This is not true in the US. It is quite a bit easier, and much more common, to start a small business here than it seems to be in Europe. You do need some skill others seek in order to be successful, as well as a drive to succeed in the face of competition.

This is where plumbers, electricians, air-conditioning repairmen, garage door door installers, come from, to name a few "sole-proprietors" I've hired recently. I've also hired an independent as a helicopter pilot for aerial photography and (sigh) a tow truck driver. All of these areas also have the advantage that they can't be outsourced to the far east and are, to an extent, recession resistant.

These *do* require some training and effort to get started. You can't just decide one morning to start a plumbing business - you need training, licensing, etc, before going out on your own. But the path from nowhere to somewhere is well trod and need not go through a university or large multinational. But you do need an inner drive, an inner "go".