Gen Z Will Start Their Own Businesses
As another class of the roughly 80 million Generation Z graduate from high school and college this year, new trends are emerging in how they may shape the future. Disillusioned by the recent college admission scandals and fully aware that elite colleges may not produce the return on investment once believed by the millennial generation, this group of young people will seek new opportunities. The concept of the sharing economy and shared work spaces like We Work has changed the way young people think about work and life. They want to create a vision, be a part of something bigger and control their life in a way that the "old school" Gen Xers and Baby Boomers didn't necessarily seek as a definition of success. Combined with the reality that for many businesses, they are in desperate need of local suppliers, the opportunities for Gen Z to build their own businesses and their own version of the American Dream is on the horizon. Amazon just recently announced that it would offer employees three months' pay and ten thousand dollars to start up a local delivery company. Uber was offering to help drivers buy cars. Manufacturing may need more local businesses to build, construct, repair and maintain critical components of their supply chain as trade wars loom on the horizon. Health care may need more temporary or contract workers. These are just a few examples of how big companies may help facilitate the next wave of entrepreneurship. This doesn't have to be the unicorn Uber business that is loaded with venture capital to survive, but real local businesses that make money for their owners and create local jobs - the American Dream 2.0.
For big companies, this means there is an opportunity to be a part of the entrepreneurship trend by supporting community programs, partnering with local economic development activities, partnering with universities and even creating franchises to fulfill important supply chain and vertical gaps. We will also likely see more women and minorities bucking the old system and old rules and looking for ways to build their own path by starting up businesses and creating a sustainable culture for the future.
Check out these articles about companies doing just this
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