Millennial Business Owners Not Afraid To Take On Debt

1866A Wells Fargo study of small business owners showed that Millennials are in it for the long haul and unafraid to make calculated gambles when it comes to taking on debt.

The study, which included answers from one thousand small business owners, asked survey participants about why they started their businesses, as well as when and how they work. The focus on Millennials showed how young folks are adapting to business and moving forward as entrepreneurs and the future of the country. Millennials are generally defined as people ages 18-35, who came of age around the year 2000.

Not scared of a little debt, in service of the greater good

These young entrepreneurs are not afraid to get into debt in order to grow their businesses. Although 78% of older business owners are “extremely wary” of taking on debt, two-thirds of Millennials said they believe a little risk is necessary to get their business on track and growing the way they want to. Only half of older folks felt that way.

Personal debt is another area where Millennials aren’t afraid to take a risk. Forty-three percent of millennial small biz owners said they’ve taken on personal debt to finance their businesses. And three in ten said they had student debt on top of that, owing an average of $30,000.

Risk and long-term goals go hand-in-hand

People may believe that young folks aren’t looking at the long-term, but the Wells Fargo survey tells a different story. Eighty percent of Millennial small biz owners said they plan to grow their business over many years and even pass them down to children one day. Never mind that most of them (59%) do not even have children yet. Sixty-six percent of older folks, who are more likely to have kids already, plan to pass their businesses down to the younger generation.

Passion drives business owners

Fifty-nine percent of Millennials said they started their businesses out of passion for their field or service area. Only 51% of older small business owners said the same. However, older biz owners were more likely to say they were looking for a challenge and wanted to grow when they started their businesses. Only 43% of Millennials cited challenge and growth as a priority, compared with 55% of older folks.

The Wells Fargo Millennial Small Business Owner Study was conducted in March 2016 and included interviews with 500 Millennials and 500 people ages 36 and older, all of whom were small business owners.

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