Cybersecurity is Biggest Worry for Entrepreneurs in 2018
The majority of entrepreneurs (47%) are most worried about cybersecurity breaches leading into 2018.
Research by Nodesource found that entrepreneurs agree that, in Q4, the interruptions caused by holiday PTO (43 percent) pose a greater challenge than meeting goals (39 percent), coming up with ideas for the new year (36 percent), or closing the books (35 percent).
Looking ahead to 2018, nearly half (47 percent) of entrepreneurs are most worried about cybersecurity breaches, being able to find talent (37 percent), and decisions that will be made by the Trump administration (36 percent).
More generally, the majority of entrepreneurs agree that their greatest ongoing challenge is finding work-life balance (45 percent). Other top challenges include:
- Building a good team — 35 percent
- Fundraising — 30 percent
- Keeping up with email — 28 percent
- Market penetration — 28 percent
- Sales leads — 25 percent
When it comes to team building, entrepreneurs agree that a successful team generates more ideas and inspiration (59 percent) and increases productivity (57 percent).
As for fundraising, entrepreneurs agree that competition (57 percent) and lack of customers (34 percent) pose the greatest obstacles, although Millennial entrepreneurs (38 percent) also view lack of personal connections with VCs as a significant hurdle. When it comes to successful fundraising, Boomer entrepreneurs think patience is key (90 percent), while Gen X (71 percent) and Millennial (53 percent) entrepreneurs feel relationships are more important.
More than three-quarters (76 percent) of entrepreneurs describe themselves as “creative,” and more than two-thirds (66 percent) describe themselves as “goal-oriented.” Other top traits of entrepreneurs include:
- Always on time — 65 percent
- Persistent — 65 percent
- Outgoing — 59 percent
- Funny — 58 percent
- Skilled at money management — 52 percent
Generationally, Boomers are most likely to describe themselves as goal-oriented (100 percent), outgoing (90 percent) and “street-smart” (70 percent)—a quality only about a third (35 percent) of Millennials feel they share. Meanwhile, Gen Xers and Millennials are most likely to describe themselves as creative (about 76 percent each).
More than half (52 percent) of entrepreneurs also describe themselves as “middle class,” 17 percent describe themselves as “wealthy,” and a minority—6 percent—describe themselves as “poor.”
Almost half (49 percent) of entrepreneurs are only children or firstborns. The research noted that women entrepreneurs surveyed were much more likely to be middle children (43 percent) than men (20 percent), but far less likely to be only children (2 percent) than their male counterparts (33 percent).
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