Millennials Defying the Odds and Taking Over the Entrepreneurial Industry.
Two years ago, I delved into the personal development realm and was blown away by how much knowledge I had acquired, knowledge about building wealth and financial freedom that is not typically taught in schools. My mindset has evolved in a way which helped in transcending my limitations, making me more self-aware and focused. As a result of this growth, my interest was piqued even more when I came to the realization that so many young people were starting their own businesses. My curiosity grew even more as I wanted to know what happened why such an outcome was brought about in the lives of so many young people. Why are so many millennials leaving their corporate jobs to become entrepreneurs? What has changed over the years to have led to more people feeling the need to be their own boss? As the years progressed, more people of color as well as females are becoming entrepreneurs. The younger generation is motivated by their passion, the idea of financial stability, having their fair share of seeing their parents experience financial hardship and job losses, not to mention some that had to grow up in the great recession. The vast growth of millennials in the entrepreneurial industry could have stem from the younger generation just being tired of not being able to have financial freedom merely working for someone else as in many cases most of the money made goes to higher ups in companies such as the CEO and other executives. Additionally, it could also be a result of being uninterested in the traditional way of making money in the sense that they have been able to derive a simpler way to actually make money while doing that which they are passionate about without having to trade time for money or even having to punch a clock.
According to Melissa Schneider, VP of Global Marketing Operations and Product Marketing at GoDaddy, a survey was done and 3000 Americans were observed with 1000 being millennials (born between 1981 – 1996), 1000 being the baby boomers (born between 1946 -1964) and 1000 being Gen Xers (born between 1965 – 1980). The result from this study showed that not only is entrepreneurship on the rise, but also that millennials are the ones leading in comparison to the older generation. One of the reasons for the millennials leading in the pack of entrepreneurship is a result of them being more risk takers and just stepping out in faith. The older generation are more cautious and conservative when it comes on to risk taking and entrepreneurship. Consequently, statistics shows that 84 percent of millennials are more satisfied being entrepreneurs than working for someone else, 74 percent of baby boomers said they are uninterested in the idea of starting a small business while less than 12 percent of Gen Xers have searched for a community of other entrepreneurs. “As many as 38 percent of millennials attribute growing up during the Great Recession to making them more resourceful and primed for entrepreneurship, acting as the catalyst that sparked their entrepreneurial ventures.” (Melissa Schneider).  Melissa also made reference to technology playing an integral part for the growth in businesses, since millennials are usually very tech savvy and grew up with technology as a constant tool at their fingertips. As a result, newly innovative websites and marketing platforms such as Facebook and Instagram make it so much easier for them to market and grow their businesses exponentially. For millennials, entrepreneurship is a lifestyle rather than just being a career as they are able to turn their passion in areas like art, music, makeup, food and entertainment into a lucrative business for themselves.
Melissa Schneider is a resident trend expert at GoDaddy, one of the world’s largest and trusted domain registrar companies. She holds a Bachelor of Political Science degree from The Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree in business administration from The MIT Sloan School of Management. The purpose of the article as well as this particular entity is to empower, and guide entrepreneurs, providing them the tools to start their own businesses and as such turning their side hustles into full time income. The use of expository writing as well as the rhetorical style cause and effects were used to write the article as more evidence such as statistics were used in bringing the information across rather than the use of the writer’s opinion. I believe the writer is credible not only because of her educational background, but also because of the prestigious organization in which she writes for, as well as the research done to provide factual evidence.  I believe Melissa chose this genre because she is extremely knowledgeable in the area. Her keen interest and understanding of customer’s desire and needs makes this genre a great choice for the intended audience.
Daniel Alley, an international business expert and a self-made multimillionaire spoke about his personal experiences and gave several insights as to why he decided to become an entrepreneur. As early as the age of 21, he had already gone through forty jobs because he hated the idea of having a boss over his shoulder, as well as being told what to do. He mentioned challenging his bosses when he knew there were better ways to do certain tasks and they were not pleased with that, so as a result he was a frequent job-hopper. He knew he had the strength, potential and knowledge of doing better as well as handling more responsibilities than the persons he had to answer to. Consequently, he knew he no longer needed a boss because he could become his own boss and as such he did. Another reason Daniel mentioned for stepping out into the entrepreneurial industry was a result of wanting to create a legacy. Working a typical job could not provide the type of money, time and energy he needed to focus on his craft and build a legacy for himself. He believed he needed to explore his options in a way which would create some kind of product or services that would serve millions of people. Being an employee limits you in a way where you do not have the freedom of controlling your own schedule nor your time. In most cases you have to ask your boss for a break, lunch, time off and you are only able to leave on their terms, rather than your own.
