Entrepreneurship is all about taking risks and paving your own path in the workforce. Entrepreneurs often embrace creativity and individuality in their efforts to perfect their craft. Success as one takes hard work and dedication, especially in recent times.
Many businesses have struggled to stay afloat throughout the pandemic. Yet, entrepreneurs have used their free time to their advantage.
The industry is increasing in popularity, making many more breakthroughs than ever imagined. Down below we cover the roots of entrepreneurship and how it has evolved amidst the pandemic.
Entrepreneurs in the U.S Today
The U.S consists of more than 31 million entrepreneurs today. The most common age demographic of entrepreneurs ranges from 25 to 44. Over half of people who are entrepreneurs start at least one business in their life. Taking it up a notch, 26% start at least two or more. College degrees are becoming less of an issue for entrepreneurs as times change. Roughly only about half of entrepreneurs today have college degrees.
There are many reasons that entrepreneurs feel motivated to start their own business. Most people don’t want to work for anyone—they want to be their own boss.
Some also have a passion for something in which they want to work towards. This makes work more enjoyable for them down the road. People laid off and now looking for work also look at entrepreneurship as a chance for a new opportunity.
Women in Entrepreneurship
Many industries in the workforce today are still dominated by males. However, this doesn’t stop women from working hard and making a name for themselves. Women entrepreneurs have paved a path and are making rapid progress in the industry. The U.S has around 13 million women-led businesses today. All around the world, we are looking at a total of 252 million women in entrepreneurship.
Women entrepreneurs tend to be younger than others. The majority are either Millennials or Generation X babies. Certain industries are more popular for women to enter. Health, beauty, and lifestyle are the top three areas that women leaders breakthrough. The reasons women feel motivated to differ a little from the rest of the population. 71 percent want to promote change, while 65 percent want to get wealth and make a living.
Entrepreneurs Developing Small Businesses
In the U.S, there are a total of 31.7 million small businesses. Believe it or not, 99.9 percent of businesses in the U.S are actually small businesses. As a result, small businesses are the providers for many jobs in our economy today. They alone created 1.6 million jobs for people in 2019. Small businesses in the healthcare, food, and retail industries employ the most individuals.
While there are many opportunities for success in developing a small business, it’s also not easy. A majority of entrepreneurs spend over 40 hours a week perfecting their craft. Some even spend over 60 hours. Although it takes lots of work, entrepreneurs tend to feel happy with starting a business. Not all businesses reach success, but if done effectively there is a good chance.
Around 20 percent of small businesses close before one year of opening. Those who are older have had more success in starting their own businesses. This could be because they may have more experience than younger entrepreneurs. However, don’t let this discourage you. As an entrepreneur, you’ll know that success doesn’t come easy and that it takes time to master your craft.
Entrepreneurship Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID pandemic has brought over difficult times for all, especially in our work. Some small businesses unfortunately don’t have the financial resources available to stay afloat in a time of crisis like this. Around 164,000 small businesses have closed their doors either permanently or temporarily.
Restaurant and retail have felt affected the most, as there’s less of a need for them with everyone staying at home. People are eating out less and ordering more online with e-commerce. Small businesses that have managed to survive are those in health, law, and architecture for example. These industries have not felt as much of an impact because they are always needed as life goes on.
52 percent of small businesses think their operations won’t be normal again until 2021. 20 percent think it won’t be back to normal until around 2022. On the other hand, the stay at home order has got people thinking about entrepreneurship. From June to September, there were about 111,000 applications to start a new business submitted every week. This is the highest it’s ever been since 2007!
There are many reasons why people dedicate time to entrepreneurship during COVID-19. Many people were left unemployed and needed new ways to make money. Unemployment also comes with much more free time than before. This gives us time to think creatively about pursuing our passions. As businesses close, we need new ones. This is an opportunity to take advantage of, especially because operating remotely means you can start a business at a lower cost.
Take a look at LegalZoom’s visual on how entrepreneurs are making the most of the pandemic for more information or a detailed article on entrepreneur statistics.
Corey maintains and performs high levels of outreach activities for multiple clients. She has a B.S in Public Relations from San Jose State University and has experience in PR, marketing, and communications.
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