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Despite shakier confidence in the economy and a dip in small business optimism since a peak in late 2020, plenty of people are still seeking the financial rewards and personal fulfillment promised by entrepreneurship. We wanted to get a closer look at how everyday entrepreneurs—micro- and small business owners selling online—are running today, from where and how they’re doing business to their biggest challenges and aspirations.
For our second report on the state of entrepreneurship, Squarespace surveyed more than 2,000 people selling physical products, digital content, or offering services to clients online—both using Squarespace and without Squarespace. Here’s what their insights tell us about running a small business right now and what you can learn from their collected experiences.
Key takeaways
Success requires patience. Most of those surveyed started their business for secondary income or as a hobby, with growth coming later in their journey.
An online presence is key. Growing a customer base is a major challenge for most of the people surveyed. They count on third-party platforms to reach new customers.
Don’t miss out on website benefits. Survey respondents who have a website say that it’s vital for professionalizing and marketing their business.
Entrepreneurship has staying power. A majority of those surveyed feel more financially secure because they have a business and view entrepreneurship as more compelling than a traditional career.
How entrepreneurs are selling right now
Small business starts with side hustlers and hobbyists. Contrary to the oft-publicized overnight sensations, most entrepreneurs surveyed started their businesses to make a secondary income or to lean in on a hobby. Their earning potential grew gradually over time, with 10% of those who started as hobbyists now claiming their business as a secondary or primary source of income.
Entrepreneurs mature into selling from a website
When it comes to where they do business, survey results showed that many business owners grow into having a website. That makes sense—three quarters of those we surveyed started their business as a hobby or second source of income.
While starting out, business owners rely on word-of-mouth, in-person selling, and third-party marketplaces to make sales. But once they’ve established themselves with customers, a website becomes an invaluable tool for legitimizing their business and opening up more earning potential.
Many of the respondents who have a website said they created one because they felt overwhelmed by manually managing their orders and wanted to reduce third-party fees. They cite a 24-hour storefront and more earnings as benefits of establishing a website presence.
See how one Squarespace entrepreneur transitioned from social selling
Diversifying product formats can feed growth
Business owners we surveyed also tended to earn their money by selling in multiple product formats—pairing one-on-one consulting services with an online course, for example. Selling content is a smart way to boost revenue, since it’s often a source of passive income and can carry a more accessible price point to attract more customers.
In our survey, service providers and people who sell digital content were more likely to have multiple revenue streams than those who sell physical products (56% vs. 29%). This may be because it’s easier to create complementary offerings in their area of expertise.
Gen Z and Millennials were also slightly more likely to have more than one revenue stream than Gen X and Boomers.
Branding and marketing a small business in 2024
Attracting leads and customers is a common, evergreen challenge for business owners. All of the entrepreneurs surveyed shared that their top challenges were attracting customers, building an online presence, and marketing.
Most of these challenges decreased the longer someone was in business, but difficulty with burnout increased, and growing a customer base remained equally challenging.
Social breaks through, websites legitimize
Social media was named as a key tool for most entrepreneurs, with 77% of those surveyed using it to reach a wider audience. Many also use online marketplaces to get in front of new customers, especially while validating interest in their products. However, many of the entrepreneurs underutilized tools like email marketing or link in bio tools, often due to cost or less familiarity with the products.
Respondents across groups consider a website more professional than a storefront on an online marketplace or social media. That includes a majority of people who don’t currently have a website.
Business owners with websites call their sites essential marketing tools that help legitimize their business and capture more customers. For those individuals, their website is often the first place customers find them and the public face of their brand and business. Behind the scenes, it simplifies their workflow by offering an all-in-one business tool to manage sales and customer communications.
Each age group has its advantages
Generationally, older entrepreneurs we surveyed tended to struggle with branding and attracting new customers more than Gen Z and Millennial entrepreneurs. As more customer touchpoints shift online, having some kind of digital home base is increasingly important. Business owners should consider ways they can create an online presence that feels manageable and authentic to them without the pressure to show up perfectly.
However, having been in the workforce for longer seems to have benefited Boomers and Gen X in other areas. By comparison, Gen Z and Millennials we surveyed were more likely to struggle with managing burnout and feel less certain of what to do at each stage of business growth. Those business owners might benefit from connecting with peers for support and advice.
What motivates today’s entrepreneurs
Despite the challenges, business owners are still bullish on entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurs surveyed are motivated to stay in business by passion, personal fulfillment, and a desire to be their own boss, with three quarters viewing entrepreneurship as a more compelling career path than a “traditional” one.
Finances fuel a hunger for growth
Most respondents also noted that their business makes them feel more financially secure, with almost half of them citing making extra money as one of their main motivators. Unsurprisingly, a majority of the entrepreneurs surveyed also define their success based on their revenue. But most also consider customer satisfaction a key measuring stick for success. The two often go hand-in-hand, as happy customers are more likely to refer friends and family back to a business.
The majority (59%) of the entrepreneurs surveyed currently work solo. When asked about future plans, most hope to grow their business and headcount in the future to a micro- or small business size—between 10 and 100 employees. Long-term business goals were consistent across the groups of entrepreneurs and age groups. Those we surveyed had their eyes on sustaining their business, with “grow revenue” being the top goal, closely followed by growing their customer base and brand.
Final takeaways
Despite the challenges of successful, long-term entrepreneurship, the passion, flexibility, and financial upsides of starting a business are appealing across demographics, even as the global economy fluctuates.
The greatest asset for business owners starting out today is patience—learning and growth take time—paired with the right tools to help them fulfill their vision faster and more effectively.
For older age groups, that might mean platforms that make establishing an online presence and brand more straightforward. For younger entrepreneurs, it might be seeking out a platform with built-in marketing tools and guidance on how to grow or simplify their business. For each of these groups, starting, testing, and adapting at their own pace will ultimately help them find the right solution for their unique business.
Methodology
This opt-in survey of 2,263 online business owners and entrepreneurs was conducted by Squarespace in June 2024. Respondents included people generating income selling through online transactions both using Squarespace (n=1,067) and without Squarespace (n=1,196). Survey respondents are located in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia.
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