many online business avenues to explore are more are opening up every day. With the advent of blockchain on the horizon and everything that entails, we’re only just getting started too.
Ability to reach much larger markets
Even as recently as the 80s and 90s, if you were starting a business then your aspirations most likely reached about as far as the next town or city over. Today, however, we live globally. It’s just as easy to sell our wares to someone who lives on the other side of the world as it is to sell them to someone who lives next door. With that kind of opportunity at their fingertips, it’s no wonder that millennials are the new entrepreneurs!
