The American Dream Is A Hard Sell In Europe - Business Opportunities Weblog

The American Dream Is A Hard Sell In Europe - Business Opportunities Weblog

June 17, 2010 by Angela Shupe | 3 Comments

The Epoch Times:

Europeans are less prone to start their own businesses even if they obtain a windfall inheritance, compared to Americans and Chinese. Entrepreneurs are also more highly esteemed in the United States and Asia, compared to how they are viewed in Europe. These findings were in a recent survey by the European Commission, aiming to find ways to promote economic development on the old continent.

According to the survey, 45 percent of Europeans would prefer to be their own boss if they could, while 49 percent would still be willing to work as employees. That rate is lower than in the United States where 55 percent of Americans would prefer to engage in private business. However, even in the United States that preference is six points lower today than it was in 2007.

“The entrepreneurial potential in Europe is not fully exploited: 45 percent of all Europeans would like to become their own boss if they could, but only an average of 10 percent are actually self-employed today,” said European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship in a statement.

“If we could raise this percentage, we could have millions of new innovative and creative enterprises, which would rejuvenate Europe’s economic basis, make it more robust, more job-generating, and more resilient to stormy economic times,” continued Tajani.