Blue Collar Entrepreneurs

Part
01
of three
Part
01

Blue Collar Entrepreneurs: Demographics

Blue-collar entrepreneurs in the United States have a demographic profile which includes that 31.55% are in the 55-64 years-old age range, 27.79% are female, and their average monthly income is about $11,233. After an extensive search and multiple triangulations, the research team did not find any specific religious or marital status demographics for this population. Below is an outline of the research strategies used to better understand why the exact information requested is publicly unavailable, as well as a deep dive into the findings.

Blue Collar Entrepreneurs: Demographics

  • According to Business Forward, a premier source for independent business information, advice and news, 8 out of the top 10 highest earning industries for entrepreneurs are from the blue-collar sector, which includes home building/improvement/maintenance (construction, roofing, flooring, painting, heating and air conditioning, etc), auto-repair, landscaping, catering, event planning, and cleaning.

Age

  • According to the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs by the US Census Bureau, 0.4% of US business owners in the home improvement industry (under 23 — Construction 2-digit NAICS Code), such as construction, roofing, flooring, flooring, painting, heating and air conditioning, among others, or about 2,875 blue-collar entrepreneurs, were under 25 years old in 2016; 5.4%, or about 34,718 entrepreneurs, were aged 25-34 years; 17.2% or about 110,240 entrepreneurs, were aged 35-44 years; 29.5%, or about 188,815 entrepreneurs, were aged 45-54 years; 32.7% or about 208,927 entrepreneurs, were aged 55-64 years; and 14.7% or 94,166 entrepreneurs, were aged 65 years or over. The total number in the construction industry in 2016 were 639,740 blue-collar entrepreneurs.
  • According to the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs by the US Census Bureau, for the landscaping services industry (under the 56 — Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services 2-digit NAICS Code), 0.7% of US business owners in the landscaping services industry, or about 2,028 blue-collar entrepreneurs, were under 25 years old in 2016; 6.2%, or about 18,892 entrepreneurs, were aged 25-34 years; 16.9%, or about 51,658 entrepreneurs, were aged 35-44 years; 29.2%, or about 89,170 entrepreneurs, were aged 45-54 years; 30.0%, or about 91,462 entrepreneurs, were aged 55-64 years; and 17.0%, or 51,688 entrepreneurs, were aged 65 years or over. The total number in the landscaping services industry in 2016 were 304,897 blue-collar entrepreneurs.
  • According to the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs by the US Census Bureau, for the automotive repair industry (under the 81 — Other services (except public administration) 2-digit NAICS Code), 0.5% of US business owners in the landscaping services industry, or about 1,887 blue-collar entrepreneurs, were under 25 years old in 2016; 6.1%, or about 21,664 entrepreneurs, were aged 25-34 years; 17.0%, or about 60,055 entrepreneurs, were aged 35-44 years; 29.6%, or about 104,378 entrepreneurs, were aged 45-54 years; 30.9%, or about 108,818 entrepreneurs, were aged 55-64 years; and 15.8%, or 55,574 entrepreneurs, were aged 65 years or over. The total number in the automotive repair industry in 2016 were 352,378 blue-collar entrepreneurs.
  • The overall average age demographics of blue-collar entrepreneurs in the US is 0.52% under 25 years old, 5.8% aged 25-34 years, 17.11% aged 35-44 years, 29.48% aged 45-54 years old, 31.55% aged 55-64 years, and 15.53% aged 65 years or over. (see calculations for industry proxy)

Gender

  • According to the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs by the US Census Bureau, there were about 133,643 female (20.89%) and 506,096 male (79.11%) blue-collar entrepreneurs in the US home improvement industry (under 23 — Construction 2-digit NAICS Code) in 2016.
  • According to the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs by the US Census Bureau, there were about 95,959 female (31.47%) and 208,938 male (68.53%) blue-collar entrepreneurs in the US landscaping services industry (under the 56 — Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services 2-digit NAICS Code) in 2016.
  • According to the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs by the US Census Bureau, there were about 130,864 female (37.14%) and 221,514 male (62.86%) blue-collar entrepreneurs in the US automotive repair industry (under the 81 — Other services, except public administration, 2-digit NAICS Code) in 2016.
  • The overall gender demographics of the blue-collar sector entrepreneurs in the US consists of 27.79% female and 72.21% male blue-collar entrepreneurs. (see calculations for industry proxy)

Income

  • According to the Invoice2Go report, the top 8 out of 10 highest-earning industries for small business owners in the US, according to average monthly amount invoiced, belong the blue-collar sector, which includes construction ($18,788), roofing ($16,942), flooring ($10,602), painting ($9,486), heating & air conditioning ($8,971), carpentry ($8,950), plumbing ($8,639) and electrical ($7,490).
  • The average monthly income of blue-collar entrepreneurs in the US is estimated to be $11,233.50/month, while their estimated annual income is worth $134,802. (see calculations for industry proxy)

General Marital Status Finding:

  • According to the Demographic Characteristics of Business Owners and Employees report by the US Small Business Administration, 66.3% of business entrepreneurs, in general, are married while 33.7% are not married.