Some people frown upon the idea of hearing others say they want more money as it is often said that money is the root of all evil. The talk of money is usually a taboo subject and as such many people avoid talking about it. For Daniel Alley, money was the seventh factor for wanting to become an entrepreneur. He wanted the opportunity of having unlimited income that he knew he would not be able to obtain from working from an employer. He views money as a good thing, a tool or factor to get you exactly where you want to be in life but also provides you the opportunity of giving back to society.
Daniel Alley is a master business coach, a keynote speaker, a world-renowned strategist, a popular youtuber and a three-time best-selling author. He was able to become a self-made millionaire at the age of 24 which was three years after embarking on his entrepreneurial journey. I believe his success story, his experience in wealth building as well as the multiple businesses he was able to build makes him a credible source for the genre. Additionally, he was featured on several popular magazines such as Time, Fortune and Success. The purpose of the video was to share his reasons for becoming an entrepreneur as well as providing encouragement for others wanting to do the same. I believe Daniel’s use of upbeat tone, as well as how he organized his speech had a certain effect which would lure viewers into becoming more intrigued with what is being said. The video was short and to the point rather than being too drawn out and off topic. This is something audiences usually appreciate and I believe it was effective.
Jason Albanese wrote an article for Inc Magazine, questioning whether or not millennials are the new entrepreneurs. He mentioned 61% of millennials believed that having their own business would provide more job security than that of working for someone else. According to data from Oxford University, 15% of students that are about to enter the university expressed interest in becoming entrepreneurs in October of 2016 however, that number increased by 19% the following year. On the contrary, it is stated that in spite of millennials expressing interest in entrepreneurship, data shows that they are less likely to start their own businesses compared to previous generations. According to Jason, data was taken from the United States Small Business Administration which showed that less than 4% of 30-year-olds were self-employed full-time while 5.4% of Generation X-ers and 6.7% Baby Boomers of the same age were already fully self employed and as such indicating a reduction of entrepreneurship within millennials by 65% since 1980. Jason made reference to a lack of finances as well as experience being the primary factors as to why more millennials aspiring to become entrepreneurs aren’t making it happen. However, I believe a lot has changed since Jason wrote this article back in 2018 as more millennials are becoming business owners when compared to other generations, especially since many had to find other sources of income after millions had lost their jobs as a result of Covid19.
In spite of the previously stated data, millennial entrepreneurs who are actually starting their businesses are doing so in a way which supersedes the entrepreneurs who were before them. According to a report from BNP Paribas, entrepreneurs between the ages of 20 and 35 had doubled the number of businesses they founded compared to those over the age of 50.
Jason Albanese, a CEO and co-founder of an intelligence and digital company called Centric Digital which is considered as one of the fastest-growing companies in the City of New York, as well as one of the fastest-growing Inc. 500 companies in America. Jason’s background as well as his experience and success in building his business makes him a credible source for the genre being discussed. Additionally, his use of statistics such as the research done and the sources, he provided also makes him a credible candidate. The purpose of this newsletter as well as the Inc Magazine was to provide advice as well as information which will help entrepreneurs in building their businesses. I believe the mission of the writer, as well as the website as it pertains to entrepreneurship and businesses makes the genre a suitable choice for the intended audience.
I found the statistics in Jason Albanese’s newsletter a bit more surprising in comparison to the other two sources as I expected a higher number of millennial entrepreneurs to have been building varies businesses even back in 2018 compared to that of other generations. I have seen so many young people build businesses from starting Blogs, YouTube Channels, Instagram and Facebook, as well as the use of other platforms and as such I was appalled at the number especially because of the way technology had increased over the past five years, making the process so much easier. I do agree that Generation X-ers and Baby Boomers have more experiences when it comes on to building businesses, however I believe that the younger generation have utilized technology in a fashion which has resulted in exponential growth of online business. As stated by Melissa Schneider, technology plays an integral part for the growth in businesses for millennials as they are usually very tech savvy and grew up with technology as a constant tool at their fingertips.
All three sources contributed in answering my research question. I believe the data provided from both Melissa Schneider and Daniel Alley confirmed the hypothesis stated in the introductory part of the essay. From my research, I learnt that the Generation X-ers and the Baby Boomers were the ones to pass on the torch to millennials as a lot of the knowledge they possess today in the entrepreneurial industry came from the older generation.
