Change Or Control? Here’s What Drives People To Become Entrepreneurs

• With the uptick in remote working possibilities, more and more people will come to the realization that becoming your own boss is very plausible.  
• Cox Business found that more than half of small business owners start their own businesses to be their own boss.  
• In a Q&A with Kathryn Petralia, co-founder of Kabbage, an American Express Company, she explained why so many more people are deciding to start their own business.

Entrepreneurship is quite different from traditional employment, which is why it’s becoming attractive to an increasing number of workers. Still, entrepreneurship is a gutsy career path that takes determination, hard work, and serious confidence. 

As a traditional worker, you don’t always have a choice in where you live, when you start and finish your workday, and how much or little you earn. It’s no wonder that so many people are interested in the idea of entrepreneurship. 

As an entrepreneur, you have complete control over the nature of your work and life, including your hours, income, and goals. You are your own boss, and there’s an absence of higher-ups supervising you as well as telling you what you can and cannot do.  

A post on the subreddit r/Entrepreneur explained this exact sentiment, in which the author said: “I thought I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I actually just want to design and build awesome stuff without someone looking over my shoulder.” 

16% of the adult workforce are entrepreneurs 

Not everyone is content with their work life involving a manager and boss dictating to them what needs to be done, and that’s okay.  

Perhaps with the uptick in remote working possibilities, more and more people will come to the realization that becoming your own boss is very plausible.  

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, there are 31 million entrepreneurs in the U.S., which is about 16% of the adult workforce.  

With the emergence of online retail stores and social media, online businesses are flourishing. According to the Kauffman Index of Startup Activity, over 550,000 Americans launch new businesses every month.  

Cox Business found that more than half of small business owners start their own businesses to be their own boss. They were also motivated by the idea of creating something from the ground up. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they had started their own business for one of those two reasons.  

In a Q&A with Kathryn Petralia, co-founder of Kabbage, an American Express Company, she explained why so many more people are deciding to start their own business. 

Allwork.Space: What’s driving more and more people to try to become entrepreneurs?  

Petralia: In our most recent Small Business Recovery Report, 76% of respondents who had started their business in the past twelve months said they did so for two reasons.  

One, they were no longer satisfied working for another person or company and wanted to be in more control of their schedule and career. Two, they had dreamed of starting it for a while and the pandemic compelled them to make the change.  

Most entrepreneurs are pursuing a dream and looking to achieve independence in their careers. The pandemic provided people the opportunity to reflect on their next steps in life and finally take the leap of starting a small business. 

Allwork.Space: Do people actually want to be entrepreneurs? Or do they just not want to have a boss?  

There are many reasons people are drawn to entrepreneurship. They like the idea of building something they are passionate about; the autonomy is enticing. Entrepreneurs are also seeking change, which was particularly illustrated in our report that showed 77% of entrepreneurs who started a business in the past 12 months completely changed industries.  

Allwork.Space: Has the pandemic had an effect on the rise in entrepreneurship?  

Whenever there are significant events on a global scale, it’s often a time of reflection and recalibration. There were 5.4 million new small businesses in 2021, a 53% jump from pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to census data.   

In January of this year alone there were an incredible 420,000 applications. People are rethinking their careers and deciding to take the plunge into owning and running their own business. Stimulus checks and two years of saving while quarantining may also have been a catalyst in the uptick of new business starts. 

Who do people want to become entrepreneurs?

Firstly, not everyone is cut out for a 9-5. The repetitive and routine nature of working on a set schedule can sometimes stifle passion for creativity and innovation.  

Some people feel like they’re simply doing what society expects of them by working a corporate day job, although this is not always the case (and it’s perfectly fine to be content with that).  

Workers who decide to become entrepreneurs feel that it’s through starting their own business that they get to freely express their creative ideas and fulfill their dreams. 

Perhaps these aspiring entrepreneurs decide to create their own business because they were inspired by other famous entrepreneurs, such as Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Estée Lauder, or Rihanna.  

A lesser-known reason for the rise in entrepreneurship is due to public dissatisfaction with corporate America. The number of people wanting to start their own business because of their dissatisfaction with corporate America grew 27% in 2020, according to Guidant Financial.  

Most commonly, workers decide to become entrepreneurs because they want to be in charge of themselves. According to Guidant Financial’s 2022 Small Business Trends report, business owners primarily went into business because they were ready to be their own boss (60.87%). 

A large number of business owners were motivated by the opportunity to pursue their passion (31.00%), and a significant number stated they went into business either because an opportunity presented itself (21.36%) or because they were newly unemployed (23.44%).