The more you interact with entrepreneurs, the more likely you are to become one.
Our biggest challenge in life is lack of information. Because inherently, once we learn something, we may no longer fear or avoid it. It’s as common as overcoming the fear of public speaking… speaking in public. Once we get over that fear, we can’t stop talking. The same could be said of entrepreneurship. The less we know, the more it seems like we will never be able to be entrepreneurs. But if you were with entrepreneurs all day, traveling with them, eating with them, you would start to see entrepreneurship from a new perspective.
There is an interesting NorthOne articlea business banking platform, which compiled a wide variety of statistics and insights about entrepreneurship that might interest you. This author will only cover some of the highlights from that article.
There are more entrepreneurs than you think. Globally, there are approximately 582 million entrepreneurs. Everything from small family businesses to thriving companies. In the United States there are around 31 million entrepreneurs. When you think about Generation Z’s interest in entrepreneurship, those numbers are sure to increase in the coming years.
You don’t need venture capital investors. Contrary to popular belief, only 4% of all entrepreneurs raise money from investors to start their company. The rest use personal funds, a side job to generate cash, family and friends, and even a bank loan.
You don’t need a college education. Only 44% of all entrepreneurs have a college degree. But a college degree is not a necessity to get ahead or start your own business ventures. In fact, less than half of small business owners have any college degree. Now it’s about entrepreneurship education. It’s about seeing a problem, creating a unique solution, the ability to get customers and then creating a profitable company. Oh, and a lot of determination.
Most startups fail. It’s not exactly true. While 42% of startups fail in the first two years, they do not fail due to the efforts of the entrepreneur. The problem is that they should never have been created in the first place. Basically, they didn’t solve a real problem for customers. So don’t do that. Solve a real problem in a market with real customers.
Well-paid employees are happier than business owners. Is not true. TO Wall Street Journal article of 2023 stated that up to 70% of employees were dissatisfied at work. Balance that with the 75% of entrepreneurs who said they were happy with their job as a founder.
It is too expensive to start a small business. Not precisely. It depends on your skills and your ability to pressure and manage freelancers or contractors well. It also depends on your business model how you provide your products or services. If you are initially labor intensive, think twice about this type of company business model, as labor will likely be the biggest expense you will have.
You Need to Start an AI-Based Business to Succeed. Not necessarily. If you look to the future and follow two trends, Generation Z with personal care and Baby Boomers with aging, you can see that there will be significant growth in the personal care and healthcare industries for the foreseeable future.
You were not born to be an accountant. Or a biotechnology researcher, a banker, a marketing specialist, a financial analyst, etc. Then what do you want to do? 60% of entrepreneurs start their small businesses because they are inspired to be their own boss and create something they can call their own. There are many good reasons to venture out on your own and start your small business. But for most business owners their reasoning is simple. They want to be in charge, own the decision making, and then be held accountable.
Being an entrepreneur is not as difficult as you think. Remember, there are 31 million entrepreneurs in the United States. So, it’s not unique. What might be unique is your mindset that is currently holding you back. You need to hang out with entrepreneurs, talk to experts about something that interests you, and maybe start a side job to try something out. You were not born to do what you are doing today. Then, what are you going to do?