Hispanics, blacks most likely to want to start their own businesses

White Americans tend to say that they would rather not own a business and dislike taking risks, in stark contrast to non-white Americans.

Since 2007 the fastest growth in small business ownership has been among ethnic minorities, specifically women from ethnic minorities. The number of businesses owned by white women has increased by just over 10%, but for Hispanic women it has grown 87.5%.

YouGov’s latest research shows that this social trend may be born out of deeper differences in attitude. Overall, 50% of Americans say that they would like to run their own business, while 39% say that they would not. Among white Americans, however, there is a narrow preference to not own a business (45% to 42%). Large majorities of black Americans (64%) and Hispanics (74%) say that they do want to run their own business.

This difference between racial groups towards striking out on your own extends to a general willingness to take risks. While only 27% of white Americans say that they like taking risks, 45% of black Americans and 55% of Hispanics say that they like to take risks. Most white Americans (53%) are risk averse.

Risk aversion is most prevalent among white Americans earning less than $100,000 a year. 26% of whites in households earning under $50,000, and 29% of whites in households earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year say that they like taking risks. 39% of whites in households with an annual income over $100,000 say the same.

Full poll results and margin of error can be found here: www.d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/48u2p93z8b/tabs_OP_Entrepreneur_20160708.pdf