Entrepreneurship has always been about innovation, passion, and fierce competition. Now, there’s a new generation making waves—the millennial entrepreneur. These determined and creative young individuals have technology at their fingertips and an insatiable drive for success. Emerging from the economic downturn of 2009, millennials are choosing careers that offer meaning, flexibility, and stability over climbing the corporate ladder. Many millennials, often the first to lose their jobs during the recession, haven’t forgotten the sting of unemployment. Instead of dwelling on their experiences, they questioned their loyalty to corporations that let them go and redefined their career paths. As a result, they are now emerging as a new generation of successful entrepreneurs.

Born between 1980 and 2000, millennials are the largest generation in American history, with over 92 million people. Experts predict that millennials currently make up one-third of the workforce and are expected to dominate 75% of it within the next decade. They are also set to inherit over $20 trillion in the next two decades and currently wield over $200 billion in economic influence. With financial resources and innovative strategies, the influence of millennial entrepreneurs cannot be overlooked. More than 60% of millennials consider themselves entrepreneurs and dream of owning their own businesses, a statistic that aligns with previous generations of small business owners. Known for their tech skills and relentless drive, millennial entrepreneurs are reshaping small businesses and redefining the American Dream.

Challenging Tradition

Previous generations, like Baby Boomers and Gen X, valued stability and tradition: becoming a CEO, getting married, buying a house, and starting a family was the American Dream for decades. However, the 2009 crash has led millennials to challenge these traditions by turning away from Corporate America and starting their own businesses. With a thriving start-up culture in America, more millennials are pursuing entrepreneurship, with 70% saying they’d reject traditional business practices, and one in five would quit their jobs to start their own ventures (according to Deloitte). Breaking tradition requires courage, and creating a new American Dream in the face of a recession demonstrates strength, perseverance, and bravery.

Digital Natives

Millennials grew up with technology, spending years using phones, computers, the internet, and social media—so it’s no surprise that they bring these skills to the business world. In an era of constant technological change, being digitally savvy is a significant advantage, and millennials demand the latest technology for their businesses. They also strive for continuous improvement, with many start-ups focusing on syncing technology, upgrading systems, and reprogramming for other companies. This innate tech knowledge makes millennials valuable team members for small businesses, as they excel at training others and quickly learning new software.

Civic Engagement

Civic engagement and community involvement have always been important to small businesses, but millennials are placing an even higher priority on giving back. Seventy percent of young entrepreneurs cite community involvement as one of their top priorities and believe that businesses have a responsibility to contribute. With such a high percentage of millennials valuing civic engagement, we can expect to see more fundraisers, volunteer events, blood drives, and donations in the future of small businesses.

Flexibility

Millennials are leading the charge to move away from the traditional 9-to-5 workweek, embracing remote work and flexible hours. Despite being labeled “entitled” by some, millennials are reshaping the workweek to suit their preferences while promising increased productivity. Most millennials believe it’s unnecessary to be in the office every day, with many choosing unconventional working hours that better fit their schedules. Studies have shown that while millennials may not like typical 9-to-5 hours, they are willing to put in more time on their own, often working overtime through their mobile devices. As more millennials enter the small business community, we can expect to see more people working remotely or from local coffee shops rather than traditional offices.

Constant Feedback

Having grown up in an era where effort was often rewarded, millennials crave feedback. While annual employee reviews are typically seen as sufficient, this generation prefers more frequent assessments, with some even favoring regular feedback over an annual review. Constant feedback helps millennials grow and reassures them that their employer is invested in their success. It’s no surprise that young entrepreneurs are likely to offer the same regular feedback to their own employees.

Employee Well-Being

Corporate culture has often promoted the idea that employees are easily replaceable, with the bottom line as the top priority. Millennials want to change that. As many of them were the first to be laid off during the recession, millennial entrepreneurs are placing a higher value on employee well-being, striving to ensure that team members feel appreciated and valued. To achieve this, we’re likely to see changes in benefits and pay plans, with some start-ups already offering perks like gym memberships or unlimited vacation days. As small businesses begin to outpace corporations in employment numbers, we may see more creative benefits packages being used to attract recruits.

Earth-Friendly Initiatives

Millennials were taught from a young age about the importance of recycling, conserving water, and preserving the Earth. As adults and budding entrepreneurs, this generation understands that they can make a difference and are incorporating these values into their businesses. More start-ups are using environmentally friendly products, ethically sourced labor, and creating initiatives to reduce their environmental impact, and this trend is likely to continue. While we’ve made progress in the past 20 years in preserving the planet, there’s still much work to be done, and millennials are taking this responsibility seriously.

As self-starters, tech-savvy individuals, and ambitious progressives, millennials are well-suited to the entrepreneurial world and are poised to take small business ownership to new heights. Every generation has faced skepticism from its predecessors, and while millennials aren’t without flaws, 66% of small business owners believe that millennials will lead our country to a bright future.