Pensacola ranks 6th among mid-sized cities for young business owners, report finds

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The number of young business owners is growing nationwide — and Northwest Florida has one of the highest rates.

“Simply Business,” an online insurance marketplace, reports Pensacola at number six in the country compared to other mid-sized cities.

It’s not always about what you know, but who you know.

“Co:Lab” in Downtown Pensacola allows entrepreneurs like 30-year-old Emily Hopper to meet other young business owners.

“I’m seeing a ton of new businesses within my friend group and the community,” said Hopper, founder/owner/CEO of Dream Agency.

Hopper left the 9-5 corporate grind to pursue her passion of digital marketing.

“I ended up selling everything I owned and backpacking for a couple years to really figure out what lights me up, what brings me joy,” she said. “Through those travels, actually, my first business was born.”

Now on her second business venture, she hasn’t looked back.

Her story is just one of the thousands of young Pensacolians who are chasing entrepreneurship.

The Simply Business study shows that 37 percent of business owners in Pensacola are younger than 40 years old.

“The millennial crowd is really passionate about doing what they love, getting paid well for it, and creating a better world,” Hopper said.

The study says people in this age range usually have fewer financial responsibilities, like a mortgage or family expenses, which gives them more room to take a leap of faith.

“There’s definitely a financial risk up front,” Hopper said. “The first 1-2 years in business can be a little bit tight in terms of money because you’re getting that cashflow started.”

Young business owners mainly work in digital and creative fields. At the other end of the spectrum, wholesale trade along with finance and insurance businesses.

“You have this skill or this talent or this product and you want to just do that, so you have to create a business around it to protect that,” Hopper said.