Jan. 19, 2022

Two years into the pandemic, a growing number of people appear to be interested in becoming their own boss.

The recently conducted SiouxFalls.Business work/life survey found that of nearly 500 respondents, nearly 80 people — or 16 percent — are considering starting a business.

Seventy people, or 15 percent, already own businesses and did before the pandemic, and 3 percent started businesses during the pandemic.

“It’s very heartening to me to see more people interested in entrepreneurship than ever before,” said Brienne Maner, executive director of Startup Sioux Falls. “If people need support, we’re here to support them, and we’ve become exponentially more relevant.”

SiouxFalls.Business reaches a business-minded audience, so those taking the survey likely are more inclined to ownership, but the numbers still bear out what’s happening within the community, according to Maner.

The pandemic and its related disruption to worklife “gave some people the opportunity to have a little bit of clarity in their life and to say, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’ You felt it, and you still feel it today … so I think there was an epiphany that occurred during the pandemic where people began to explore the idea of working independently.”

For every one spot in the Startup Sioux Falls CO.STARTERS accelerator program, there have been roughly two applicants. And it has been that way through three cohorts.

“Bringing this accelerator program in, we weren’t really sure what the demand was going to be in the market, and we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the applications,” Maner said.

“It’s been interesting to see the type of industries coming to us, and they’re all over the map — we had biotech businesses to retailers to cannabis. And the one I can’t put my finger on is this idea of mindfulness. Yoga, crystals, we’ve seen more of that than anything.”

Erica Locke is one of the founders participating in the most recent cohort of CO.STARTERS, which is wrapping up.

The founder and principal interior designer formed design consulting business Articulate weeks before the pandemic began in 2020 and grew it from her dining room table for 10 months before moving into a downtown office.

“I got to a point in my career where I had enough people telling me I could do it on my own, independent consulting, and I just had enough support that it was like I’m going to take the risk and make the leap,” she said.

“I found a niche, and it was literally me walking into an architecture firm and sitting in the seat of a designer who was going on maternity leave, and I just filled her spot for three months because I had the experience to show up and didn’t need to be trained.”

Since then, she has worked with multiple architecture firms, contractors and developers in short-term and project-based roles and has been kept busy through word-of-mouth referrals. Now, two years in, she’s taking the time “to make myself dive into all the parts and pieces” of running a business, she said. “Business plan, strategy, what do I want to be doing in 30 days, 60 days, 90 days.”

Her CO.STARTERS classmates largely were inspired to launch during the pandemic, she said.

“I think a lot of people were just like, ‘OK, I’m going to do this.’ They all had an idea in their minds and thought, ‘If I’m going to do this, this is the time.’ And there are some really good ideas.”

Her own entrepreneurship has given her more time with her three kids, who range in age from 6 to 14.

“Just the flexibility to be able to pick them up from school and schedule things, I can schedule all my meetings around my family, so that alone has been huge,” she said.

Prospective business owners now also are weighing the increased benefits many employers are throwing their way, Maner said.

“I think people are weighing those perks against what it might look like to be financially independent and running your own business, so that’s been interesting, and it’s a split,” she said. “People are still scared to take that leap, and it takes a community. It’s scary to people to lose their day jobs and go full time, but the ones who are most successful as entrepreneurs eventually do drop that day job and go full time because if you don’t you’re never going to see the full return.”

Sioux Falls respondents: Working more and stressed approaching two years into pandemic