Who's the boss? More American workers prefer to be their own boss
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A new report predicts 27 million more Americans will give up their traditional jobs to become self-employed in the next two years. 11 million of those new independent workers are predicted to be millennial.
Whether fresh out of college, or in the middle of a career, more people are choosing the path of entrepreneurship.
People like Mehak Vohra have taken the leap.
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Mehak's office looks barren now, but she has big plans for her company-Jamocha Media.
Just last week, the 21-year-old moved into new offices after working out of her San Francisco home for two years.
"Influencers are people we're managing. We're like a record label except for business experts," said Mehak.
Banu Hantal gave up her job as a psychology professor in Miami five years ago.
She's now an executive coach working with the start-up world.
"I decided, you know, I want to do what I want to do. I want to choose how I want to contribute to the world and I want to choose how I make money, who I work with," Banu said.
Both Banu and Mehak are part of the growing number of people giving up traditional careers.
A study by the small business accounting software firm, Freshbooks, found the number of full time self-employed Americans will nearly triple to 42 million in two years. Four out of ten new self-employed workers are expected to be millennial.
Data analyst Carly Moulton co-authored the study.
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"Climbing the corporate ladder is no longer the American dream. Americans don't want a boss anymore. They want to work for themselves," said Moulton.
Mehak began documenting on YouTube her transition out of high school her senior year in West Virginia.
She went on to Purdue where she says by her sophomore year, she became known around campus as the girl on YouTube.
It was about that time that she says companies began reaching out to her for advice about connecting with the younger generation.
Thus Jamocha Media was born.
She dropped out of school and booked a one-way ticket to San Francisco.
"Being able to call the shots and be my own boss is what I really enjoy and I realized I really enjoy creativity and being able to empower people," said Mehak.
The FreshBook study found career satisfaction is higher among those self-employed.
"The majority report that they're making more money. They have better health, less stress. More work-life balance," said Moulton.
Banu acknowledges the risk of failure for entrepreneurs is high. She has this cautionary word.
"It can be psychologically difficult and also financially difficult," she said.
97 percent of the self-employed say they have no plans to return to a traditional job. That's up 10 percent from last year's survey.
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Produced by Randall Yip