Research Strategy:

First, we researched for precompiled reports about the demographics of blue-collar entrepreneurs by using well-known industry bodies and trade organizations such as the National Entrepreneurs Association, Entrepreneur's Organization, National Association of Manufacturers, American Welding Society, and Construction Business Owner, among others, as the most credible sources. However, we only found news and resources about the specific industries, but no reports or articles were found about the demographics of blue-collar entrepreneurs in the US, specifically the business owner's age, gender, income, religion, and marital status. We then searched for any data and statistics that could be used to triangulate the demographics of blue-collar entrepreneurs in the US, by using government sources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and US Census Bureau, among others, and trade entrepreneur-targeted resources such as Business Forward, Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Independent Women's Forum. Next, we used the data of the highest-earning industries for blue-collar entrepreneurs to get the age and gender demographics of blue-collar entrepreneurs via triangulation by proxy using the data and statistics from the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs. In order to find the specific data and statistics for the mentioned highest-earning industries above, we needed to use the US Census Bureau Industry Statistics Portal to find the 2-digit NAICS code of which the industries of construction, roofing, flooring, painting, heating & air conditioning, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, automotive repair and landscaping are included. We then applied our understanding to all respective NAICS codes for the blue collar sector.


CALCULATIONS FOR INDUSTRY PROXY

(1) Age:
*Home Improvement Industry: Under 25 years old, 2,875 entrepreneurs; 25-34 years old, 34,718 entrepreneurs; 35-44 years old, 110,240 entrepreneurs; 45-54 years old, 188,815 entrepreneurs; 55-64 years old, 208,927 entrepreneurs; 65 years old or over, 94,166 entrepreneurs.

*Landscaping Services Industry: Under 25 years old, 2,028 entrepreneurs; 25-34 years old, 18,892 entrepreneurs; 35-44 years old, 51,658 entrepreneurs; 45-54 years old, 89,170 entrepreneurs; 55-64 years old, 91,462 entrepreneurs; 65 years old or over, 51,688 entrepreneurs.

*Automotive Repair Industry: Under 25 years old, 1,887 entrepreneurs; 25-34 years old, 21,664 entrepreneurs; 35-44 years old, 60,055 entrepreneurs; 45-54 years old, 104,378 entrepreneurs; 55-64 years old, 108,818 entrepreneurs; 65 years old or over, 55,574 entrepreneurs.

=Average of blue-collar entrepreneurs that are under 25 years old = (Home Improvement Industry entrepreneurs under 25 years old + Landscaping Services Industry entrepreneurs under 25 years old + Automotive Repair Industry entrepreneurs under 25 years old) / 3 = (2,875 + 2,028 + 1,887) / 3 = 2,263 blue collar entrepreneurs

=Average of 25-34 yrs. old = (Home Improvement Industry entrepreneurs 25-34 years old + Landscaping Services Industry entrepreneurs 25-34 years old + Automotive Repair Industry entrepreneurs 25-34 years old) / 3 = (34,718 + 18,892 + 21,664) / 3 = 25,091 blue collar entrepreneurs

=Average of 35-44 yrs. old = (Home Improvement Industry entrepreneurs 35-44 years old + Landscaping Services Industry entrepreneurs 35-44 years old + Automotive Repair Industry entrepreneurs 35-44 years old) / 3 = (110,240 + 51,658 + 60,055) / 3 = 73,984 blue collar entrepreneurs

=Average of 45-54 yrs. old = (Home Improvement Industry entrepreneurs 45-54 years old + Landscaping Services Industry entrepreneurs 45-54 years old + Automotive Repair Industry entrepreneurs 45-54 years old) / 3 = (188,815 + 89,170 + 104,378) / 3 = 127,454 blue collar entrepreneurs

