August 4, 2021 – Entrepreneurs who agree or strongly agree that “now is a good time to start a business” were 65.9% in July, below the record level of 76.9% reached in June. Nonetheless, 44.4% of respondents report that the pandemic actually increased the desire to control their own destinies through business ownership. FranchiseInsights.com compiles monthly the Small Business Startup Sentiment Index™ (SSI) of individuals who have recently inquired about businesses for sale.
July Startup Sentiment Survey Shows Pandemic Increased Desire for Business Ownership
The most recent Startup Sentiment Index™ survey was conducted July 22-29, 2021, as concerns about the spread and transmissibility of the Delta Covid variant grew.
Additional highlights:
- Future business conditions: Respondents are positive about the current state of the economy, with 40.7% believing that in three months, business conditions will be “better” or “much better” than now, down from 53.2% in June. Over 44% see conditions “about the same” in three months.
- Access to funding: The percentage of entrepreneurs concerned about acquiring adequate funding dipped, with those seeing funding “harder or much harder” to obtain at 27.4% in July, down from 29.7% in June.
Record Percentage of Current Business Owners Participating
Demographics:
- In the July survey, 47.7% of respondents were currently employed full-time, and 25.5% were current business owners — the highest percentage seen in the history of the survey.
- Gen-X (54%) and Gen-Y (25.5%) are the largest age cohorts, while “Baby Boomers” follow at 17.4%.
