Entrepreneurial Statistics: Everything About Entrepreneurship In 2023

 
Entrepreneurs are unique. They work hard and are dedicated to their goals. They are determined to achieve their goals. Let’s face it: Entrepreneurship is not without its challenges. The entrepreneurial journey is not without its challenges. You will experience the following:
  • Mental battles
  • Communication problems
  • Leadership obstacles, etc…
Particularly if they are starting on their own. These entrepreneurial statistics give you an overview of what the landscape looks like for entrepreneurs today.

Entrepreneurial Statistics Overview

In the last 15 years, global entrepreneurship has boomed. The pursuit of entrepreneurship has become almost a trendy trend. It is because of many things, such as how easy it can be to start a business.

Worldwide Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs around the world are motivated by the opportunity to build a business based on a passion. Around the world, there are 582 million entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are always looking for new ways to improve a niche or change an industry completely.

Entrepreneurs in the United States

In the United States alone, there are over 31 million entrepreneurs. This is:
  • 9.29% of all population
  • 18,86% of US workers
This is a lot for one country! The next five years are expected to see a significant increase in this area.

Self-Employed Entrepreneurs

The dream of working in a top-level corporate role is now a thing of the past. 97% of self-employed professionals claim they will never return to ” traditional employment.” It is hard to resist the lifestyle that you can have as an entrepreneur, especially if you are your boss.

Corporate To Entrepreneurship

Most entrepreneurs have worked in corporate environments before becoming entrepreneurs. In reality, 58% of entrepreneurs had a corporate position before they started their own business.

Start A Business

There are two ways to start a business.
  1. Franchises or existing businesses can be purchased.
  2. Create your own business from scratch.
Both options have their pros and cons. You can inherit an already-established business with everything you need for success. However, 83.1% started their small business from scratch. It is often the most popular choice, even though it may be more risky.

Family Run Business

About one-fifth of entrepreneurs manage or own a business together with family members. Families still run businesses. Many parents want to pass on the company that they have built to their children and so forth.

What Motivates People To Be Entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurs have many reasons for starting their businesses. You can create a small business for a variety of reasons, from lifestyle choices to just being naturally interested. The top three reasons why people today become entrepreneurs.

They are their boss

Who doesn’t like to be in control? 55% of entrepreneurs cite the desire to be their boss as the main reason for starting a business. Entrepreneurs want to have the final say in their work.

Follow their passions

If you are not enjoying your job, you should quit. The freedom to choose is important for many entrepreneurs who are just starting. 39% of entrepreneurs claim that they started their business because they wanted a way to follow their passions.

Take Advantage of an Opportunity

Opportunity is key to a successful business. Twenty-five percent of entrepreneurs claim that they jumped because an opportunity presented itself. Entrepreneurs must have the courage to seize opportunities when they arise.

Other Reasons

Other circumstances beyond their control can force entrepreneurs into starting their businesses.
  • 25% of entrepreneurs want to escape the corporate world.
  • After being laid off, 11% of people started their businesses.
In the US, there has been an increase in people who dislike working for corporate America. In 10% of cases, entrepreneurs started their businesses because they weren’t yet ready to retire. In 4% of cases, they were motivated by life events. There are many reasons why entrepreneurs set up their business. What you should know about All entrepreneurs have something that drives them.

What qualifications do entrepreneurs have?

Who can be an entrepreneur? You’ll learn that you can be an entrepreneur by looking at the next set of statistics. Let me let you in on something – You don’t have to get a fancy degree from an expensive business school.

High School and College Degrees

30 % of entrepreneurs have only a degree from high school. This means that almost 1/3 of entrepreneurs have never attended college. If you’re not a college graduate, then you’re certainly not the only one in the world of entrepreneurship.

Master’s Degree

Only 18% of entrepreneurs who own small businesses have a master’s. Higher education qualifications in the world of entrepreneurship are losing their value. The cost of a master’s degree is high, and it does not correlate with success. The real key to success is experience, perseverance, and commitment.

Doctorate (PhD).

Doctorate degrees are very rare among entrepreneurs. It is likely that:
  • Spending
  • Time is a factor.
The amount of money required to get one, and the value that they offer an entrepreneur. Only 4% of entrepreneurs hold a doctorate.

Business degrees are available.

Would it make sense to those entrepreneurs with a bachelor’s degree who choose entrepreneurship? This is not true. Only 9% have a bachelor’s degree in business.

What Are the Most Popular Careers for Entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurs can be found in every industry. These next statistics on entrepreneurship highlight the most popular industries.

1 – Construction

Construction has become a popular business for entrepreneurs. Construction creates many different opportunities and jobs. Construction is the industry where 19.6% of independent professionals are employed. This is almost twice as popular as the second most popular industry.

