Entrepreneurs in the U.S. are a force to be reckoned with. The spirit of entrepreneurship has always been the backbone of America, and now we’ve got numbers to prove it.  In 2014, the IRS reported that over 91,102,788 individuals receive non-employee incomes. Four years later, that number could be well over 100 million. That’s almost a third of the population of The U.S.  Not impressed yet? Statista found that as of July 2018, the number of full-time employees in our country is about 130 million. And pretty soon, the number of entrepreneurs in our country – whether they work full-time, part-time or passively – could outweigh the number of full-time employees.  We really are a nation of freelancers.  Our numbers have been steadily increasing over the years, but why? What is it about today’s economy that’s sparking the inner entrepreneur in the hearts of a third of our nation? The Mercatus Center suggests that one reason might be because of some challenges we have been seeing in traditional employment. Since 1980,there has been a fairly steady decrease in our country’s job creation rate. So as our populations rise and job positions decrease, we’re taking our future into our own hands and creating our own jobs.  While that thought is certainly a valid and powerful one, it’s not necessarily true that entrepreneurs choose this life just because they don’t have any other option with an employer. Forbes offered a few more optimistic ideas. Their article argues why 2018 is a good year for entrepreneurs, such as the rising popularity of artificial intelligence. In other words, entrepreneurs have everything they need to start their business, whatever that might be – whether it’s launching an app, opening a bakery, building a rocket to fly to the moon or anything in between – they can get everything they need right in the palms of their hands.  Forbes also pointed out that educators are starting to recognize the importance of including intellectual properties in their curriculums. We’re teaching incoming generations how to claim their creativity as their own.