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Here’s the breakdown of what’s in store today

⭐ 1 Shift: Gen Z is rewriting rules about entrepreneurship

⚡ 1 Tip: 10 rules for students and teachers (in arts)

💊 3 Resources: Creative resources for taking your work to the next level

⭐ Shift

Gen Z is Rewriting Rules About Entrepreneurship

Gen Z is not just toying with entrepreneurship – they're diving headfirst into it. Recent research from ZenBusiness shows a staggering 93% of Gen Zers have already ‘explored’ business ownership. And this isn't a passing trend; 75% of them have their sights set on becoming full-time entrepreneurs, as the allure of traditional careers continues to fade.

With their digital know-how and passion for change, they're taking entrepreneurship mainstream and redefining 'success' on their own terms.

Let me break all of this down for you.

The Redefinition of Prestige

The 9 to 5 job isn't exactly getting standing ovations from Gen Z. LOL. ZenBusiness found that a whopping 72% of Gen Z respondents reckon that traditional career paths available to their parents aren't applicable to them anymore. Now, that's not just an opinion; it's a significant portion of our future workforce challenging the status quo.

But here's the interesting part: Gen Z isn't sitting idle. The survey reveals that 84% of them find entrepreneurship exciting among 12 career options, with 75% intending to walk the entrepreneurial path. In other words, they are trading traditional jobs for the thrill and creativity of entrepreneurship. 80% of Gen Z, according to the same survey, also believes that they are better suited for entrepreneurship than their parents' generation.

Gen Z might be the most suited for entrepreneurship

And that makes sense for a variety of reasons. It’s like Gen Z is built for entrepreneurship - they are tech savvy, generally dislike the corporate grind and want to do something meaningful. But here are two big reasons why I think this is brilliant timing:

Financial Shift - According to a Deloitte survey earlier this year, more than 50% of GenZ live pay check to pay check. Year over year their financial concerns have only grown. Economic uncertainty is causing them to postpone big life decisions - many of them say that it will become harder or impossible to buy a house, start a family or start a new job. And, with the state of the job market, looming economic crisis and trends such as quiet quitting gaining mainstream attention, this new wave comes in at a good time (or well a bad time) challenging Gen Z to take charge.

Technological Shift - Technological advancements, globalization, and the gig economy are lowering the barriers to entry for these younger generations, allowing them to seize opportunities and initiate business ventures early. Gen Z grew up with internet and mobile phones. They are the most tech-literate out of all generations. This is well reflected in the ZenBusiness survey as well - 69% of respondents say they have learned about entrepreneurship through self-directed research and online videos. With tons of content around entrepreneurship, side hustles, dropshipping, content creation, streaming, etc, these young professionals are not only expanding their theoretical knowledge but even practicing it.

I mean, it takes very little ramping up to start dropshipping. And if that is complex then how about simply creating content to earn money? Gen Z has that figured out too. ZenBusiness SVP Michael Fanuele told Yahoo Finance, “People quickly realize that as you start producing content, and as you start getting paid, you’ve just become a business.”

Creator Economy

The ZenBusiness survey found that 84% of Gen Zers rank "creator" as the most accessible or feasible career (with entrepreneurship close behind at 78%). Here’s another stat that will blow your mind. According to a recent report from Adobe, about half of Gen-Z creators are earning revenue from creative content and social posts. HALF! Insane.

With the rise of creator economy and success stories like of Mr. Beast (He’s just 25 wtf), the trend will continue. A personal observation I made is that there are a lot of new Gen Z marketing or Gen Z social media agencies. These are run by Gen Z to enable corporate brands to connect better with the younger audience. Probably because old corporates realize they now “have” to appeal to the largest generation in the world (30% of the world population is GenZ).

Most people look at creator economy as simply “influencing” online. But that is so far from the truth. For the first time ever it’s incredibly easy to be your own boss and earn money for your creations. That could be a song, a sketch, a dance or a linkedin post.

The creator economy has no rules.

So what’s the shift?

Gen Z is Rewriting Rules of Entrepreneurship

The entrepreneurial landscape is shifting slowly, and Gen Z is driving this change. This isn't just about new businesses popping up eg check out Gen Z founded August - a lifestyle brand dedicated to reimagining periods to be powerful; it's a profound shift in how we think about work, careers, and life itself.

Traditional career paths are also being reassessed, as nearly 90% of Gen Z believes they can't rely on old strategies to forge their careers. Looking to the future, it's clear that we are at the cusp of a significant shift. This generation, equipped with digital savviness and a desire to create a better world, is breaking away from tradition and building their own ground rules - which is to do whatever brings them happiness.

They're not waiting for the world to change; they're making it happen.

Exciting opportunities for building in this space:

1. Unique Creator apps: Most financial, transaction or business apps look like they were designed for 70 year old car dealers. They look stale. There is plenty of opportunity to design for niche use cases that appeal to young entrepreneurs. Eg. checkout Passionfroot who make managing sponsorships for creators super smooth.

2. Enable Creation: Build products or services that enable creation more than consumption. The new workforce wants to work on their own terms, and want to earn money creating unique value propositions. Can your product, physical or digital enable creation? I’m going to make a prediction and say that Remarkable might actually pop off in the next couple of years.

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⚡ Tip

Corita Kent’s 10 rules

John Cage, the influential composer, had a profound impact on various artists and composers, including Sister Corita Kent. She created the touching "Ten Rules for Students and Teachers" in 1968, which Cage appreciated and popularized. The list remains influential in creative circles, and in my life. Here it is:

RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.

RULE TWO: General duties of a student — pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.

RULE THREE: General duties of a teacher — pull everything out of your students.

RULE FOUR: Consider everything an experiment.

RULE FIVE: Be self-disciplined — this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.

RULE SIX: Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail, there’s only make.

RULE SEVEN: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.

RULE EIGHT: Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.

RULE NINE: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.

RULE TEN: “We’re breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities.” (John Cage)

HINTS: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything — it might come in handy later.