=Average of 55-64 yrs. old = (Home Improvement Industry entrepreneurs 55-64 years old + Landscaping Services Industry entrepreneurs 55-64 years old + Automotive Repair Industry entrepreneurs 55-64 years old) / 3 = (208,927 + 91,462 + 108,818) / 3 = 136,402 blue collar entrepreneurs

=Average of 65 yrs. old or over = (Home Improvement Industry entrepreneurs 65 yrs. old or over + Landscaping Services Industry entrepreneurs 65 yrs. old or over + Automotive Repair Industry entrepreneurs 65 yrs. old or over) / 3 = (94,166 + 51,688 + 55,574) / 3 = 67,143 blue collar entrepreneurs

=Proxy for overall average of blue collar sector entrepreneurs, based on the 3 industries = (2,263 + 25,091 + 73,984 + 127,454 + 136,402 + 67,143) = 432,337 overall average of blue collar sector entrepreneurs in the US

*Under 25 yrs. old = (2,263 / 432,337) x 100 = 0.52%
25-34 yrs. old = (25,091 / 432,337) x 100 = 5.8%
35-44 yrs. old = (73,984 / 432,337) x 100 = 17.11%
45-54 yrs. old = (127,454 / 432,337) x 100 = 29.48%
55-64 yrs. old = (136,402 / 432,337) x 100 = 31.55%
65 yrs. old and over = (67,143 / 432,337) x 100 = 15.53%

*Therefore, the overall average age demographics of blue-collar entrepreneurs in the US are 0.52% under 25 years old, 5.8% aged 25-34 years, 17.11% aged 35.44 years, 29.48% aged 45-54 years, 31.55% aged 55-64 years, and 15.53% aged 65 years or over. (calculations)


(2) Gender
*Home Improvement Industry: 133,643 female and 506,096 male blue-collar entrepreneurs; Total entrepreneurs = 639,740
*Landscaping Services: 95,959 female and 208,938 male blue-collar entrepreneurs; Total entrepreneurs = 304,897
*Automotive Repair: 130,864 female and 221,514 male blue-collar entrepreneurs; Total entrepreneurs = 352,378

=Percentage of female entrepreneurs in Home Improvement = (133,643 / 639,740) x 100 = 20.89%
=Percentage of male entrepreneurs in Home Improvement = (506,096 / 639,740) x 100 = 79.11%

=Percentage of female entrepreneurs in Landscaping Services = (95,959 / 304,897) x 100 = 31.47%
=Percentage of male entrepreneurs in Landscaping Services = (208,938 / 304,897) x 100 = 68.53%

=Percentage of female entrepreneurs in Automotive Repair = (130,864 / 352,378) x 100 = 37.14%
=Percentage of male entrepreneurs in Automotive Repair = (221,514 / 352,378) x 100 = 62.86%

=Average female blue-collar entrepreneurs from the 3 industries = (133,643 + 95,959 + 130,864) / 3 = 120,155
=Average male blue-collar entrepreneurs from the 3 industries = (506,096 + 208,938 + 221,514) / 3 = 312,183

*Total of the average = 120,155 + 312,183 = 432,338

=Percentage of female blue collar entrepreneurs from the 3 industries = (120,155 / 432,338) x 100 = 27.79%
=Percentage of male blue collar entrepreneurs from the 3 industries = (312,183 / 432,338) x 100 = 72.21%

*Therefore, the overall gender demographics of the blue-collar entrepreneurs in the US consists of 27.79% female and 72.21% male blue-collar entrepreneurs. (calculations)


(3) Income
*The research team then used the information from the Invoice2Go report about the average monthly income of the top-earning industries for blue-collar entrepreneurs, via triangulation by proxy, to find the average monthly and annual income of blue-collar entrepreneurs in the US, as industry proxy.

=Average monthly income = (Sum of average monthly income of construction, roofing, flooring, painting, heating & air conditioning, carpentry, plumbing and electrical) / 8 = ($18,788 + $16,942 + $10,602 + $9,486 + $8,971 + $8,950 + $8,639 + $7,490) / 8 = $11,233.50

=Average annual income = Average Monthly Income x 12 months = $11,233.50 x 12 = $134,802

*Therefore, the average monthly income and annual income of blue-collar entrepreneurs in the US are $11,233.50 monthly, and $134,802 annually, respectively. (calculations)
Part
02
of three
Part
02

Blue Collar Entrepreneurs: Psychographics

While a lack of large-scale surveys of blue-collar entrepreneurs and differences in geographic and industry factors prevent a complete psychographic profile from being drawn, the existing sources still provide many useful insights which are detailed below.

