A survey of 1,250 workers laid off this year commissioned by Digital.com and conducted online by the survey platform Pollfish found that roughly 10 percent of the workers surveyed planned to start their own businesses rather than look for another job. Half of those said they would fund their new business with a small business loan, and roughly 80 percent said they were somewhat or very concerned about launching a business while inflation is running high.
Nearly half (49 percent) of the respondents said they will look for another job in their field, while 29 percent plan to find a job in a different field, and 10 percent will start their own business. Just 6 percent say they will go back to school instead.
The industries survey respondents reported being laid off from included retail (21 percent), service and hospitality (12 percent), healthcare (10 percent), and manufacturing (9 percent). Nearly two-thirds of the laid-off workers planning to start their own business said it will be in an industry other than the one they were working in.
When respondents were asked why they wanted to start their own business instead of going back to work, the top answers given were to make more money (57 percent) and to pursue a passion (56 percent).
Half of respondents planning to start their own businesses say they will apply for a small business loan. 46 percent plan to use money from their savings and 38 percent will try to find investors. Additionally, the largest group of respondents, at 43 percent, say they plan to hire 1-5 employees to work at their new company.
Although the majority of respondents plan to launch their business this year (33 percent) or in early 2023 (40 percent), they have understandable concerns about the state of the economy. Nearly half (48 percent) are somewhat concerned about starting a business with the current high inflation, and 31 percent are very concerned.
However, nearly 1 in 4 respondents say they don’t have a backup plan in case their business doesn’t make it. One in 5 say they are determined to pursue entrepreneurship and will try starting a different business if their initial attempt fails, while 50% say they will go back to work as an employee if their business is not successful.
