[ ABOVE: Megan Finnern ]
About a year and a half ago, Megan Finnern started her own business after working in banking and corporate marketing. Her husband’s job with Proterra Inc. brought her to Greenville.
Finnern, 34, is owner of Finnern Consulting LLC in the Upstate. An independent marketing consultant, she has two young children.
Finnern enjoys the flexibility and independence of working for herself. She can carve out time to help with her daughter’s vacation bible school and visit her family in Michigan or her husband’s family in Minnesota.
But challenges remain.
“Yes, you have greater choice in the clients you work with and the types of projects you take on, but you don’t have a boss or superior to go to when you are faced with a challenge or obstacle,” she said. “You’re on your own and this can be incredibly daunting in a tight-knit business community like Greenville where you know decisions you make today can have lasting effects on your future success.”
Finnern is fortunate to have strong mentors and trusted peers to turn to for advice in challenging situations. And she plans to run her business for a very long time.
Millennial small business owners – those born from the early 1980s to around 2000 – are committed to their businesses for the long term and are more willing to take calculated financial risks and incur debt to grow their businesses, according to a Wells Fargo study of millennial small business owners.
In an online survey of approximately 1,000 U.S. small business owners conducted earlier this year for Wells Fargo, majorities of both millennial small business owners and older small business owners said they started their businesses to control their future and be their own boss, wanting greater flexibility in where, when and how they work.
Millennial small business owners place slightly more value on feeling passionate about their work, with 59 percent reporting passion as a motivation for starting their business, compared with 51 percent of older small business owners.
Contrary to popular perceptions that millennials are focused on the short term and more apt to be serial entrepreneurs, the Wells Fargo study found the generation is gearing up for the long term, seeing their business endeavors as investments in the future, with many looking ahead to the next generations. In fact, 80 percent of millennial small business owners said they hope to grow their businesses over many years, potentially even passing it down to their children, in spite of most (59 percent) not yet having children. By comparison, 66 percent of older small business owners say they hope to pass down the business to their children.
“We found that millennial small business owners have a much longer term horizon for their businesses than many may perceive them to have,” said Lisa Stevens, Wells Fargo’s head of small business.
Sustaining the business, though, means ensuring the work gets done, Finnern said.
“So, you’re often working odd hours (early morning and late nights) in order to balance your family life, work and your community commitments,” she said.
In addition “it’s pretty difficult to fully disconnect and take a real vacation,” Finnern said. “Most entrepreneurs I know, myself included, feel it’s important to stay connected, even if it’s just checking in a few times a day, to ensure things run smoothly when you’re out of the office.”
While most small business owners surveyed said they are extremely wary of taking on debt (75 percent of millennial small business owners and 78 percent of older small business owners), many millennials believe business debt and financial risk are necessary for the future growth of their businesses. About two-thirds of millennial small business owners said that some amount of business debt is necessary for growth. By comparison, roughly half of older small business owners hold these views. Additionally, millennial men are more apt to believe that business debt is needed to grow (72 percent among millennial men versus 54 percent among millennial women).
In addition to business debt, many millennial small business owners have taken on personal debt to finance their businesses (43 percent of millennial small business owners compared to 33 percent of older small business owners). That includes carrying a balance or maxing out personal credit cards or opening a personal line of credit.
For Finnern, however, the rewards far outweigh the risks.
“I have never been more satisfied with the work that I am doing for myself, my community and my clients,” she said.
“I don’t think that the traditional 9-to-5 in an office is required anymore to be successful.”