BLUE-COLLAR PSYCHOGRAPHICS

  • Blue-collar jobs are currently looked down on by the majority (only 30% of parents would encourage their children to go into manufacturing, for example), resulting in a 50-year-low labor participation rate and 7.3 million unfilled jobs.
  • And yet, blue-collar workers "may be one of the most optimistic groups in the country today," with 85% seeing their lives "heading in the right direction" and 80% feeling optimistic about the future.
  • 49% work in a skilled trade, while 44% work in general labor.
  • The average has been working for 22 years and in his current job for 10 years.
  • Blue-collar "hourly" employees are constantly looking for better opportunities:
    • 26% are actively seeking new jobs and another 30% would be willing to consider a better job if offered.
    • 95% are willing to spend personal time to learn a new skill and almost one-third are willing to invest 5 or more hours a week.
    • 90% are interested in apprenticeships.
  • There is a "grass is always greener" effect when it comes to college:
    • While over half of those without a college education wish that they had gotten a Bachelor's degree,
    • 46% of blue-collar workers with a college degree wish they had "attended community college, vocational school or had gone straight into the workforce instead."
    • This is significantly higher than white-collar college graduates (31%).
  • While most support labor unions (73%), few are members (13%).
  • Blue-collar and white-collar workers are otherwise very similar, e.g., in terms of job satisfaction, viewing themselves as middle-class, political affiliation, and desire to support their family.
  • However, they tend to be locally focused, with 69% believing their communities are moving in the right direction, but only 58% saying the same for their states and 51% their country.

THE ENTREPRENEURS

  • As noted by Forbes, blue-collar entrepreneurs carry over many positive traits from their work, including honesty, a strong work ethic, "a near-unwavering moral code," and strong ties to their community.
  • Those who go from working in the trenches to building their own businesses have a strong belief in themselves.
  • This makes them strong leaders — in fact, examples that white-collar entrepreneurs would do well to emulate.
  • In fact, Hedge CEO and Founder Bob Rutherford, who runs a white-collar business but grew up in a working-class household, cites his blue-collar roots as one of the major reasons for his success.
  • Successful blue-collar entrepreneurs are flexible and willing to pivot to find new opportunities:
    • For example, the CEO and Founder of wholesale diesel and gasoline company Hightowers Petroleum, Steve Hightowers, went from working in his parents' janitorial company to trying to grow a nascent construction company to discovering an open door in oil and transport.
    • Likewise, the Alaskan "mammoth hunter" Bruce Schindler went from struggling to make a profit in his ivory-carving business to making millions excavating mammoth ivory for himself.
  • Others learned how to take a personal interest and go into business for themselves:
    • Steven Humble took a childhood interest in secret doors and created a business that creates custom secret doors and rooms for private residences.
    • Mike Vetter took an interest in and talent for rebuilding cars and turned it into a multi-million dollar "custom cars" business.
  • Two general motivations seem to drive most to make the leap from drawing a paycheck to working for themselves:
  • While needs likely depend on their particular business and industry, the need most likely shared by all blue-collar entrepreneurs (at least those wishing to scale up) is to find qualified workers.

MEDIA HABITS AND HOBBIES

For reasons that will be detailed in our research strategy below, there is no data specifically for blue-collar entrepreneurs on their online and media habits. The following data points were taken from a pair of surveys of business leaders and executives, but these are likely skewed towards white-collar businesses and therefore must be used with caution.

  • In terms of both reach (whether the ads are seen) and receptivity, websites are the most effective online channel (~75%/~50%, respectively), but are beaten in both categories by radio, magazines, and especially television.
The best channel to reach a business leader depends on the time of day. Senior executives consume media as follows:

  • When they wake up (79%), at which time 50% read email newsletters.
  • Morning commute (45%), during which 37% listen to the radio and 21% listen to podcasts.
  • Arrive at the office (41%), when 35% read news websites.
  • During the workday (54%), during which 25% use news apps and 29% read email newsletters.
  • Evening commute (39%), during which radio and podcasts spike again and 17% check social media.
  • Nighttime (64%), during which 37% check social media and 38% watch TV.
  • Weekends (100%), during which they consume media through a mix of the above sources.

When waking up and consuming news:

  •  37% read a news website
  •  37% view a news app
  • 31% go to social media
  •  25% read a news content aggregator
  • 50% read email newsletters
While there is no direct data on the click-through habits of executives in general, let alone automotive executives, the following data points are salient to the question:

  •  70% of purchase journeys are launched by the executive conducting their own online searches rather than by recommendations.
  • Only 10% of new products or services are introduced to executives through ads and only 12% through social media.
  • Based on the above data, we triangulate that the best time to reach blue-collar entrepreneur via online or social media ads would be the early morning (pre-commute), evenings, and weekends.

