It’s amazing that for a generation so studied and analyzed, we still keep asking “Who are the Millennials?”. (Of course the interest is understandable given the trillions of dollars at stake.)
To the extent that one phrase can describe tens of millions of people, Millennials are the generation of entrepreneurs.
From an early age, they have a sense of branding – both how it works in the world around them, but more importantly, how to develop their own brand.
And they look to make their own opportunities – whether it’s starting a creative project or starting a company.
Many people call Millennials the tech-savvy generation. Too simplistic. Every generation is tech savvy – with the tech invented before or shortly after its birth. I was a genius in my mother’s eyes because I could program the VCR. She grew up before television.
In 10 or 20 years, the technology and media landscape will be so radically different that Millennials will struggle to keep up (if they can at all) while their children live it effortlessly.
But the entrepreneurial spirit will continue to define them. Among all the generations I’ve experienced – World War II (my parents), boomers (older cousins), Xers (me and my friends) I haven’t seen the assumption of unlimited possiblitilities as in this generation.
The WW II folks were the company men (and their housewives). They were ambitious. But their ambition was to get promoted within the company.
Boomers took a stab at changing the system, and did in matters of moral values, free expression and even government policy. But when it came to earning a living, they pretty much also became company men (and to some refreshing extent, company women).
Xers, pretty much the same. They bitched about it more than their predecessors. But ultimately they went along. Hey, what else are you going to do? (Especially after getting spooked by several recessions.)
Millennials, though, try to figure out their own way.
For example, I just chatted with a 25-year-old woman who is struggling financially. But she’s also starting a small business, planing a private practice as a life coach, and developing long-term investment strategies. Given the rates of return and especially tax benefits, she sees real estate as by far the best way to go.
When I was that age (not so long ago!) most of us reacted to a lousy job with cynicism and maybe the hope that we would eventually “work our way out” (but by “working for the man”).
And the only people who talked abbot investment strategies were the slick financial pricks whom we derided and avoided. But for the next generation, there is nothing dirty about making money.
Sure, there were the exceptional entrepreneurs in GenX – Jerry Yang, Larry Page, Elon Musk… But they were rare.
While it doesn’t apply to all of them, of course, for Millennials, entrepreneurship is standard, not exceptional.
(image: thenextgreatgeneration.com)
