Check out the insights and trends from FreshBooks Self-Employment Report — an annual survey of more than 2,700 Americans who freelance full-time. It’s the third installment of the study, designed to dig into

what sets millennials apart from other generations of freelancers.

Truth be told, most millennials get a bad rap. They are often de-

scribed as lazy and spoiled, and likely the most entitled generation

in the workforce. (Millennials, please keep reading here!)

Findings from a recent FreshBooks study suggest

Millennials are going to shatter those stereotypes. Here’s why: they are rejecting the traditional definition of a successful career — and make up 42% of the 27 million Americans who plan on quitting their jobs to work for

themselves by 2020.

And when they make the transi-tion from employee to boss,

they’ll create opportunities, grow their businesses and truly rede-fine how Americans think about

work.

2018 1 out of every 5 millennials who work full-time say they’re going to quit their job and be their own boss by 2020. This shift

will quadruple the number of American millennials who earn the majority of their

income from freelance work.

Millennials Are Scrapping Traditional Careers.

They Are The Ones Creating New Opportunities.

40% of millennials have at least one employee already, which makes them the generation most likely to employ

people. It gets better: 1 in 3 millennials employ up to five people.

Some Have Never Even Stepped Foot In An Office.

Quality Of Life Matters Way More Than Money.

Millennials earn less money than the rest of us — 56% earn $50,000 a year

or less — but that’s not a major concern for them. 61% of millennials say good

quality of life is the priority.

Millennials Are Convinced The Government Is Interfering With

Their Business Growth.

42% of millennial freelancers want to grow their revenue and workforce. The problem is, more than 1/3 of them say the federal government makes it challeng-

ing to reach these goals.

Voter Engagement Is Down.

Has The Government Forgotten Them?

Could be. The number of millennials who feel supported by the government has dropped 17% from 2017. Only 4%

of millennial freelancers say their needs are well represented by the

federal government.

Partisan Loyalty Is a Thing of the Past.

Nearly 1/3 of millennials say they’d switch political affiliations if a party showed

support for small business. This shows they’re significantly more open to change

than the older generation.

The real challenge will be inspiring millennials to vote. Despite claims they are as politically engaged as

older freelancers, they’re far less likely to head to the ballot box than Boomers, particularly for state or municipal elections. Just over half of millennials

always vote in state elections, compared to 72% of freelancers over age 37.

Many millennials have never considered traditional careers — nearly 10% have only

ever worked for themselves.

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