On Startups posted an article on surprising facts about entrepreneurs that I found very interesting. Some of those I had heard before and some were new to me.
Here are five facts I found most interesting:
- Entrepreneurs start their companies at the average age of 40. I’ve been reading so much about young and successful entrepreneurs that my image of the average entrepreneur got skewed. It may be that more young entrepreneurs are found online, but there are still other types of businesses that should be considered.
In spite of what some people may think, a formal education is still useful in the entrepreneurial/business world. More than 90% of those surveyed has a bachelor’s degree and almost half went to graduate school. The more you know, the better you can run your business without being too dependent on others. This doesn’t mean that you should DO everything yourself, but that’s another story.- Being super rich or poor is not necessarily driving people to become an entrepreneur. Looks like the majority is in between and better motivated to run their own business.
- For less than 5% the decision to become an entrepreneur was influenced by the fact that they could not find employment. I have certainly seen this with people I know, who prefer to be an employee. It made me realize that not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur.
- In general entrepreneurs are better educated than their parents. This makes a lot of sense because people are constantly trying to make things better by being innovative or using more technology.
Surprised? If you want to read the entire article, follow the link to 12 Facts About Entrepreneurs.
Photo source: River City CDC
