According to the latest UBS Investor Watch research report from UBS Wealth Management USA, in spite of 58% of wealthy investors considering starting businesses, 77% of Millennials hesitate to become entrepreneurs viewing business startup as too risky. The quarterly report, titled, “Who’s the boss?”, pulled data from more than 2,245 investors, 1,085 of which are business owners. The report sought to assess “investors’ sentiment on business ownership”.
Recent tax reforms has been a boost to entrepreneurialism, according to the survey, with 73% agreeing that business ownership is now a more attractive prospect, with 49% believing that entrepreneurship is a highly prestigious career path.
In addition to 77% of Millennials feeling business ownership is too risky—much higher than other groups—83% also believe that owning a business is too stressful, compared to 64% of Boomers and Gen Xers. While Millennials have stronger views about the high risk of starting a business, they still show the greatest interest in doing so with 72% of them considering it.
Sameer Aurora, UBS Global Wealth Management’s Head of Client Strategy, talked about the reasoning behind this in a press release, saying that, “Many Millennials joined the workforce in a tough job market, whether it was during the dot.com bubble burst of 2000 or the Great Recession of 2008. These factors likely contribute to a more conservative outlook when it comes to business risk and can prompt many Millennials to seek job security in larger corporations as opposed to start-ups.”
Even within existing businesses planning to leave the business to family, 89% say their potential heirs lack interest, and 21% feel their families lack the qualifications. Even among those willing to pass the torch, 57% cite concerns about heirs taking the business in a different direction, or selling the business to someone outside the family.