2 – Retail

The retail industry is ranked second. Retail is the workplace of 10.9% of self-employed professionals. It can range from retail consulting to owning your retail store.

3 – Real Estate

Closely behind, in third place, is real Estate. Real Estate is the industry in which 10.7% of independent professionals are employed. Entrepreneurs seem to be a good fit for the real estate industry.

What Are the Best countries for entrepreneurs?

There’s no secret about the fact that some countries inspire more entrepreneurship than others. How can you measure the entrepreneurial spirit in different countries and regions? The Global Entrepreneurship Index. The GEI measures the health of entrepreneurship ecosystems across 137 countries. Simply put – it ranks each country and determines the best countries for entrepreneurs. Each country is assigned a GEI Score between 0 – 100. The higher the score, the better it is to be an entrepreneur. The Global Entrepreneurship Index ranks the top 5 countries in the world for entrepreneurs.

United States of America

The US is known for its continuous innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. It’s no surprise that they are at the top. The US is the best country for entrepreneurs in the world, with a GEI score of 83.6.

Switzerland

Switzerland may not have been the obvious number 2. It has a GEI score of 80,4, making it the second-best country in the entire world for entrepreneurs. Recent years have seen a significant increase in the number of small businesses in Switzerland. The country has a robust economy and an excellent infrastructure, which provides many opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Canada

Canada is ranked third with a GEI score of 79.2. The Canadian government has a strong focus on small businesses and offers entrepreneurship visas as a way for non-citizens to enter the country. This is a great way to attract entrepreneurs with talent from abroad.

The United Kingdom

We Brits can make money from anything. The UK is comfortably ranked fourth with a GEI score of 77.8. The UK is a country with a highly skilled workforce, and it has favorable business laws that promote innovation and startups.

Australia

Australia has a GEI of 75.5. The general Australian population is very skilled, and past governments have provided very favorable small business regulations. Australia also has a very strong economy for business owners to operate in.

How Do Entrepreneurs Finance Their Small Business?

Regardless of what business you start, you will need some capital to finance it. Thankfully, the amount of technology available today means you can begin businesses with a relatively small investment. Here are some small business statistics on how they are generally financed.

Their Cash

39% of business owners use their cash to start their small businesses. This is the most popular way for entrepreneurs to fund their new startups.

Retirement Money

The second most popular way for entrepreneurs to fund their new businesses is with saved retirement money. 20% of entrepreneurs use some or all of their retirement funds to start a business.

Friends & Family

10% of entrepreneurs ask friends and family for startup capital. Friends and family are the go-to if you don’t have the money or require a bigger investment.

Loans & Credit

24% of small business owners and entrepreneurs rely on business loans and credit. Most of these loans come from traditional banks, private small business lenders, and family and friends.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter have been growing in popularity. However, just 1% of entrepreneurs use crowdfunding as a way to generate initial startup capital for their business. Crowdfunding is typically more successful for businesses that bring entirely new and innovative ideas to market.

What Are The Chances Of Success & Failure For Small Businesses?

Business can be risky. Especially when you are just getting started. 2 out of 3 business owners said their first year in business was the most difficult. So, if you are planning to put it all on the line to start your own business, pay attention to these success and failure entrepreneurial statistics.

After 1 Year

80% of small businesses are still in operation after one year. That means that only 20% of small businesses fail within their first year. The statistics look good for the average first-year small business owner.

After 5 Years

But what about after five years? Only half (50%) of the small businesses are estimated to survive 5+ years. You can interpret this by saying the average business has a 1 in 2 chance of making it past the 5-year mark.

Historical Small Business Failure

The good news is that small businesses are far more likely to be successful today than they were 50 years ago. Small Business failure has declined by over 30% since 1977. With new technology and cost-efficient ways to do business today, you have a lot more tools and resources around you to help you succeed.

What Are The Main Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail?

Small business owners face a lot of challenges – particularly when they are just getting started. Here are the three reasons most small businesses and entrepreneurs fail.

Reason #1 – No Market Need

Entrepreneurs are notorious for getting over-excited about their ideas. Often too excited… 42% of small businesses fail because they don’t have a market for their products or services. If there is no want for your idea from your target audience… : No one will buy. It might seem too obvious to be true, but this is the number 1 reason small businesses fail. Market research can easily be an afterthought, but it’s important to put it first and make sure people actually want what you are selling.

Reason #2 – Lack Of Funds

If Rome couldn’t be built in a day – businesses can’t either. Most businesses don’t make money from day one, and it can take months to years before they see any real profit. That’s what makes getting enough funding and staying on top of your business’s finances so important. 29% of businesses fail because of the lack of funds. This has been the main issue during COVID-19.

