There is a new generation coming in the forefront of entrepreneurship. The generation born between 1977 and 1994 are well on their way to becoming the most entrepreneurial generation in history…why? The people born during that time were taking their baby steps when we were first entering the first true entrepreneurial decade. They watched and learned as their parents were restructuring from the life of Corporate living; they have the boom of technology growing with them. This was a time of great change.
There was a study done by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor that showed people from the ages of 18 to 24 years in the US are starting their own businesses at a rate faster than those between the ages of 35 to 44 years of age, and they are getting rich! College campuses are a fertile breeding ground for innovation and builders of new companies, inventors, leaders, they are growing in number daily.
Jeff Cornwall of the Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. said “Forty percent or more of students who come into our undergraduate entrepreneurship program as freshmen already have a business, It’s a whole new world.”
The up and coming stars that are on INC.’s “30 under 30” list for the year 2007 would also agree to the above statement. They state that there are a few high school startups, and even more in the college dorm rooms…business racking up revenue in the tens of millions, then there are others who are just starting to see success, nevertheless, they will see it.
You who are reading this blog, and people like me, are those to drive success. We are the future here, we are the “E” generation…there is no reason for sitting back and watching everyone else succeed. We are the generation that can really make a difference. YOU can make the difference. Talk to your friends, ask them what their plans are…most of them will say they want to start their own business.
There is one particular characteristic that defines the “E” generation, which was discovered in a recent survey by OPEN from American Express. They compared our E generation and the baby-boomer entrepreneurs. 59 % of the E generation business owners referred to themselves as serial entrepreneurs, as to only 33% of the baby boomers. Could this be the attitude about risk? Generation E is polled at 72% being risk takers, and actually enjoying taking risks, where the older generation show only 53% of being risk takers.
Some may say this is a pipe dream, but then that is where the risk comes in. In addition, it is also much easier for a 22 year old to start a business of their own, than someone who is in their 50’s, which has financial obligations such as a mortgage, college tuition for children, and caught in the life that they have always lived. I am not saying that if you are in your 50’s you can’t become an entrepreneur, I am saying the majority are the younger generation. There are many more than you would ever realize that are gaining great success in this venue, and you can do it too!
Stick around; you will continue to learn how to be one of the successful Generations “E”. I will help you get there.