Amway’s 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Report examines intrinsic and extrinsic factors that impact potential entrepreneurs. The data is based on survey data from nearly 50,000 people across 44 countries. Here are five of the most important findings to get a high-level overview of this year’s results (source: Amway).
- The global business environment has room to improve to be entrepreneurship-friendly.
Nearly 50,000 people were asked about different aspects of entrepreneurship, including technology availability, the education system, taxes, rules and regulations, and their country’s economic situation. As you might expect, there remains great opportunity to improve the global business environment. Unsurprisingly, people don’t find their country’s taxes manageable (only 33 percent do), nor do they think their country provides easy-to-understand rules and regulations (only 24 percent do).
- One of the most significant barriers to starting a business is the fear of failure.
It’s hard for people to start a business because they are afraid to fail. Less than half of people surveyed say they’d be willing to risk failure to start a business. Possibly, it’s because people see starting a business as a giant endeavor — a significant commitment. And it can be. However, there also are ways to start a business that are relatively low-cost and risk-free – direct selling is one of them.
- People need the most help raising money for their business idea.
When asked about different areas respondents would need help with when starting a business, raising money rose to the top, at 23 percent. In the traditional business scene, you’re investing a lot of your personal money, asking friends and family for support or pitching investors to finance your business. In direct selling, the average cost of a sales kit is just over $100 and includes a 90 percent buy-back guarantee.
- People prefer to build a team, rather than work alone.
When asked whether people prefer to work alone or hire people, the majority (57 percent) opted for building a team. In direct selling, you can create your own business – work independently or develop a team.
- Personal service still matters
In today’s digitally connected world, personal service is still significantly valued. The research found that 75 percent of people prefer to service customers personally than digitally. This trend remained consistent with even the under-35 demographic, countering the common perception that millennials prefer virtual interaction over interpersonal and indicating that personalized service is still highly valued around the world.
