Is owning a business and being your own boss something everyone dreams about? One-quarter of Americans (25%) say they currently own their own business, over one in ten (13%) are making plans to do so and almost one in five (18%) have thought about it, but haven't gone through with opening one. Almost one in ten (7%) did open their own business but no longer own it and almost two in five Americans (38%) have never thought about opening one. This is from an online survey conducted by Regina Corso Consulting among 2,006 U.S. adults, 18 and older between June 23 and 26, 2020.

To open a business involves money and being mentally prepared. Over two-thirds of Americans (68%) say only people with money saved up should open a new business. But this attitude changes depending on whether one has opened one or not. Four in five who currently own a business (79%) say only people with money saved should open a new business compared to over three in five (62%) who do not own one. One area where there is no difference is on mental strength as over nine in ten Americans (94%) say in order to open a business you have to be mentally strong, with almost two-thirds (64%) strongly agreeing with this.

Why do some people do it and others just can't? Over seven in ten Americans (72%) say people open up their own business because they want to be their own boss, three in five (61%) say it's because they have a great idea and almost three in five (57%) because they want flexibility. Smaller numbers say it's because they didn't want to work in an office (32%) or they were forced to because of economic circumstances (25%).

On the flip side, over three in five Americans (64%) say people do not open up their own business because they are scared of failing (64%) or they can't afford to (62%). Over two in five (43%) say it's because they don't have any desire while over one in five say it's they need to work with others (22%) or for others (22%)

Currently the economic situation is fluctuating and Americans are a little divided about what that means for opening their own business. Almost three-quarters (73%) say, in this current environment, it would not be a good idea to open a new business while over half (56%) say not knowing what the economy is going to look like means it's a good time to become your own boss. Considering the current economic uncertainty, among those who have thought about it over one-quarter (28%) say they are more likely and over two in five (43%) say they are less likely to open their own business in the next few months either in addition to their current job or as their main job. Among those who have not thought about it, just over one in ten (12%) are more likely to do this while almost three in five (57%) are less likely.