Reason #3 – Employees Issues

23% of businesses fail because of the lack of chemistry and teamwork between employees. Hiring the right team members and setting up a business culture they can get behind is a great way to increase your success in business. Otherwise, a bad team culture could lead to failure.

What Are The Biggest Challenges For Entrepreneurs?

One of the biggest things that entrepreneurs do is solve problems for their market with the products or services they offer. But when it comes to running the business itself, these are the three big challenges that entrepreneurs face.

1 – Finding Staff

Having skilled employees who enjoy their work is an essential part of scaling and growing your business. 27% of entrepreneurs say finding talented Staff and contractors is their biggest challenge.

2 – Acquiring New Customers

For 23% of entrepreneurs, acquiring new customers is their biggest challenge. Marketing and sales are skills that not all entrepreneurs have. But they are essential for running a thriving business and growing revenue.

3 – Finding Money To Invest In Their Company

A lot of entrepreneurs have great ideas. But to get those ideas off the ground, you need funding. 22% of entrepreneurs struggle to find financing for their companies and ideas.

What Do The Demographic Statistics Say About Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners?

One of the great things about entrepreneurship is the diversity of business owners all over the world. Regardless of where you come from or how old you are, anyone can be an entrepreneur.

Age Breakdown Of New Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs seem to be getting younger and younger. But that isn’t necessarily the case. Here are the entrepreneur statistics on age: AgeStarted Business 2019/2020 (%) 18 to 24 16% 25 to 34 22% 35 to 44 22% 45 to 54 13% 55 to 64 13% 65 to 74 6% This is an age breakdown of the percentage of Americans who started a business in 2019 and 2020. The 18 to 24 age bracket is the third biggest for US entrepreneurs starting new businesses. The most popular age to start a business in the US is between 25 and 44. A total of 44% of all companies formed in 2019/2020 were in this age group. Interestingly enough – younger people are more likely to start a business from scratch, while older people are more likely to buy an established business instead. Just 6% of Americans who started a business in 2019/2020 were in the 65 to 74 age group.

Men In Entrepreneurship

In the US, there are more male entrepreneurs than female entrepreneurs. For every ten male entrepreneurs, there are just seven female entrepreneurs. What’s more? Studies show that middle-aged men who start businesses are most likely to be successful. Of high-performing startups in the top 0.1% in terms of growth in the first five years, the average entrepreneur started their company when they were 45 years old. Most successful business owners usually start their businesses later in life. A 50-year-old male startup founder is 2.8 times more likely to have a successful startup than a 25-year-old male founder. : The more experience small business owners have before starting their businesses, the more likely they will be successful.

Women In Entrepreneurship

Women-owned businesses have been growing significantly over the last ten years. Globally, there are 252 million women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs today. As of 2019, there were 13 million women-owned businesses in the US alone. And over 5.5 million of those 13 million businesses are owned by women from minority groups… …That’s almost 50%! In the US, African-American women make up 19% of the total number of women-owned businesses. Latinas own 15%, and Asian-American women own 9%. Impressive! Clearly, minority women in entrepreneurship in the US are not only growing but are also very successful. 16.6% of adult women under the age of 65 in the US started a new business in 2019. This is compared directly with 18.3% of men in the US within the same age group. Female entrepreneurship is growing just as strongly as male entrepreneurship. The most popular industry for women-owned small businesses is retail. The earnings gap between men and women entrepreneurs in the US is still significant. On average, female entrepreneurs earn 28% less than male entrepreneurs.

Minorities In Entrepreneurship

Let’s take a look at some minority entrepreneurship statistics. Currently, there are over 8 million minority-owned small businesses in the United States:
  • 64% of all entrepreneurs in the US are white males and females.
  • 14% of entrepreneurs are African Americans.
  • 8% of entrepreneurs are Latino or Hispanic.
Asian-American entrepreneurs run about 10% of all US businesses. The US entrepreneurship landscape is diverse, with men and women from many different backgrounds starting and running successful businesses. No wonder it’s the #1 country for people to be entrepreneurs!

Wrapping It Up

If there is one thing that all these entrepreneurship statistics tell you, it’s that… Anyone can do it! Regardless of your background, upbringing, and current circumstances – You can do it. But that doesn’t mean it will be an easy road to success. You will have to deal with:
  • Mistakes
  • Obstacles
  • Failures
  • Challenges
  • Difficulties
Every entrepreneur faces problems that force them to adapt. But that’s what makes a great entrepreneur. They work through each situation, solve the problems as they come, and get back up again.