Social Media Influencers Inspiring Teens to Consider Starting a Business

76 Percent of Teens “Likely” to Consider Starting a Business; Social Media Influencers/Successful Business People Top Inspirations

Author: Katy Blissit
Entrepreneurship
Published: Wednesday, 15 Nov 2023

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Image caption: Social media influencers are top inspiration for teen interest in entrepreneurship.

A new survey by Junior Achievement USA and EY shows that three-in-four teens (76%) would be likely to consider becoming an entrepreneur. Their top inspirations are “social media influencers” and “successful businesspeople” they see in the media, each selected by 30 percent of respondents. However, more than half (56%) say they would need more information on how to be successful, and nearly a third (32%) would need a role model who is a business owner for guidance. The survey of 1,003 teens between 13 and 17 was conducted by Big Village between October 10 – October 15, 2023.

"Social media influencers and celebrity culture have a big impact on teens, which could help explain why we are seeing such a high level of interest in entrepreneurship," said Shannan Beeler, President of JA of Oklahoma. "In order to take that interest and channel it into learning experiences that can help teens better understand what’s involved with starting a business, Junior Achievement has teamed up with EY for JA Launch Lesson."

Junior Achievement and EY are offering JA Launch Lesson to high school students across the country in November, which is National Entrepreneurship Month. JA Launch Lesson is an hour-long educational experience built around the theme of entrepreneurship that creates a point of entry for students, volunteers, and educators. It is delivered locally by entrepreneurs in classrooms, after-school facilities, and other student venues around the United States. For more information, go to www.JA.org/Launch.

Other key survey findings include:

While starting a business is attractive to teens, many expressed concerns, with nearly one-in-three (30%) saying it was too risky. About a quarter (23%) said there wasn't enough money in it, while fewer (11%) thought it might not fit their personality or skills.
In terms of what kind of business teens are interested in starting, 16 percent said “social media influencer/content creator,” 14 percent said “a retail shop or store,” 13 percent said a service business, like “plumbing, construction, haircare, or childcare,” and 9 percent said a professional business, like “engineering, healthcare, graphic design.”

About Methodology

This Youth CARAVAN survey was conducted by Big Village among a sample of 1,003 13-17 year olds. This survey was live on October 10 – October 15, 2023. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have volunteered to participate in online surveys and polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to multiple sources of error, including, but not limited to sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. It is nationally representative with set quotas based on census data. The 1,003 completes are all who qualified and completed based on the demographic quota requirements. The MoE is +/- 3.1%.

About Junior Achievement of Oklahoma

Junior Achievement (JA) of Oklahoma is a business-integrated education partner with expertise in experiential learning that successfully develops key mindsets and skills for students to lead meaningful and successful lives. JA’s high-impact programs drive long-term outcomes in areas of financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship, and are all delivered by corporate and community volunteers. JA of Oklahoma offers multiple programs, including in-class programs, JA BizTown, JA Inspire, and JA Finance Park. JA of Oklahoma serves over 40,000 students statewide in an average year. JA of Oklahoma has offices in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. For more information, visit jaok.org