wellness

Small Business Owners Are Incredibly Sexy, According to Millennials and Gen Z-ers

Remember the days when the only thing you looked for in a guy was a beat-up guitar and a pack of clove cigarettes rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve? (Just us?) Well, millennials and Gen Z-ers are all grown up. Gone are the days where these two generations swooned over professional bad boys like Justin Bobby (or, you know, Justin Bieber). Instead, they’ve set their sights on small business owners and entrepreneurs.

According to a study conducted by Tinder and Shopify, 78 percent of American daters revealed that they’d swiftly swipe right if a potential suitor was a business owner and 71 percent revealed they’d do the same with an entrepreneur. Millennials and Gen Z-ers were the generations who most wanted to date entrepreneurs, with 70 percent mentioning they would be interested. In fact, entrepreneurs and small business owners snagged the top spot over doctors, bankers, investors and lawyers, which are typically viewed as the most coveted career paths.

So, what is it about small business owners that has millennials swooning?

In a 2020 study conducted by GoDaddy, 30 percent of millennials admitted to having a small business or a side hustle and 19 percent revealed it was their main source of income. So, if the laws of attraction are true, one factor could be that they want to be with like-minded people who would understand the busy schedule that comes with entrepreneurship and the challenges of starting a small business.

For those looking for something more long-term, the Tinder and Shopify study found that being self employed can also be indicative of some highly desirable traits in a life-long partner. Not only can being an entrepreneur reflect that you’re potentially good with money—which means financial stability—it can also show that a person is resourceful, a problem-solver, ambitious and brave; all traits that will come in handy when the honeymoon period is over and things get real.

So, have millennials and Gen Z sworn off bad boys for good? Well, there’s still the irrational fanfare over Joe Goldberg, so, nope, not yet.


Stephanie Sengwe

Resident Hufflepuff, Beyonce historian, self-proclaimed tea sommelier

Steph is a native of Zimbabwe who is both enamored and genuinely baffled by the concept of silent letters. From 2020 to 2022, she served as Associate Editor at PureWow covering...
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