Success Can Wait: Impatient Workers Less Likely To Become Entrepreneurs

Quick-Reward Thinkers Are Less Likely to Become Their Own Boss

Caving to the cheeseburger, skipping the savings account, putting off the chore until it becomes a crisis. That pull toward now over later may also help decide who ends up running a business. In a long-running U.K. study, employees who scored higher on impatience were less likely to become business owners, and those who made the leap anyway earned less.

A meaningful step up on the impatience scale went with an 11% lower likelihood of becoming an owner. Among those who did, the same step went with about £179 less per month than patient owners who had earned similar amounts as employees. After adjusting for education, household, industry, and other factors, the gap shrank to about £110, still roughly 6% of the group’s average monthly earnings of about £1,800.

Earlier research has tied traits such as optimism and risk tolerance to a higher chance of starting a business but lower earnings afterward. Impatience was the odd one out, a departure authors Virgilio Failla and Chris Dawson of the University of Bath call “highly unique” in entrepreneurship research. Their paper appeared in Small Business Economics.

Impatience Linked to Fewer Entrepreneurs in More Than a Decade of U.K. Survey Data

Failla and Dawson drew on Understanding Society, a U.K. household survey that follows more than 40,000 people year after year. They analyzed 2009 through 2023 data on adults ages 18 to 65, including 21,543 employees tracked for business launches. Of those, 1,306 later became business owners. Freelancers and subcontractors who may be self-employed only for tax purposes did not count.

Impatience came from a 10-statement questionnaire that every adult in the survey completed in 2013. Participants rated how well statements described them, covering money habits, diet, how their actions affect other people, putting off physically demanding chores, and whether hard work pays off. Two examples were “I would have a hard time sticking with a special, healthy diet” and “I try to spend money wisely.” Answers became a score from 0 to 100, with higher meaning more impatient. Researchers treat impatience as a fairly stable trait in adulthood, so one 2013 measurement could be compared with outcomes across all the survey years. A repeat analysis using only people who started businesses after 2013 gave virtually the same results.

That 11% sounds big, but starting a business is rare. Only about 6% of employees made the jump during the study, so one step up in impatience trimmed that rate by roughly 0.7 percentage points, an 11% drop in relative terms. Most employees stayed employees whatever their score, so the gap is modest. The same step was tied to a roughly 4% lower likelihood of wanting to start a business.

Among those who did start, the more impatient launched about two and a half years earlier, at an average age of 42.4 versus 44.9. Women were less likely to want to start a business and to start one, and women owners earned less, matching earlier research.

One theory for the drop in launches: starting a business means searching for opportunities, which is slow, tedious work. Impatient people might jump at the first decent option once it appears, but they may be less willing to put in the search. The authors’ analysis suggests that reluctance outweighed the urge to leap.

Impatient Entrepreneurs Earned Less, With the Widest Gap at the Top

That earnings analysis covered 1,176 owners and relied on self-reported monthly income, with losses counted as zero. Owners can misreport income on surveys, which the authors say could nudge the gap either way. Higher-earning owners saw the widest gap, while low-earning businesses that were just getting by were relatively unaffected. Failla and Dawson reason that careful planning and investment matter more for ambitious ventures. Impatient owners showed no clear earnings edge from being first to market.

Two checks backed up the impatience score. One worry was that it might really be measuring a dislike of risk, since a cautious person could also hesitate to start a business. Adding each person’s risk tolerance to the analysis changed little. And in a separate group of unemployed adults, more impatient people searched for work less and stayed jobless longer, the pattern expected from a measure of impatience.

More Patient Entrepreneurs Earned More, but Cause Remains Unproven

Because the study observed people rather than assigning anyone to become more patient, it shows a link, not proof that patience raises income. Possible explanations include impatient owners accepting weaker opportunities and putting less money and effort into planning, but the study did not test those ideas directly.

Waiting carries risks too, the authors acknowledge. Patient people, they write, “may miss out on highly profitable entrepreneurial opportunities” by holding out for the perfect time. They float university programs that teach forward thinking and funding released in stages, tied to milestones, as ways to encourage patient decisions, though they say the study cannot show how many people would benefit.

In this data, the pull toward now over later came with fewer launches and smaller paychecks, not a competitive edge.

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Disclaimer: This article is based on a published research paper and is intended for general informational purposes only. It is not financial, business, or professional advice. Readers should consult a qualified professional before making decisions about their finances or careers.

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