If you think that it is every student's desire to own their own business, think again. Some interesting results have been found by recent studies that indicate that, although most all students want to work and make money, there are distinctions among students who are interested in owning their own businesses.
According to The Gallup-HOPE Index Report, more racial and ethnic minority students are interested in starting their own businesses than white students. The study showed that 50 percent of minority students want to be entrepreneurs, compared to 37 percent of white students. Another distinction also showed that the entrepreneurship desire decreases with each age level. For example, while students in grades 5-8 who wanted to start their own businesses measured 51 percent, that statistic dropped to 33 percent by the time they were in grades 9-12.
But Why Does The Desire To Be An Entrepreneur Decrease As Students Get Older?
One of the reasons for the decrease appears to be the lack of training and education that is necessary in order to prepare students for ownership of their own business. Only 17 percent work an hour a week at a job that would give them some experience in the business world, and only 5 percent take advantage of internships that would give them valuable work experience.
We Must Identify and Nurture Their Interest
Youth are known for their high energy and optimism, but less than half of them are learning skills that will enable them to actually carry out their career goals of starting and running their own business. The solution? It is estimated that there are about 1.5 million students who can be future small and medium-sized business owners. The key is to identify and nurture this interest, especially among minority students who show a strong interest in being entrepreneurs. The effort needs to be led and strengthened by educators, policymakers, and community leaders.