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Self-confident, driven, visionary, a risk-taker, all traits that quickly come to mind. Even so, the SBA Office of Advocacy has looked to give the question a more definitive answer by taking it one step further. This month the SBA released the results of an ongoing study, which attempts to determine if and what college experiences lead one to wear the hat of an entrepreneur.
The study looks at a group of college graduates from the class of 1993 and periodically tracks their job progress for 10 years. By delving into “college experiences” they were able to identify specific characteristics of individuals who are self-employed versus those who opt to work for a for-profit business, a not-for-profit entity, or the government. It’s an interesting study that establishes some thought provoking conclusions.
According to the study, if you did one or more of the following in college, you are more likely to be an entrepreneur than work for somebody else:
- Majored in something outside of the hard sciences (engineering, math, chemistry, biology, etc.);
- Tended to be a “jack-of-all-trades”—taking many different courses, but not mastering any;
- Have not go on to graduate school;
- Had a lower GPA than your peers who ended up working in the nonprofit and government sectors.
The study concludes that entrepreneurs seem to be more “average” than exceptional in respect to the general population. Keeping in mind that this was only a sample from one year, my experience shows the assumption to be fairly accurate. I’d be more interested to hear if the self-employed out there agree…
Anthony,
Interesting study! As an owner of a consulting firm for 6 years, I would have to disagree with most of the stats from the research you cited. I think what you’re seeing in the SBA research reflects the type of individual or business that seeks financing from that particular source. However, many entrepreneurs seek private source funding and utilize “bootstrap” start-up methods. If we all consider the individuals that we know who have ventured out on their own, they don’t all fit the prototype outlined above. In the end, making it on your own is all about an ordinary cause willed about by extraordinary effort.