12 Entrepreneur Statistics You Need To Know

Are you looking for a piece of trustworthy statistical information on entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurship has been a popular topic of interest for quite some time now.

Many ambitious and energetic youngsters have turned to entrepreneurship attempting to be their own bosses.

However, there’s one problem:

It’s hard to find sources that would cover all the most important stats and facts on entrepreneurs.

That’s why:

…I’ve pulled together some of the most interesting and relevant entrepreneur statistics, facts, and trends that you should know if you’re involved in this market.

Summary: Entrepreneurship Statistics

Here are the most important statistics on entrepreneurs you need to know:

Entrepreneur Statistics: Top Findings

Here are the main facts and stats we found about entrepreneurship in the world.

 1. How Many Entrepreneurs Are There in the World?

There are 582 million entrepreneurs in the world.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor surveyed 65 different global economies and determined that there are more than 582 million individuals who own or are starting a business.

This number reinforces the impact entrepreneurship has on economic growth and societal well-being.

This immense increase in entrepreneurs seems to have been facilitated by the availability of modern ways to start and run a business.

Entrepreneurs have significantly benefited from the improvement of education, communication and transportation infrastructure, social institutions, and relatively stable economies.

2. How Many Women Are Entrepreneurs in the World?

There are 274 million women entrepreneurs in the world.

Based on the countries in the GEM 2020 survey, an estimated 274 million women globally
are involved in business startups in addition to 139 million women owners/managers of
established businesses and 144 million women informal investors globally.

Representing one out of three business owners around the world, women business leaders are creating a tremendous impact in their markets, industries, and communities through innovation, job creation, and economic growth.

3. How Many Entrepreneurs Are There in The U.S.?

Currently, there are 31 million entrepreneurs in the U.S.

According to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, there are 31 million Americans who are starting or already running their own business.

Nearly 16% of the United States adult population are entrepreneurs.

The latest GEM report actually shows that one-third of entrepreneurs started their business with family, 11% of the adult population is active in the gig/sharing economy, and 8% of Americans are starting businesses for their employer.

4. How Many Women Are Entrepreneurs in the U.S.?

There were nearly 13 million women-owned businesses in the U.S.

Between 2014 and 2019, the number of women-owned businesses climbed 21% to a total of nearly 13 million (12,943,400).

Over the past five years, the annual growth rate in the number of women-owned firms has been more than doubled that of all businesses.

5. How Much Does The Average Entrepreneur Earn?

The average entrepreneur makes around $61,000 per year.

According to entrepreneur statistics of the American Census Bureau, the average entrepreneur makes around $61,000 per year.

Furthermore, income differs amongst various groups and ethnicities.

A non-entrepreneurial white individual, on the other hand, makes roughly $50,000 per year.

6. How Many Billionaires Are Self-Made?

62% of U.S. billionaires are self-made.

Wealth X and WSJ custom studios set out to crunch the numbers for us and give us a detailed report on the number of self-made billionaires in the US.

The US alone has about 585 Dollar Billionaires.

About 62% of these billionaires are solely safe-made – having built their wealth from the ground up.

Again, about 20% of US billionaires became rich through inheritances, while 18% made it to the list by combining both inheritances and individual efforts.

7. What Is the Average Age of Successful Entrepreneurs?

60% of people who start small businesses are between the ages of 40 and 60.

Guidant Financial resolved to take a closer look at the age range among entrepreneurs and other small business owners.

According to their findings, the age range for entrepreneurs is quite broad, starting from millennials, to Generation X, to Boomers, and finally to the Silent generation.

Millennial business owners operated 12% of all businesses, while generation X held a substantial 44% stake in the business share.

Boomers owned 41% while the silent generation commanded only a 2% stake.

Entrepreneurship has become open to people of all age groups with enough desire to push forward.

In the MIT study in 2018, it was found that the average age of startup founders is about 42.

In the same light, the mean age of entrepreneurs who founded exceptionally high-growth companies was found to be 45.

8. Who Starts the Most Successful Businesses?

Studies show middle-aged men start the most successful businesses.

In an analysis conducted by Harvard Business Review, TechCrunch award winners over the last decade had an average age of 31 at the time of the founding.

Similarly, the average age of Inc. Magazine nominees for founders of the fastest-growing companies in 2015 was 29. Harvard Business Review attempted to look a little deeper and come up with a more relatable finding for the entire business world.

After analyzing all business founders in the US, 40 with significantly wider variations depending on the industry.

9. What’s the Biggest Motivation for Starting a Business?

26% of entrepreneurs say their biggest motivation for starting their own business was the idea of being their own boss.

Entrepreneurs across the globe are motivated by different reasons to venture into business.

26% of entrepreneurs are fascinated by the idea of being their own boss, achieving unlimited success, the chance and opportunity to grow and develop, among others.

With the endless reasons for starting a business, most entrepreneurs seem to be primarily driven by the desire to be free and become their own boss.

More than 50% of new business owners shared this opinion according to the research by Cox Business.

The research also points out that most of these entrepreneurs like the idea of building a business from the ground up.

Shockingly, money isn’t a significant reason for starting a small business, according to the research respondents.

An astonishing 8% of the respondents admitted that getting more money was their primary motivation for starting a business.

10. What Percentage of Business Owners Have a Degree?

95% of entrepreneurs have at least a bachelor’s degree.

Although most notable entrepreneurs with billions of dollars in net worth have a history of dropping out of college, many entrepreneurs have pushed through with college education to the end.

About 95% of entrepreneurs have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher.

College education appears to be an excellent recipe for most entrepreneurs.

However, this bachelor’s degree doesn’t have to be in business.

In essence, only about 9% of entrepreneurs hold a Bachelor’s degree in business.

11. How Many Businesses Survive the First Year?

80% of small businesses survive the first year.

A 2014 to 2015 report mentioned that about 80% of business establishments made it through the first year of launching, the highest survival rate ever recorded since 2005.

Similarly, approximately only 50% of these businesses withstood the test for five years – which was also an improvement from the 45.4% average survival rate in the past decade.

Unfortunately, the percentages keep going further down the drain, with only a third of businesses being able to sustain themselves for a decade or longer.

So, depending on the duration, the success rate of entrepreneurs varies significantly.

If we consider ten years of survival, just slightly over a third of new businesses, make it this far.

12. Where Do Most Entrepreneurs Start Their Businesses?

69% of American entrepreneurs start their business at home.

More than half of this number still proceeds to operate from home even when these businesses are off the ground and running.

While it’s natural to think that these business owners may probably have one co-founder or operate solely, only a fourth of these numbers had no employees.

Another interesting statistic is that 82% of the startup funds came from the entrepreneurs themselves or from either friends or family.

This translates to 1 out of 1,000 entrepreneurs receiving funding from venture capitalists.

References:

• The 582 million entrepreneurs in the world are not created equal
• Global Entrepreneurship monitor research highlights significant increase in growth-orientated women entrepreneurs worldwide
• Millions Are Entrepreneurs in the United States
• The 2019 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report
• Data Profiles | American Community Survey | U.S. Census Bureau
• American Billionaires: How They Make And Spend Their Money
• 2020 Small Business Trends
• Research: The Average Age of a Successful Startup Founder Is 45
• Cox Business Survey Reveals what’s on the minds of small businesses
• Self-Employment Report by Freshbook
• 69 Percent of U.S. Entrepreneurs Start Their Businesses at Home