Millennial Small Business Owners Are 94% More Racially Diverse and 4% More Profitable Than Boomer Counterparts

BELLVUE, Wash., June 10, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Millennials are the most racially diverse and profitable group of small business owners, according to findings from the latest Small Business Trends survey from small business financing company Guidant Financial and online credit marketplace LendingClub Corporation (NYSE: LC).

The companies teamed up to survey more than 2,700 current and aspiring small business owners across the nation. The survey, and its resulting report, expose insights on millennial entrepreneurs, from who they are to what's holding them back from pursuing their small business dreams.

"Currently millennials make up only 18 percent of small business owners, but they are changing the way many think about entrepreneurship," said David Nilssen, CEO of Guidant Financial. "They're proving you don't have to be a college graduate, invest a lot of money, or be of a specific demographic to succeed in small business."

More Key Findings:

●    Millennials are 94 percent more racially diverse than boomers: 64 percent of millennial small business owners are people of color (POC), compared to 33 percent of boomers.
o    The largest group of minority millennials are Hispanic, at 25 percent, followed by African-Americans at 23 percent.
●    80 percent of millennial small businesses are profitable, three percent higher than the national average (78 percent) and four percent higher than their boomer counterparts (77 percent).
●    Millennial entrepreneurs are 22 percent more likely to be women than boomer entrepreneurs are, with women accounting for 28 percent of millennials and 23 percent of boomers.
●    28 percent of millennial small business owners are women, 12 percent higher than the national average.
●    Millennial small business owners rank their confidence in the state of small business in the current political climate at seven on a one to 10-point scale (10 being most confident).
●    45 percent of millennial small business owners have only a high school education, compared to only 28 percent of boomers.
●    Millennial entrepreneurs are 14 percent more likely to be challenged by a lack of capital or cash flow than boomers, with 36 percent of millennials reporting this challenge versus 32 percent of boomers.
●    76 percent of millennial small businesses were acquired for under $100k.
●    The most popular form of funding for millennial businesses was cash, at 43 percent, followed by help from friends and family at 18 percent.
●    The top industries for male millennial-owned businesses are 1) business services 2) home services 3) food-related and restaurants 4) general retail and 5) health, beauty, and fitness.
●    The top industries for female millennial-owned businesses are 1) health, beauty, and fitness 2) food-related and restaurants 3) general retail 4) cleaning and maintenance/home services (tied) 5) business services.

Accompanying infographic and report can be found https://www.guidantfinancial.com/small-business-trends/millennial-business-trends/.

Methodology
Between November 6, 2018 and November 16, 2018, Guidant Financial and LendingClub conducted an email survey of more than 2,700 male and female small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii. Ages of respondents ranged from 18 to over 70.

About Guidant Financial
Headquartered in Bellevue, WA Guidant Financial helps business owners secure financing to start, buy or grow a business. An industry leader in business and franchise financing, Guidant works with new and existing entrepreneurs to identify, evaluate and deploy customized financing solutions. Their services include, but are not limited to, 401(k) business funding, SBA loans, unsecured credit, and portfolio loans. In total, Guidant has helped over 20,000 entrepreneurs in all 50 states to invest more than $4 billion in funds to start small businesses, resulting in more than 85,000 U.S. jobs created. Visit Guidant on the web at guidantfinancial.com.

About LendingClub
LendingClub was founded to transform the banking system to make credit more affordable and investing more rewarding. Today, LendingClub's online credit marketplace connects borrowers and investors to deliver more efficient and affordable access to credit. LendingClub's technology platform creates cost efficiencies, which are passed onto borrowers as savings in the form of lower rates and to investors in the form of risk-adjusted returns. LendingClub is based in San Francisco, California. Small business loans facilitated by LendingClub and made by Opportunity Fund and Funding Circle.

SOURCE Guidant Financial