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Founder, co-owner job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected founder, co-owner job growth rate is 6% from 2018-2028.
About 189,200 new jobs for founders, co-owner are projected over the next decade.
Founder, co-owner salaries have increased 3% for founders, co-owner in the last 5 years.
There are over 112,424 founders, co-owner currently employed in the United States.
There are 50,040 active founder, co-owner job openings in the US.
The average founder, co-owner salary is $83,356.
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 112,424 | 0.03% |
| 2020 | 104,103 | 0.03% |
| 2019 | 106,042 | 0.03% |
| 2018 | 100,849 | 0.03% |
| 2017 | 104,804 | 0.03% |
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $83,356 | $40.07 | +0.8% |
| 2024 | $82,688 | $39.75 | --2.7% |
| 2023 | $84,992 | $40.86 | +3.5% |
| 2022 | $82,155 | $39.50 | +1.1% |
| 2021 | $81,231 | $39.05 | +3.5% |
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaware | 961,939 | 200 | 21% |
| 2 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 974 | 17% |
| 3 | New York | 19,849,399 | 2,185 | 11% |
| 4 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 715 | 10% |
| 5 | California | 39,536,653 | 3,401 | 9% |
| 6 | Nevada | 2,998,039 | 242 | 8% |
| 7 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 81 | 8% |
| 8 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 426 | 7% |
| 9 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 88 | 7% |
| 10 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 46 | 7% |
| 11 | Vermont | 623,657 | 37 | 6% |
| 12 | Florida | 20,984,400 | 1,018 | 5% |
| 13 | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 579 | 5% |
| 14 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 309 | 5% |
| 15 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 143 | 4% |
| 16 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 65 | 4% |
| 17 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 59 | 4% |
| 18 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 47 | 4% |
| 19 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 238 | 3% |
| 20 | Alaska | 739,795 | 22 | 3% |

Georgia State University
Mark Zweig: Because the potential is unlimited! An entrepreneur can design their job around their personal needs and strengths. And you can do it as long as you live!
Mark Zweig: Entrepreneurs work in all kinds of industries and have widely varying routines. Some have one business and some have many businesses. The primary thrust, however, is building value in the business vs. extracting profits. Typical day-to-day involves putting fires out, solving people problems, recruiting key people, selling whatever it is the business sells, and working on mergers/acquisitions/exits.
Mark Zweig: They like the freedom to come and go. They also hate the fact they can never fully disconnect. Another negative is they tend to get very little positive feedback from their people or the media. Happy customer feedback can be reinforcing, however.

Georgia State University
J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Jason Aldrich: JA – New graduates seeking careers in entrepreneurial environments should take a strategic approach to their career search by identifying high growth sectors in the economy that align with their competencies and passions. Too often, we see graduates spread their search efforts too broadly. We recommend identifying 2-3 industry sectors and no more than 3-4 geographic areas to focus on. Using this framework, the next step is to use a combination of sources to surface no more than 5-10 opportunities to apply to at a time. Sources should include personal networking, referrals, in-person events, and technology platforms such as LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, or others. While it’s ‘easy’ to focus most of your search efforts on these platforms to find and apply to multiple job openings, we find it’s not nearly as effective. The challenge is to take a disciplined approach to identifying specific opportunities that are a great fit for your interests, skills, and geographic preferences, and then leverage all of your sources to pursue opportunities.
Jason Aldrich: JA – Research indicates the majority of employers are seeking evidence of a candidate’s ability to think critically, solve problems and to work in a team, with the key word being “evidence”. In addition, more than half of employers evaluate resumes and cover letters for excellent written communication skills. Looking out over the next 3-5 years, students should be focused on developing the NACE career readiness competencies that employers deem most important for college students to develop including: communication, critical thinking, and teamwork.
Jason Aldrich: JA – The key to maximizing your salary potential is to make the most of your college experience by earning outstanding grades, building the communication and teamwork skills necessary to solve complex problems, and engaging in experiential learning, co-curricular activities, and internships. This approach will help you demonstrate to potential employers that you have the skills and are ready to hit the ground running to address the challenges they face. In addition, it’s important to also assess each market sector you are considering in terms of compensation standards, opportunities for growth, and most highly prioritized skills. For example, your research might reveal that you have everything a potential employer would be willing to pay a highly competitive salary for except experience in financial modeling or programming in Python. If this is the case, you can quickly take a course or enroll in a BootCamp to learn a particular skill. This approach also sets you up for success after you start working. For example, today’s hot topic is how firms can apply generative AI to their business model for better outcomes. Becoming knowledgeable in the concepts of generative AI and contributing to the conversation will set you apart from your colleagues. As a general rule, you should continuously seek new opportunities to learn and upskill while you’re employed.