Importance
The Importance of Entrepreneurship (PDF)
- U.S. startups create 40% of new jobs annually.
- U.S. startups add 6.5 new jobs on average per new establishment.
- Half of all jobs are in small businesses.
Source: Entrepreneurship & Job Creation Facts & Figures, © 2014 Gallup, Inc.
Entrepreneurship in Nebraska
Nebraska is a diverse state, geographically, economically, and demographically. The vitality of our cities and small communities depends on the ongoing spirit of entrepreneurship and willingness to not only start new businesses, but to continue businesses as current business owners retire.
Consider the following:
- Nebraska’s small businesses employed about half (47.5%) or 394,009 of the state’s private workforce in 2013.
- The number of people who were primarily self-employed increased in 2014.
- 96.6 percent of all employers in the state are considered small businesses (1-499 employees).
- In 2012, there were an estimated 51,936 women-owned businesses and 14,561 minority owned businesses.
Source: 2017 Small Business Profiles for States and Territories
Importance of Entrepreneurship Education
We should be cultivating entrepreneurial mindsets in all students so they can act, adapt, and navigate their futures.
- 90% of Nebraskans agreed that “helping young people learn how to start their own business is important to Nebraska’s economic future. (2010)
Sources: The Gallup-Hope Index, Produced by Gallup and Operation Hope; Federal Career and Technical Education Public Perceptions Study conducted by the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center, 2010.
Entrepreneurship is a Career Readiness Skill
- Benchmarks include:
- Understanding the knowledge and skills required of an entrepreneur;
- Describing the opportunities for entrepreneurship in a given industry; and
- Weighing the opportunities, benefits and risks of entrepreneurship versus employment in a career.
Source: Nebraska Standards for Career Ready Practice