While no hard information exists on the hobbies of blue-collar entrepreneurs, based on their magazine reading habits, executives, in general, have the following interests/hobbies:

  • Travel (61%)
  • Fashion, Beauty (43%)
  • Lifestyle (47%)
  • Fitness, Health (39%)
  • Cuisine (37%)
  • Shelter (37%)
  • Science, Technology (39%)
  • Entertainment (33%)
  • Regional (34%)
  • Sports (30%)
  • Outdoor (26%)

ADDITIONAL READING

  • CNBC's "Blue Collar Millionaires" features interviews with the eponymous entrepreneurs. While attempting to view and review multiple episodes is outside the scope of a single Wonder request (though some insightful summaries are cited above), viewing the show may provide additional insights into the backgrounds and personalities who became successful entrepreneurs.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

Following our initial research, which we reviewed before engaging in our own, we began by seeking surveys and polling data specific to blue-collar entrepreneurs. We soon found that there were many general observations about this particular demographic, but little in the way of considered research. Therefore, we took a two-prong approach.

First, we looked for survey and other "scientific" data on blue-collar workers, in general, to understand what psychographic traits set them apart from white-collar workers. Second, we pulled numerous articles on blue-collar entrepreneurs to understand how they are different from other blue-collar workers and other white-collar entrepreneurs.

While this provided some valuable perspectives, it is difficult to justify the insights as a complete psychographic profile. This is due to a lack of focus in the request criteria. "Blue-collar entrepreneurs" have never been formally surveyed about their interests, reading or online habits, etc. — nor, for that matter, have blue-collar workers. When such a large category is surveyed, it's almost always on very broad perspectives such as those detailed in our findings above. This makes a certain kind of sense: We cannot see a logical reason why the online and media habits of a mammoth ivory excavator in Alaska would bear any similarities to an Ohioan petroleum wholesaler. Moreover, in many respects, blue-collar workers are very similar to their white-collar fellows, making location, age, sex, race, and other demographic details are far more important factors in developing a psychographic profile.

We attempted to locate any trade publications targeting blue-collar entrepreneurs. We found evidence of one on Facebook, but it currently has only 172 followers and the associated website was inaccessible, and possibly defunct, at the time of our research. There are no other similar publications nor any forums dedicated to this particular group. We would hypothesize that a given entrepreneur would read trade publications associated with their specific industry, but as reasonable as this sounds, we cannot directly prove it. Likewise, lacking any survey data or the ability to narrow our focus, we cannot determine their media or online habits.

Therefore, in the interest of providing at least some useful information in this area, we have located a pair of surveys of business leaders and executives which have some useful details regarding their hobbies and online habits. We must stress, however, that these surveys likely represent a white-collar perspective and may not be wholly accurate for blue-collar entrepreneurs, particularly those running smaller operations.
Part
03
of three
Part
03

Blue Collar Entrepreneurs: Home Services

Blue-collar entrepreneurs who started home services businesses are those with the passion for their fields, and they were motivated to start their businesses because of the frustrating corporate jobs they had.

OVERVIEW OF BLUE-COLLAR OWNED HOME SERVICES BUSINESSES

  • Based on an analysis of three companies, home services businesses founded by blue-collar entrepreneurs are most likely related to their past jobs.
  • For Lori K Bath founder, Ron, he loves the bathroom business because he loves seeing satisfied customers, and he ventured into a business to pursue his "American dream."
  • Steven Humble felt frustrated by what he was earning and decided to do more with his mechanical engineering skills so he built Creative Homes Engineering.
  • Ron Holt, the founder of Two Maids & A Mop, became an entrepreneur because he felt that the corporate world was uninspiring.

