Millennials Vs. Baby Boomers: How SMBs Manage

When it comes to owning and operating small businesses, millennials are doing things differently than their Gen X and baby boomer predecessors.

Chase for Business quizzed 900 small business owners, made up of baby boomers (ages 51-69), Gen Xers (35-50) and millennials (18-34), to see how they felt about topics ranging from technology and job satisfaction to digital payments, loyalty programs and banking.

The “Survey for the Ages” results showed that 35 percent of millennial small business owners reported feeling in control, compared to their Gen X (24 percent) and baby boomer (29 percent) counterparts.

The survey also found that the majority of millennial owners feel the need to stay up-to-date with technology to stay competitive, with the group placing more of an importance of technological advances and social media.

“Small business owners of all ages know they need to keep up with technology, but they also need the tools to make the transition as simple and smooth as possible,” Laura Miller, President of Ink from Chase, the business credit card portfolio of Chase for Business, said in a press release.

Millennials also tend to not see business ownership or managing debt and expenses as challenging as Gen Xers and baby boomers do.

Gen Xers (68 percent) and boomers (62 percent) were more likely to describe being a small business owner as challenging compared to millennials (53 percent). When it comes to considering the management of debt as a big challenge, 30 percent of Gen Xers and 33 percent of baby boomers were in agreement, while only 23 percent of millennials were on the same page.

One thing that all generations of business owners came close to agreeing on was the importance of steering growth for their businesses, with Gen Xers (69 percent), millennials (68 percent) and baby boomers (53 percent) citing a concern about spurring growth.