Millennials are widely considered one of the least productive, least educated, and having the least amount of common sense to just about everyone on the planet besides themselves. But, now that the time has come for the baby boomers to retire, and generation x following closely behind, the economy is going to be depending on them and their small businesses. Millennials are very optimistic about the growth of our economy and their ability to create jobs. It may be very promising too, just because of all the tech savviness and huge imagination that the whole generation seems to have been born with.
There is a huge difference in how baby boomers think and how millennials think about pretty much everything. There is a very large gap in the way the two generations think about the future, the economy, and business in general. In a survey by Bank of America, 61% of millennials expected that the national economy would improve in the next 12 months. Only 30% of baby boomers looked at it the same way. 61% of the millennials also saw their local economies growing, compared to 30% of the baby boomers not seeing it that way. The numbers were exactly the same on both issues.
Baby boomers have a reason to have a more careful outlook though. They have been through it all, and they know what can happen and how hard it can be. They were already owning businesses during the recession when there was basically no economy at all. 67% of the baby boomers are still struggling after the recession as opposed to 58% of millennial business owners. The survey did, however, indicate that despite their enthusiasm, millennials do still have some things that they are worried about. Most are worried about the cost of healthcare affecting their business, and the strength of the U.S. dollar decreasing. They still know that those are very possible things that could cripple their business.
If millennials can use their enthusiasm but also introduce a little bit of caution, they could really make a huge difference in the small business world across the whole nation. According to the same survey, 77% of millennial business owners plan on expanding their business in the next 5 years. 59% plan on hiring additional staff sometime in the next year. Compared to other generations, more millennials applied for business loans as well. That can go either way as a good or bad thing, I guess it is an opinion until we see how the future plays out. But the decision is fueled by optimism, which is the same fuel that will be bringing new jobs to people all across the nation.
One thing that did not differ between any of the generations is how much they appreciate all of their employees and their loyal customers. It seems like common sense for the most part, but everyone understands that happy employees and customers lead to a long-lasting and successful business.
Technology continues to evolve every day, and it changes the way businesses work. Businesses have to invest in new technology to stay current and get the most out of it. Millennials are great at this, and 59% of them have become more tech savvy just to meet the needs of their customers. 45% have also made changes to their business after receiving reviews or tips on social media sites, which will always help a business tremendously. Only 18% of boomers have done this though. This is where we are really starting to see how bright the future could be.
You can say whatever you want about the millennial generation. We might be stupid, lack common sense, and listen to terrible music but, at the end of the day, this generation has everything it needs to keep America’s business world moving forward in a positive direction, we just have to realize that potential.
Content originally published here