SAMPLE COMPANIES

#1: Lori K Bath

  • The company was founded by Dan O'Callaghan & Ron Knoche.
  • Since 1991, Ron has been in the home improvement industry, enjoying great successes in all facets of the business. He has been a "laborer, installer, lead carpenter, in home sales consultations, sales team management, production manager, and general manager."
  • Dan O'Callaghan, a blue-collar guy, has been an entrepreneur since 1991.
  • Services: Bath remodeling
  • Founding year: 2015
  • Employees: 10
  • Sales: $440,000

#2: Creative Home Engineering LLC

  • The company was founded by Steven Humble.
  • Steven Humble used to design medical devices. However, he left his job to put his mechanical engineering skills into better use due to his use frustrated with what he was earning.
  • However, according to him, "money really isn't the driving force," as he's rather driven by the opportunity to make the best product that he can make.
  • In 2016, his company made approximately $1.2 million in revenue.
  • Employees: 10
  • Founding Year: 2003

#3: Two Maids & A Mop

  • The business was founded by Ron Holt.
  • He used to be a chemist for a particle analysis laboratory.
  • Ron Holt did a variety of hands-on jobs, including scooping chemicals from tractor-trailers and working on a paper mill floor.
  • Estimated Revenue: $7,200,000 annually or $600,000 per month
  • Employees: More than 500
  • Founding Year: 2003

HOME SERVICES INDUSTRY GROWTH

  • According to Guidant Financial and LendingClub's State of Small Business survey, home services is one of the top five small business industries with a 6% share.
  • Growth drivers for the US home services market include, the industry as a source of inspiration and ideas, augmented marketing by home services platforms, growing number of service providers, increasing GNI per capita in the US, increasing site visitors, enhanced home-booking platform features, instant book/instant connect options, smartphone penetration and growing M-commerce platform, growing millennial population and homeowners, and increasing urbanization and hectic lifestyles.
  • IAC (Home Adviser & Angie's List), Yelp Inc., Amazon (Amazon Home Service) and INGKA Holding BV (TaskRabbit) are some key players in the US home services market.
  • The home services industry is growing mainly due to the online and mobile booking services having an estimated $400 billion market from major companies such as Google and Amazon.
  • Residential work gets the 65% of carpet sales, with commercial making up the balance.
  • In 2018, the global home services market was valued at $281.65 billion, with an expected growth of 18.91% between 2019 and 2026 to reach $1.13 trillion by 2026.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

To come up with the motivations, we decided to look for three sample blue-collar-owned home services businesses and look at how their founders started the business. We analyzed information from such businesses and found similarities, such as that their interests, as well as frustration with their corporate jobs, were major reasons for starting their businesses.

However, we could not provide information on the average revenue or funding such companies receive, the average number of years in business, and the average number of employees. Firstly, we tried looking for lists of home services businesses owned by blue-collars. We searched through company databases such as Crunchbase, Craft, and Hoovers. From these websites, we could only find a list of home services businesses in the US, which were not classified according to the characteristics of the founder. Although there was data on the number of employees and revenue, we could not use the data since we could not determine that their founders were blue-collars within the scope of this research.

Next, we searched in through the Small Business Administration, Census Bureau, and Bureau of Labor Statistics to see if they have statistics on blue-collar entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, we could not find data on the businesses formed by these blue-collars. The data on the survey of the characteristics of business owners found on these sites were not specific to blue-collars, and we could not find a way to triangulate the data points either. Examples of characteristics given for business owners were gender, race, location, and age.

We then searched for market reports and industry reports on home services businesses, as well as blue-collar entrepreneur surveys and interviews. There was limited data available, as the articles were either on home services businesses, in general, or for blue-collar entrepreneurs, in general. Hence, we were not able to find data on the average number of years in business, and the average number of employees for home-service businesses by blue-collar entrepreneurs.

As there was no preexisting source that aggregates home-service businesses founded specifically by blue-collar entrepreneurs, we could not determine average revenue or funding, years in business, or the average number of employees. Data was mostly anecdotal from the companies and blue-collar entrepreneurs that we found. However, we used the case studies that we were able to gather as a proxy for the specific group of people requested (blue-collar entrepreneurs who started a home services business). We researched each one's number of employees, revenue, and years in business as available.

The unavailability of information may be because of the specific nature of the information required. We wished to triangulate the data, but using sample businesses would not be accurate enough to show the average number of years in business, and the average number of employees.

Did this report spark your curiosity?

Sources
Sources

From Part 02
From Part 03
Quotes
  • "The US home service market is expected to increase at a significant growth rate during the forecasted period (2018-2022)."
Quotes
  • "According to Verified Market Research, the Global Home Services Market was valued at USD 281.65 Billion in 2018 and is expected to witness a growth of 18.91% from 2019-2026 and reach USD 1,133.40 Billion by 2026."
Quotes
  • "But Holt aspired to work for himself. In college, he did a variety of hands-on jobs -- scooping chemicals from tractor trailers and working on a paper mill floor."
  • "Last year, the business generated $6 million in sales and employs 175 people across seven states."