Given all the media coverage and attention, you would think that entrepreneurship is booming. But that’s not the case. Far from it. Millennials and gen Z are the least entrepreneurial generations in history and things are continuing to get worse. 

Understanding why this is the case is challenging. There are all sorts of hypotheses. The most mundane is economic. Analysts argue that we’re now long past peak innovation so it’s hard for entrepreneurs to come up with anything new. Humanity has picked all the low-hanging technological fruits and there simply isn’t much left. It’s not like someone in their young twenties can invent a completely new product in their garage anymore. 

Then there are capital issues. Some analysts blame venture capitalists for the current issues. Instead of forcing entrepreneurs to learn the ropes themselves, there are eager capital owners spoon-feeding them everything they need to succeed. There’s no real character-building going on anymore. Becoming an entrepreneur feels to many like getting a regular job. 

There are other issues, too. Big companies have such a data advantage that it’s almost impossible for smaller businesses to compete. Network monopolies are making the problem even worse. Facebook, Google, and Amazon probably aren’t going anywhere, even though entrepreneurs could quite easily develop alternatives. 

For thinking people, the question is: “what can be done to reverse this trend?” The economy desperately needs entrepreneurs and people with a vision to thrive. Without them, the whole capitalist edifice falls apart and progress grinds to a halt.

In this post, we take a look at some strategies that might increase entrepreneurship rates and encourage more people, particularly the younger generation, to give it a go.

Stop Exalting It

First, we need to stop exalting entrepreneurship and focusing on the handful of mega-billionaires who made monopolistic companies. It’s great that people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos exist, but they are not the norm.

Our culture needs to shift how it sees entrepreneurs. They aren’t “titans of industry” or “the real-life Iron Man.” Instead, they are the millions of regular people all over the country who started offering services to their local communities. Being an entrepreneur does mean you have to be rich or start a company that turns over billions of dollars. Any economically viable contribution is worthwhile. 

Stop Praising Success

Our society is obsessed with success. People spend their entire lives chasing after it, hoping that it will come their way. But this approach is a little strange. And it has a dark side: failure. As much as society loves success, it hates people who fail to “make it.” 

The trick here is to avoid labeling success and failure. While it’s great when an entrepreneur makes money, that isn’t fundamentally what’s motivating them. What gets them out of bed in the morning is the prospect of contributing in some way to the society around them. They want to provide their customers with the best possible services, and that’s how the world gets better. 

Success and failure matter in a practice sense. But in an emotional sense, we want entrepreneurs who feel largely indifferent. The ideal person is just someone who is pursuing a particular idea and seeing whether the universe will yield to it. 

Make Company Formations Easier

Setting up a company shouldn’t be difficult. High schoolers should be able to start and get on with their ideas immediately. Already we’re seeing industry players getting involved. The 1st Formations Business Scholarship, for instance, is a good example of this in action. It’s all about making it easier for entrepreneurs to learn about the process and get started. The main challenge of entrepreneurship should be the people and product sides of the operation, not the basic legal stuff. 

Teach The Fundamentals Of Success

Schools teach technical and academic subjects, but they don’t focus a great deal on the fundamentals of success: the things that really matter long term. And that’s a pity. Students never really get a taste of what they need to do to progress to the higher tiers of society and make a massive impact. 

In essence, entrepreneurship is all about providing value to people. However, this point rarely gets mentioned in mainstream education. And that leads to a more entitled mentality that actually works against future economic success. 

The fundamentals of success are primarily character-driven. They reflect a person’s conscientiousness and ability to knuckle down and work hard. 

It also reflects an individual’s ability to market themselves and develop a personal brand. Young people should have space to test their ideas and build a persona around themselves, but without arrogance. 

Stop Micromanaging

Children live controlled regimented lives. And while that might be great for producing a compliant workforce, it doesn’t help innovation. People who simply do what society tells them do not to think for themselves or create anything new. Instead, they stick to the same unconscious patterns they learned as children, never really progressing into anything new. 

Society, as a whole, needs to allow children to roam more freely. There needs to be an appreciation of the fact that safety culture comes at a long-term cost. Denying the opportunity for risk and adventure leads to underdeveloped personalities that simply aren’t able to deal with the challenges of entrepreneurship. 

Reduce Regulations

There are plenty of people out there with great business ideas, but many feel like they can’t get them off the ground because of the current regulatory environment. It’s just too difficult to overcome all the hurdles on a limited budget and make it work. In principle, people could set up their enterprises, but in practice, they can’t because the costs are too high. 

Conclusion

In summary, there are plenty of things that society could be doing to encourage entrepreneurship and make it more popular. Unfortunately, the roadblocks are quite significant. 

With that said, we need entrepreneurs now more than ever to solve the severe problems we face in the world. Businesses need to discover solutions to pressing issues such as climate change and inequality.