Decline of entrepreneurs in America

Contrary to prophecies announcing the rise of freelancing, entrepreneurship in America (freelance economy stronghold) is in a long-term demise, and Millennials are the generation least likely to become entrepreneurs in a century:

“In 1981, 2 in 10 Americans worked for themselves in some capacity. The figure was half that before the 2008 financial crisis, and it’s continued to trend down since,“ explains Bloomberg in their data-based article It’s time to reclaim the meaning of the word ‘entrepreneur’.

“Entrepreneurship education should focus on a wider range of paths for starting a business, including small and midsize companies, multigenerational ownership, and even lifestyle businesses (those set up to support a founder’s living expenses and pursuits, without growing exponentially),” the author suggests.

Note also the charming explanation of the word itself: “290 years ago, when the French-Irish economist Richard Cantillon first defined an entrepreneur as anyone who worked for unfixed wages, he noted that the one thing that linked all entrepreneurs—from wealthy merchants to beggars—was the risk they shouldered as the price of independence.”

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