It’s no secret that the entrepreneurial journey is not an easy one. While, to an outsider, it may appear glamorous, the day-to-day reality of being an entrepreneur generally involves a huge amount of hard work, long hours, uncertainty, challenges, barriers and adversities, emotional strain, lack of control, and a sizeable impact on one’s personal life.
In a recent Sifted survey exploring the mental health of start-up founders, many self-reported as “overworked”, “exhausted”, and “broken”:
- 45% said their mental health was ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’
- 85% said they’d experienced high stress in the past year, 39% said they’d experienced depression, and 75% reported anxiety over the same period
- 55% said they’d suffered from insomnia, while 53% experienced burnout
- 61% said they’d considered leaving their company, with 49% planning to do so within the next 12 months.
Notably, not one of the new business owners had no mental health complaints.
It’s readily apparent that prioritising psychological wellbeing is paramount to entrepreneurial success. So, are there ways to help safeguard entrepreneurs’ wellbeing? How can they better protect their mental health in the face of adversity and stressful situations?
What is the role of psychological resilience and its link with mental wellbeing?
A PubMed article in the National Library of Medicine defines resilience as: ‘a psychobiological factor which determines an individual’s response to adverse life events. It’s a human capacity to adapt swiftly and successfully to stressful/traumatic events and manage to revert to a positive state. It is fundamental for growth of positive psychology which deals with satisfaction, adaptability, contentment, and optimism in peoples’ lives.’
There is a clear correlation, therefore, between psychological resilience and mental wellbeing – ‘our internal, positive view that we are coping well, on a psychological level, with the everyday stresses of life and can work productively and fruitfully.’ The Mayo Clinic state that resilience can ‘help protect you from mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety’ and ‘help you deal with things that increase the risk of mental health conditions’, such as stress or trauma.
Can entrepreneurs maintain a work-life balance while growing their businesses?
The lack of a work-life balance was one of the key issues raised by small business owners in the Sifted survey: over the past 12 months, 43% ate less healthily, 57% exercised less, 62% cut back on holidays, and 65% spent less time with friends and family.
Despite these concerning statistics, it is possible to maintain a healthy balance between your personal and professional lives – but it requires proactivity and commitment. Balance won’t just happen on its own, it has to be created. Establishing clear boundaries, practising time management and prioritisation, scheduling regular breaks, learning to outsource and delegate, letting go of perfectionism, and making time for self-care and mindfulness will all greatly contribute to a balance that supports good mental health – in both the short-term and the long-term.
How do you deal with the unknowns of entrepreneurship and running a start-up?
Dealing with the unknowns of running your own business is an ever-present factor – and one that isn’t going anywhere. It’s one of the key stressors that will test entrepreneurs’ resilience and requires a combination of resilience, adaptability, and preparation. While making peace with this reality – even, if possible, embracing it – is undoubtedly part of the solution, here are some examples of strategies and behaviours that entrepreneurs can adopt to give themselves the best chance of weathering the storms.
No discussion of how to navigate the uncertainties of growing and managing a successful business would be complete without mentioning the role of risk management. Entrepreneurs who identify risks as early as possible, and develop and implement mitigation strategies in response, are in a much stronger, safer position than those who don’t see them coming. This may look like diversifying revenue streams, maintaining financial buffers, and developing robust contingency plans.
Support networks – both professional and personal – are not to be underestimated. From industry mentors and LinkedIn connections who have the experience, know-how, or resources to help navigate tricky times to family and friends who can offer listening ears or a welcome distraction, knowing when and who to turn to for advice, help, or social support is key.
Where possible, ensuring agility and flexibility are built into business processes from the outset will help navigate the ups and downs inherent to entrepreneurialism. Founders of SMEs (small-medium enterprises) should be prepared to pivot, adapting their strategy or model in line with performance metrics, market fluctuations, or customer demands and feedback.
What are the most effective ways for increasing personal resilience?
Entrepreneurs interested in enhancing their personal resilience should focus on developing certain skills, habits, and behaviours that enable them to respond more effectively to change, stress, and adversity. Many of the very personality traits that make them such creative, driven, and inspiring leaders and innovators can be repurposed to increase resilience – and safeguard mental wellbeing.
Despite setbacks, resilient entrepreneurs are more likely to engage in the following behaviours:
- Learning from failures. Reflect on setbacks – and analyse them to see what learnings they provide, embrace mistakes, practise self-awareness, and learn from each and every experience along the way. You’ll be in good company: the list of entrepreneurs who failed before achieving success include Jeff Bezos, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, and Walt Disney.
- Practising persistence and perseverance. This might look like developing critical decision-making, problem-solving, and creative-thinking skills to push towards your goals and keep the business on track. Not giving in, and coming up with ‘outside the box’ solutions to problems are key entrepreneurial characteristics.
- Set realistic goals. Ensure that business objectives are small and achievable, contributing to steady, meaningful progress and a sense of accomplishment.
- Maintaining a positive attitude and growth mindset. View challenges as opportunities, practise gratitude, focus on continuous learning and development, and believe that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.
- Prioritising self-care, stress management, and emotional regulation. From a healthy diet, sufficient sleep and regular exercise to spending time with loved ones, doing activities you enjoy, and meditation, the cornerstones of self-care and mindfulness underpin robust mental health and help resilience to flourish.
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