• by Tanya Gazdik , February 11, 2016

Financial lender Merchant Cash USA surveyed black Millennials in various industries to find out what areas of business most interested them, and whether they would consider using alternative financing as a means to funding their dream startup.

"Black Millennials, and Millennials in general, are taking the small business world by storm,” Merchant Cash USA CMO Alexander Zukovski tells Marketing Daily. “Many times traditional financing isn't an option for a new business or startup, and that's where we come in.”

Those with a strong business plan can get funding through an alternative financing company like Merchant Cash USA, Zukovski says.

The Pew Research Center estimates that there are slightly over 75 million Millennials currently living in the U.S. About 40% of Millennials identify as non-white, with black Millennials making up 13%. This equals out to more than 9 million black Millennials currently living in the United States.

Millennials today face many economic challenges that previous generations have not. In 2001, pre-tax income for millennial households was somewhere around $40,000. Today, that number is closer to $35,000.

With lower paying corporate jobs, many black Millennials are thinking outside the box and turning toward starting their own businesses in a variety of industries. Yet, in a survey last year by Nielsen, it was reported that by the end of 2015, the black community’s spending power would be over $1 trillion.

Merchant Cash USA reached out to survey various black individuals ages 18-28 via third-party marketing company Cobia Systems to see what types of businesses most Millennials were looking to open.

Merchant Cash USA’s research suggests that the black Millennial community has a variety of interests when it comes to employment. From food services to the alternative energy game, they plan to take over numerous industries in a big way.

Areas of interest for starting a new business include Social Media and Marketing, 82%, Residential Construction, 76%, Food Services, 70%, Landscaping Architecture, 69%, Tourism/Travel Services, 65%, Alternative Energy Industry, 58%, Startup, 56%, Real Estate, 47%, Retail/Fashion, 44% and Entertainment Industry (TV, Radio, Film), 40%.

The organization surveyed, through an email campaign, 4,243 black male and female Millennials from various areas around the country to see who would use alternative financing to jumpstart a particular business and what areas of industry were most popular.