SAN Francisco-headquartered Thumbtack Inc. released on May 30 its survey that revealed US-based millennials prefer to be entrepreneurs.
Thumbtack surveyed 4,000 small business owners between the ages of 18 and 35 across the US and found millennials are leaving traditional jobs and utilizing technology to start their own business, pursue professional passions and to find personal fulfillment, the company said in a statement.
“Millennials are motivated by much more than financial success,” said Thumbtack Lead Economist Lucas Puente, who conducted the survey. “This cohort finds being an entrepreneur financially rewarding, but they are most focused on being able to pursue their individual passion.”
One of the survey results revealed that millennials increasingly choose independent work and entrepreneurship over traditional 9-to-5 employment.
“About 40 percent of millennials plan on leaving their full-time employers to work as a freelancer within five years,” the company said. “Only 23 percent of workers in Gen X and 13 percent of baby boomers say the same.”
Millennials use technology to help grow their business, utilizing social media for marketing (84 percent) and platforms like YouTube to answer customer questions, the company added.
The survey also found that financial incentives are not the main factor in starting a business for millennials—three in five report they start a business to be more fulfilled, not to make more money. This group is focused on work they are passionate about and quality of life in choosing how and when to work.
Millennial entrepreneurs are not tied down to a traditional office setting. Only 11 percent of millennials report working from an office, while 27 percent work from home. Twenty-seven percent use public spaces like coffee shops or libraries and 11 percent use coworking spaces.
And for those whose craft doesn’t require a desk at all? They reported working from dance studios, flower shops, tennis courts and swimming pools—teaching, coaching and making their products by hand.
“Photography is my passion. I can do whatever I want in my own space and I’m the one ultimately deciding my destiny,” Danielle Powell, a Thumbtack Pro photographer in Kansas City, Missouri, was quoted in a statement as saying. “Having my own company is very liberating. The sky’s the limit. And being self-employed, you don’t experience age discrimination or workplace politics.”
Puente led the survey of skilled professionals between the ages of 18 and 35 from across the US, operating across hundreds of categories, including as electricians, music teachers, wedding planners, wellness professionals and more.
The company said its survey asked about the policies of their states and cities toward small business, as well as what it’s like to start and run a small business in their community. Business Wire
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