Pandemic Is Turning Millions Into Entrepreneurs — Is It the Right Financial Move For You?
Written by
Josephine Nesbit
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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There’s been a record number of new businesses since the onset of the pandemic. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, there were 4.3 million new business applications in 2020 and 3.8 million so far this year.
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This trend isn’t a bubble, however; it’s simply a reflection of the times, Business Insider noted. Millions who were laid off or quit their unfulfilling jobs are now becoming solopreneurs, freelancers or full-time hustlers and taking charge of their careers and income potential. “Entrepreneurship goes in waves,” Jacqueline Kirtley, a Wharton management professor, explained to Business Insider. “There has been some concern that it had been dropping in the first decade of the millennium, but it was more flat than dropping.”
According to ZipRecruiter, annual salaries for self-employed individuals range widely, going as high as $273,000 and as low as $20,000. However, average salaries typically range between $41,000 and $89,000.
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Technology and online resources have made it possible to start a business from almost anywhere. Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows that the number of self-employed workers reached an eight-year high in July.
Additionally, Business Insider found that 35% of new businesses recorded by the Census Bureau in 2020 have a high propensity or a high likelihood of employing other people and a 50% chance of surviving their first five years of business.
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Cynthia Franklin, the director of entrepreneurship for the W.R. Berkley Innovation Labs at New York University, told Business Insider that lasting business success depends on finding the right market. “It still requires that you have a good idea, good market, and something you can deliver in a way that’s different and special.”
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Last updated: October 14, 2021
