I know this was definitely the case in the 70s. My father's and grandfather's generations mostly started their own businesses rather than work for somebody else. Most of those businesses folded for one reason or the other in the early 80s.
Being a child of the 90s and growing up with stories of the IRS jailing business owners for a variety of crimes that their accountants were ultimately responsible for, I have a near deathly fear of starting a business without the capital to immediately hire an accountant I trust (I've yet to find one of those) and a lawyer I trust (ditto). Just dabbling a bit into consulting the way I have put me at odds with the IRS and California State and wound up costing me at least twice what I made (I didn't make much).