Thinking of starting a new business? You might want to take note of some of these interesting stats and you’re likely to increase your odds of succeeding. Below are 5 startup facts you might not know!
1. Looking to be your own boss? You’re just like 26% of US business owners who started their own businesses because they want to work for themselves. 23% wanted to pursue a passion and build something from the ground up. (Source: Guidant Financial). Interestingly, Millennials and Gen Z’ers are 188 percent more interested in a “side hustle” type business, compared to Baby Boomers or traditionalists (SalesForce, 2019). They’re also the ones that wanted to pursue a passion.
2. Be prepared to work hard and not necessarily make as much as you did when someone else was the boss. 86.3% of US small-business owners take a salary of less than $100,000 and over 30% don’t take a salary at all! (Source: Fundera) They also work their butts off. 19% of small business owners work more than 60 hours a week with the vast majority working nights and/or weekends.
3. Covid has let others in on one of the things that is much more common among small business owners. About 50% of them always worked from home. (Source: Sba.gov) As we’ve all seen lately, with technology (and a comfortable chair), you can get a lot done from the comfort of your own home. According to the Canadian March 2020 Labour Force Survey, 47.9% of businesses reported that a portion of their workforce was teleworking or working remotely after Covid hit, more than twice the amount as reported the month before. Our guess is that number went up even more in the months since and many companies aren’t going back to a traditional office environment any time soon.
4. In today’s Black Lives Matters era, there is a significant increase in the number of small businesses owned by African Americans; in the period between 2017 and 2018, the number of African American owners jumped by over 400%. They aren’t alone – minorities own 45% of small businesses. (Source: Guidant Financial). If you search online, you can find Black-owned businesses to support in your region.
5. If you’re going to start a new business, be aware that about 50% of them fail; the biggest reason for failure is a lack of market demand. So don’t’ forget to test yor market by talking to your customers, before, during and after you launch! In the US, 42% of businesses fail because of this issue (CB Insights, 2019). Before you start, make sure that customers actually want what you’re offering. Business startups that have figured out what customer segment to serve, and that have gone to that segment early and often to ensure that they are actually solving an unmet market need with a product that is exponentially better (10 times faster, stronger, cheaper, lighter etc) are the startups that are going to succeed.
There is nothing more satisfying than starting to build a successful business. Hard work and customer-centric businesses are most likely to succeed. YOU can be one of those.
Learn more about how to start a startup:
12 Lessons learned from Elon Musk ›
Elisa has co-founded and successfully exited 2 small businesses, written business cases for Harvard Business School, and was part of the team that founded a prestigious Liberal Arts College overseas. She assists select NFP organizations with their messaging and strategy, and coaches women who are looking to become entrepreneurs. Elisa is passionate about entrepreneurship and its ability to empower individuals, particularly women.
