Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning
English. I’m Rob.
And I’m Sam.
Have you got a ‘business brain’, Sam?
Would you like to start you own business?
It sounds good, Rob. I like the idea of being
my own boss.
Well, that’s the dream for many millennials
- the name given to the current generation
of young people aged between 24 and 38.
Some of the millennial generation are dissatisfied
with the old ways of doing things, for example
how big business uses data from social media
and the negative impact of companies on society
and the environment.
In today’s programme, we’ll look at why
millennials are so attracted to starting their
own businesses and asking whether this really
is the way to make the world a better place.
And of course, we’ll be learning some new
vocabulary on the way.
But first, it’s time for today’s quiz
question.
At 79 years old, Muhammad Yunus
is hardly a millennial but he’s a hero to
many young business people. In 2006 he won
the Nobel Peace Prize, but what for? Was it for:
a) offering microfinance to low-income businesses,
b) starting the first business to earn £1m
in under a week, or
c) developing a progressive model of taxation.
Hmmm, I know millennials like starting businesses
so I’ll say, b) earning £1 million in under
a week.
OK. We’ll find out the later if you were
right. Now, whether it’s TV shows like ‘The
Apprentice’ or the big success of companies
in California’s Silicon Valley, the last
decade saw a huge growth in 20 and 30-year-olds
starting their own businesses. BBC World Service
programme The Why Factor asked
business professor,
Ethan Mollick to explain how this situation
came about…
There’s all these platforms that let you
built entrepreneureal ventures much more easily.
The growth of things like crowdfunding have
helped make entrepreneurship more accessible,
led to tons of new start-ups. So there’s
a lot of new methods for launching businesses
and the cost of launching new businesses dropped
at the same time.
Ethan lists some of the reasons why it’s
now easier to become an entrepreneur -
someone who starts their own business, often
after seeing a new opportunity.
Entrepreneurs see opportunities for products
and services not being supplied by existing
companies, so they create start-ups - newly
formed businesses intended to grow rapidly
by providing for a particular market gap.
One of the main problems to starting up your
own business used to be getting the large
amounts of money needed, but nowadays this
can be solved with crowdfunding - getting
the funding for a new business by asking a
large number of people to give small amounts
of money, usually via the internet.
But while start-up success stories have made
going into business a good option, for many
millennials it’s not just about making money
but also about being socially responsible
and doing good. However, others argue that
most big changes for the better have come
from governments not millennial businesses.
Here, former World Bank economist, Charles
Kenny, cautions against over-emphasising individual
business over governments…
If you are working in a place with a corrupt
and inefficient government, one of the best
ways you can push development in your country
is to try and make that problem a little bit
better. It’s not something that any one
individual can do, it has to be a collective
effort, but the more we have young, committed,
smart people who want to make the world a
better place working in government, the more
likely government is to start delivering the
kind of services we need in order to ensure
a high quality of life in that country.
So, Charles mentions the problem that
governments can be corrupt - act in
morally wrong or illegal
ways, often in return for money or power.
The talent and passion that millennials put
into starting their own business could instead
be used to improve governments through collective
effort - a group of people acting together
to achieve a common goal.
It’s this working together than can raise
people’s quality of life – level of personal
satisfaction and comfort.
Something that Muhammad Yunus was doing.
Ah yes, that’s today’s quiz question.
I asked you why Muhammad Yunus won
the Nobel Prize in 2006.
I said that, b) he started the first business
to earn £1m in under a week.
But in fact it was a) offering microfinance
to low-income businesses – a way for anyone,
rich or poor, to run a business in a positive way.
Today, we’ve been talking about why young
people in the millennial generation want to
be entrepreneurs – people who start their
own business.
Many millennials create start-ups - newly
formed businesses intended to grow rapidly
using a method called crowdfunding - getting
the funding for their new business by asking
large numbers of people on the internet to
each give a little bit of money.
But it’s not only about making profits.
Millennials start-ups can help solve many
of the developing world’s problems, instead
of governments which may be corrupt - acting
immorally or illegally for money or power.
What’s needed more than individual businessmen
and women is collective effort - a group of
people acting together to achieve a common
goal.
And one important goal is to improve the quality
of life – the level of satisfaction and
comfort that a person or group enjoys.
That’s all from us today. But remember to
join us again soon for more topical discussion
and vocabulary. Bye for now!
Bye!