5 Secrets of the Successful Gen Y Business Owner

Maybe it began with selling a few products over their Facebook page or monetizing a YouTube video gone viral? How ever they caught the entrepreneurial bug, our youngest adult demographic are grabbing the reins on their own businesses – and quickly changing many of the rules.

Although often stereotyped as spoiled and entitled, Generation Y’s or Millennials are proving to be very effective business owners. The 2016 BNP Paribas Global Entrepreneur Report reveals they have launched about twice as many businesses as boomers have—nearly 8 companies each versus 3 to 4 for boomers. These ‘millennipreneurs’, as the BNP Paribas study calls them, are not only starting more companies, they’re also managing bigger staffs, and targeting higher profits than their baby boomer predecessors[1]. Almost 75% of Millennials expected their profits to increase in the coming year as compared to just 42% of boomers.[2]

What gives these Millennials the business edge? Here are five of their success secrets:

1. Tech savvy – This is the generation that has grown up with technology. Tech is almost as intuitive to them as eating or breathing – and they are ultra-eager and fast to adopt whatever comes next then leverage it to benefit their businesses. 74% of Millennials say technology makes them feel more connected and makes their lives easier[3]. When it comes to HR technology, nothing can help a small business more than tech that uses the cloud. Since paying your employees is your biggest expense, the cloud allows HR tech to have automated tax filing and receive updates on all the ever-changing government regulations. This is one tech that really helps free up your time to focus on your business.
2. Optimistic risk takers – Although just half of older business owners say they would be willing to take a risk for their business – the percentage is far higher for Millennials. Nearly two-thirds of Millennials today take financial risks to grow their businesses. What’s more, 77% say they feel very positive about the future of their businesses and expect good things over the next year[4]. Having the right tech will really help with risk taking. HR tech on the cloud will not only free up cash by helping you stay compliant and avoiding fees, but it can better predict cash flow so you know how much you have access to and when.
3. Collaborative & innovative – No more silos. Millennials love to collaborate and working in teams on projects in order to accomplish goals. They are big fans of using wiki’s, social networks and other technologies to share ideas, solve problems and innovate. As leaders, they enthusiastically spread these collaborative behaviours and foster a team-oriented culture of innovation across their organizations. The newest HR tech fosters a collaborative environment with respect to Workforce Management. Employees can update their own data, request time off online, view their paystubs and more.
4. Effective multi-taskers – Millennials tend to use many different devices and juggle multiple tech tasks at the same time. From document collaboration on Google Drive and social campaigns on Facebook, to web meetings on Skype, text and Twitter, Millennials have agile minds and nimble fingers. While past generations may have compromised the quality of their work by multitasking, Millennials have mastered it – and put it to exceptional use in efficiently managing their many entrepreneurial responsibilities and business processes. For small business owners, nothing helps multi-tasking more than a mobile phone. Being on the go and juggling work life and family life is just a regular occurrence. Processing your payroll and approving time off requests are just some of the items you can do on your mobile phone with the latest HR technology.
5. Freedom & Purpose vs. $$$ – Millennials are more motivated by flexible work environments and their quality of life than they are about making the big bucks. While they are driven to be online working on their businesses 24/7 – it is generally through their mobile devices while they are on-the-go. Often they have altruistic goals – and take a creative, motivated and positive approach to meeting their personal and business objectives – with maximum profit generation not always a number one on their priority list. Technology is a great way to make your business more flexible – with the right HR software that is easily adaptable to your changing business needs as well as save you time and money, you could have more time to devote to your employees and what makes them happy.

Need help getting your small business up to speed with the latest HR technology? Contact Ceridian today!