Discover Why More and More People Are Leaving Their Jobs to be Self-Employed. New Study by HoneyBook
HoneyBook, the leading clientflow management platform for independent businesses, today announced new data on the state of independent work. The study, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of HoneyBook earlier this year, found that current economic uncertainty is encouraging more adults to consider self-employment in 2023 and that independent business owners have greater pride in their work and satisfaction with their job since becoming their own boss compared to when they were employed by an organization.
The majority of U.S. adults understand the appeal of being an independent business owner with 51% of employed Americans who are not already working for themselves stating they have considered leaving their current job to work for themselves—44% of those have considered it in the last year. In fact, 68% think working for themselves would enable them to make more money than they do in their current job and 66% think their overall quality of life would improve. On average they work fewer hours than they did working for an organization and 60% say the ability to make more money is a key benefit. Other leading benefits include:
– Being their own boss (72%)
– Flexibility around where, when, and how they work (64%)
– Pursuing their passion and talent (57%)
But independent work is not without its challenges. This is understood by those who have considered working for themselves, with many saying they worry they wouldn’t make enough money (62%) and/or are afraid they will fail (74%). More than three quarters (78%) of independent business owners themselves say running an independent business comes with more challenges than they anticipated.
Despite the pain points, nearly all (94%) independent business owners say they are able to do more of the work they enjoy and/or that they have a greater sense of pride in the work they do (93%). Overall, the report findings underscore the cultural shift towards self-employment, and suggest that being an independent business owner may no longer be considered more risky. Additional notable findings include:
– Current economic uncertainty makes 59% of working U.S. adults who are not already independent business owners more interested to work for themselves.
– Of individuals who were employed by another organization prior to becoming an independent, nearly all (89%) are more satisfied with their job since becoming their own boss.
– Independent business owners are optimistic about their future success, with nearly two-thirds (65%) saying they anticipate their business net revenue to increase in the next year. Eight in 10 (82%) plan to actively grow their business.
– Yet, 65% of independent business owners are worried about satisfying customer demand as their business grows. This may be because two in five (40%) say their current processes are inefficient but they don’t know how to improve them.
Technology can be a powerful tool to enable independent business success and many know it. Three-quarters (76%) say they could be using software to run their business more efficiently and seven in 10 (70%) wish they had a tool to help them manage all their business processes in one place. Nearly the same percentage (69%) say that having an all-in-one platform to keep them organized would help them “turn off” from work.
HoneyBook chief evangelist Natalie Franke says, “With HoneyBook, independents have the tools to create an efficient clientflow, which is key to sustained growth and long-term success.”
Methodology
This report contains data from two online surveys conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of HoneyBook: a custom survey of U.S. independent business owners and an omnibus survey among U.S. employed adults conducted via the Harris On Demand platform. The custom research was conducted between January 24 – February 9, 2023 among 509 U.S. adults aged 18 and older, who are employed and are independent business owners. The Harris on Demand survey was conducted between January 24 – 26, 2023, among 2,052 adults, of which 932 were employed but not currently independent business owners. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact the media contact.
About HoneyBook
HoneyBook is the leading clientflow management platform that makes it easy for independent business owners to sell and deliver their services to clients. With powerful tools for seamless communication, including a mission statement generator, integrated online payment software, payment reminder generators and more, the platform puts independent professionals in control of their process and client experience. HoneyBook is trusted by over 100,000 service-based businesses in the United States and Canada that have booked more than $9 billion in business on the platform. The company has offices in San Francisco and Tel Aviv, with remote staff worldwide.
Media Contact
Company Name: HoneyBook – clientflow management platform
Contact Person: HoneyBook Team
Email: Send Email
Address:539 Bryant St
City: San Francisco
State: CA 94107
Country: United States
Website: https://www.honeybook.com/
