Survey: Social Media Influencers Inspiring Teens to Consider Starting a Business

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

(Colorado Springs, CO) – 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 Jack E. Kosakowski, President and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. "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.”

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 USA® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA learning experiences are delivered by corporate and community volunteers and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Additionally, Junior Achievement is expanding its reach to 18-to-25-year-olds to provide young adults with critical life skills, as well as to pre-K youth to ensure children get a solid head start. Today, JA reaches more than 4.4 million students per year in 102 markets across the United States as part of 12.5 million students served by operations in more than 100 other countries worldwide. Junior Achievement USA is a member of JA Worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

Download PDF