At AA&B, we think and write a lot about the importance of Gen Y as employees. If you're still not convinced that you need to understand this generation, ponder this: they're the new wave of small business owners, otherwise known as your customers.

Check out this information from a national poll of more than 1,200 consumers by workers' comp specialist Employers Holdings, Inc.

When asked whether they planned to start their own business in the next 5 years, responses broke down as follows:

• Gen Y: 46 percent
• Gen X: 35 percent
• Baby Boomers: 21 percent
• Silent Generation: 4 percent

More important, the respondents realized the importance of insuring their businesses and were especially interested in being able to work with their insurers online. Here's how Gen Y on a scale of 1 to 10 rated the importane of carrier online features:

• Online quoting: 86 percent
• Online customer service: 83 percent
• Online policy management: 81 percent
• Online payments: 79 percent

Another recent survey shows us the other side of the coin: Millennials as consumers. And if you think of the younger generation as irresponsible free spirits who don't care about finances, think again.