Majority of Young Americans Have the Entrepreneur's Bug, But Barriers to Starting a Business Remain High

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We already saw Millenials as an exceptionally entrepreneurial generation, but young Americans may be even more focused on starting their own businesses than we thought. Over half of Americans aged 18-34 either want to start a business or have already started one, according to a new Young Invincibles report.  However, the would-be entrepreneurs see several barriers in their way. Here's a look at what respondents to the Young Invincibles survey saw as the biggest barriers in their way:

Many would like the US Congress to clear a path for them.  65% of the Millenials surveyed want Congress to "prioritize making it easier to start a business."  83% want Congress to make it easier to get loans.  Given the struggles some in the generation are having with their student loans, this is a generation that understands debt.

Student loan forgiveness for young people who start businesses was also a popular fix to a common barrier, with 81 percent of survey respondents supportive of the idea. Young people of color are more likely to strongly support these suggestions. More young African Americans strongly support increasing access to credit and student loan relief (62 percent and 63 percent, respectively). The majority of young Latinos also strongly support these ideas (53 percent for both). Among all young people who have seen their debt increase, school loans (42 percent) make up the most common amount of increased debt. This is even more common among people under age 25 (54 percent have seen increased student loan debt).  Thirty-two percent of young Americans have more than $5,000 in personal debt, not including a mortgage, and 25 percent are very worried about being able to pay off their current debt.

Read the full report here.


Posted 11-14-2011 9:13 AM by Graham Griffith
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