Young Jobs in the Balance

What we used to think of as the “real job” world is quickly proving to be an outdated concept, and no one feels that more acutely than the educated Millennial.

As the nation’s economy continues to struggle, and the unemployment rate hovers in the 9 percent range, 16-to-39-year-olds have had to completely reconsider the way they approach the job market. And they’re increasingly finding themselves creating their own jobs by becoming entrepreneurs.

A survey of 1,623 Gen Yers, conducted by Buzz Marketing Group, the Young Entrepreneur Council, and presented by LegalZoom, finds that 79 percent of respondents are interested in entrepreneurship; 27 percent are already self-employed; and 21 percent have started a business as a result of being unemployed.

“The findings tell of a paradigm shift in this country,” says Scott Gerber, 27, who founded Sizzle It!, a New York City-based company specializing in promotional videos for PR professionals, and Gerber Enterprises, an entrepreneurial incubator that invests capital, marketing, and business-development expertise into midstage companies. “Young, educated people are finding that current opportunities in the job market don’t match their needs.” As a result, entrepreneurialism is losing the stigma of being a “renegade choice” of employment, he says.

But what’s even more interesting is a surprising data point that the survey revealed: More than 35 percent of respondents who have jobs have started their own businesses on the side in order to supplement their income. “I was shocked at the number of sidepreneurs, I'm sure these people don't identify themselves as entrepreneurs, but in a way they are,” says Tina Wells, CEO of Buzz Marketing Group, a member of Gerber’s nonprofit venture YEC, and director of the survey. “The results show that entrepreneurship is a viable solution to youth unemployment and under employment. We have to find a way to support sidepreneurship. Whether it's a Mary Kay party or selling vacuums, people are looking for ways to make extra money on the side.”

Michael Simmons is looking to combat both the jobless and underemployment problems that the country—and the world—are facing. To that end, he’s organizing a Future of Entrepreneurship Education Summit that will run for two days starting on February 17, 2011. Simmons says that in order for entrepreneurship to grow, fledgling innovators need to know about the resources available to them. “We hope to help make the whole field of entrepreneurship education more effective and larger so it can eventually help solve global unemployment,” he says. “I think we'll do this by helping to form new relationships between participants that could lead to funding, partnerships, and best-practice sharing.”

The summit features 100 invite-only guests that include “top leaders from government, foundations, education, media, organizations, and corporations who have made a huge impact on the field over time or who have new, innovative approaches,” says Simmons. They represent more than $1 billion in grants to entrepreneurs.

Simmons, Gerber, and Wells are also looking to help young entrepreneurs overcome the many obstacles they face. Fifty-two percent of those surveyed say they didn’t strike out on their own because they don’t have enough resources to do so, and 24 percent say they didn’t have enough government or financial support.

For Simmons, education and networking is key. “I think the biggest obstacle to most young entrepreneurs is culture. It has never been easier or cheaper to build and scale a company. However, most young people don't have parents or friends who are entrepreneurs and have never been taught it in school,” he explains. “Therefore, most people don't realize they can even get started. Of those who do, many feel alone, because they don't have a network of people supporting them.”

Banks and the government need to find ways to promote the support they currently offer to aspiring and current entrepreneurs, adds Wells. “We all have to be supportive to the entrepreneurs we know, even if it's just giving them a shoulder to lean on. Times are tough, and entrepreneurs are really being hit hard. But in an interesting catch 22, this economy will not fully turn around without them. They will fuel the next round of jobs.”

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Romy Ribitzky is an associate editor at Portfolio.com.