Gen Zers, the next American entrepreneurs, are taking the world by storm with their creative side hustles. And a lot of their businesses took off during the pandemic: What better way to spend extra time than by creating your own income?
Is Gen Z becoming a generation of entrepreneurs?
To put it simply, yes. An international study conducted by The Center for Generational Kinetics reported that Gen Z is presumed to be the most entrepreneurial ever: 64% of teens say creating a tech, retail or entertainment business in the future is a possibility. Gen Z hacked the entrepreneur system by combining physical and digital marketing, something most marketers didn’t do until recently. With the digital craze of Tik Tok, Instagram, YouTube and more, young American entrepreneurs are finding ways to be creative and make some extra money aside from school and work. Social platforms that were once looked down upon by Gen X are mainly being used by those same people to grow business. Gen Z knew what they were doing before they knew what they were doing.
Successful Gen Z brands and businesses
Here are a few young entrepreneurs who have changed the world for the better!
- Danya Sherman- KnoNap, a napkin that indicates if a drink is drugged
- Clair Coder- Aunt Flow. For every ten tampons and pads sold, she donates 1 to an organization that supplies products to those in need.
- Rachel Zietz- Sports equipment company called Gladiator Lacrosse
- Ben Towers- Tahora, a well-being app that connects people in the workforce
- Mica and Maya Caine- Body-positive women’s clothing store called Mive Fashion that eliminates awkward in-store shopping
- Aaron Golbin- DebateIsland, a moderated and civil online debate platform
When did this become so popular?
The rise of the pandemic created stillness and boredom for lots of people, particularly Gen Z. School was out for much of quarantine, and not much was going on, other than binge-watching “Tiger King.” Upwork took a survey and found that 44% of Millennials and Gen Z were freelancers, and 36% started during the pandemic. Etsy, the American e-commerce platform, also noticed a rise in small businesses and shops during the pandemic.
What is Gen Z doing differently?
Entrepreneur.com listed Gen Z’s new business approach for young American entrepreneurs:
- Early start– Some Millennial parents are entrepreneurs, which influenced Gen Zers.
- Community mentorship- Social media has been Gen Z’s go-to for mentorship, and the internet provides videos and articles with good advice.
- Kings of disruption- Young people are constantly finding new ways to disrupt the current industry and make it better.
- Identity entrepreneurship– Gen Zers brand their businesses around niches such as race, religion and location, e.g., “Young Christian Latinos”
How Häagen-Dazs is playing a part
The German ice cream brand Häagen Dazs is recognizing Gen Z entrepreneurs with its #Don’tHoldBack campaign. They are starting a social media competition specifically for German Gen Z entrepreneurs to grow their side hustles into careers. The brand recognizes that money has a big part to play in creating a business, so the winner wins billboard advertising, business mentoring and $3,500. Hey Häagen-Dazs, American entrepreneurs would love that over here in the states!
Gen Z teaches the rest of us that age shouldn’t stop us from turning a passion into a career. If anything, Gen Z is teaching other entrepreneurs how to do better. What are your thoughts on the impact of Gen Z? Does this make you want to start that business you’ve been talking about for years? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
