A growing number of young people are interested in entrepreneurship. According to the YouthSpeak Survey, 61% of millennials plan to become entrepreneurs at some point of their life, and 9% have already started their own business. Entrepreneurship has gained popularity steadily and many youngsters are exploring the option of being self-employed, especially as youth unemployment rates are high and getting employed seems to be more difficult than before.

The entrepreneurial spirit is something that defines the millennials also as employees. Millennials are looking for a lot of development opportunities in their first jobs so they can learn the skills they need to succeed as entrepreneurs. They also know they will leave the job when they have developed enough, and look for new opportunities to take them closer to where they want to be.

On the other hand, a big reason why millennials want to be entrepreneus can be found in what they are looking for in their careers. Millennials want to be free to travel and spend time on what they want to. They no longer see a strict division between personal and work life, but integrate these two closely together. Entrepreneurship gives them the ability to choose who they work for, and when and where they work.

The fact that this generation has grown up with technology makes it even more understandable that these young minds will start their own businesses. They see the whole world open to them and believe they can do anything with the help of technology. Technology allows them to look for the freedom to work from anywhere and at any time. Millennials are no longer tied to the potential customers of their home town, but everyone who has internet access are available to buy their products and services. Millennials are also looking for that personal experience, so when they can’t find what they want, why not personalize it for themselves and offer it to others too?

It is not only the generation that is making entrepreneurship more widespread. In many ways, becoming an entrepreneur has become easier than ever. Sites like Upwork and Freelancer make it easier for freelancers to find gigs and online market places such as Etsy allow people to sell the fruits of their hands to anyone around the world. There are even companies that allow you to practice a sort of “light entrepreneurship”, be an entrepreneur while they take care of all the paperwork hassle.

With 71 million youth unemployed around the world, and educators, policy makers, and employers failing to collaborate for a solution to the problem, will millennials in the end employ themselves to get out of unemployment? Can entrepreneurship be the solution to the youth unemployment crisis?