- Shanna Goodman is a brand strategist and small-business owner who specializes in helping other small businesses succeed.
- Studies show increased stress and depression in entrepreneurs and their families.
- This emotional roller coaster is associated with big risks, big rewards.
- Using negativity for fuel, pacing yourself, and separating your business identity from your personal identity can help promote good mental health for small business owners.
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There's an illustration that has made the rounds online for the last few years. It's a simple image created by Derek Halpern (who runs the internet marketing company Social Triggers) and it's called "A Day in the Life of an Entrepreneur." The graphic starts with "I'm excited!" and fluctuates between positive and negative messages like, "Give up the good for the great," "I think Im going bankrupt," and "I suck."
Nearly every single business owner I know has shared and/or commented on the image on Facebook, saying things like, "Spot on" and "Yep!" and "Oh my gosh, it's like someone was inside my brain." In fact, the image creator recently shared that he made this graphic four years ago and it still gets shared millions of times.
This graphic has likely resonated with so many people because of how accurately it portrays the entrepreneurial state of mind for many on a daily basis.
A 2018 study in Small Business Economics outlines these similarities in a more concrete way in terms of mental health. According to researchers Michael A. Freeman, Paige J. Staudenmaier, Mackenzie R. Zisser, and Lisa Abdilova Andresen, entrepreneurs reported experiencing more depression, ADHD, substance abuse, and bipolar disorder than non-entrepreneurs surveyed. And a whopping 32% of the entrepreneurs reported two or more mental health conditions. What the researchers called "asymptomatic entrepreneurs" (those with no reported mental health issues) comprised only 24% of the entrepreneur participants. That means 76% of the entrepreneurs surveyed reported at least one mental health condition.
Why are entrepreneurs depressed?
Naturally, entrepreneurship and small-business ownership rely on risks and rewards more than standard employment does. Responsibility and the pressure to make an idea work can cause sleepless nights, poor eating habits, and general anxiety. Despite the growing argument from executives and CEOs that people don't need to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to be successful, there's still the misconception that running a company requires substantial sacrifice of your health and well-being.
As an entrepreneur who specializes in helping small businesses succeed, I see daily the pros and cons of the typical entrepreneurial lifestyle. Clients regularly come into my office overwhelmed with feeling like they need to be everywhere, doing all the things, which leaves them distracted and unfocused. This can lead to burnout, anxiety, and depression, things I've struggled with myself even though I made six figures my first year and have grown from there.
While my primary role is helping clients develop a well-thought-out, market-focused business strategy, these tips have helped me (and my clients) overcome the overwhelm.
1. Hold on to positive messages and revisit them often
When I started my business about five years ago, a friend of mine said something to the effect of, "I have no doubt that you will crush whatever it is you do."
There are so many times in the early days of figuring out how to run my business that I clung to this statement. I remember staying up nearly all night right before a video shoot because I kept revising the production plan. I prepped for weeks for a roundtable discussion for CEOs on brand strategy but still felt nervous right before walking in. I chanted "money, money, money in my PO Box" in the early days when I hoped to get paid quickly from a client so that I could pay myself something. During these times, I revisited that statement over and over, telling myself that Jenn had good judgement and she was betting on me.
Science states that there's a natural tendency to remember the negative more often than the positive: Researchers have found that negative emotions trigger parts of the brain that are linked to long-term memory building, whereas positive or neutral emotions don't.
So remind yourself of the moments and messages that were uplifting, inspiring, and positive when times are tough.
2. And use the negative messages as fuel
Negativity can fuel your dreams, according to science. A 2018 article in Psychology Today found that how you respond to negative messages or setbacks is an indicator of future success. The key, then, is to turn anxiety or angst from negative feedback into fuel to help you focus rather than get distracted.
When I started my business, my boss at the time said something like, "People think they can do this, but they can't," implying that I'd soon be in over my head.
I determined not to repeat this line to myself except when I was on the elliptical machine. When negative thoughts enter your brain, stop them immediately. Assume the position of your best friend and shut down any thought that puts you down.
3. Pace yourself
Everything does not ride on this specific project or this specific moment.
I recently saw an interview with financial expert Farnoosh Torabi in which she was giving advice on entrepreneurship and said, "Pace yourself." She described how she's been planting seeds for 15 years that are just now coming to fruition. For example, Farnoosh started a podcast several years ago, publishing valuable content daily. She did this work (not making any money on it) for years before finally one day Oprah's management team called and asked her to contribute regularly to the Oprah Magazine.
This is something I've experienced as well. My first year in business felt like the success of every project and every meeting was required in order for me to survive. My confidence grew as I honed in on the really tangible value I provided for clients. I took note of what people came to me for, what I did for them, and how to repeat that process with other clients. This took the pressure off of trying to win every client that walked in the door.
4. Be diligent about distinguishing work time and family time
I worked from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from my home office when I first started my business. Drawing this line helped me to curb my tendency to overwork and also helped me focus intently on what was going to give me the biggest bang for my time. As a recovering perfectionist, this forced me to not agonize over small things but to keep moving — the clock was on.
This likely won't work for everyone, but this schedule made a huge difference in my mental health at the beginning. I treated myself like an employee of my own company, determined to feel good and productive about the full day's work I'd put in.
I had made a commitment to my family that I'd not work nights or weekends because of an incident when I was nine months pregnant with my younger daughter (who's now seven years old). I was working to launch a book and stayed up until 3 or 4 a.m. several nights in a row. One morning at 2 a.m., my husband had the audacity to walk out into the living room where I was working and ask what I was doing in a tone. My response dripped with scorn and fire: "You can see I'm busy. Why are you talking to me?"
I knew I didn't want to be that person again, so we took some financial measures to ensure we'd be okay if I didn't generate an income for several months. My office was at home during that time, so I had to be really clear that a closed office door meant that I was working even if the kids were home with a babysitter.
5. Exercise daily — if not regularly
Getting up and getting to the gym helped me feel productive first thing in the morning, and there's something about the physical activity that causes ideas to sprout.
For instance, just the other day at the gym I had an idea to rework a guest interview I'd just done and emailed the show producer. She loved it and it totally redeemed what I had otherwise thought was a poor performance on my part.
In fact, neuroscientist Dr. Wendy Suzuki, author of "Healthy Brain, Happy Life," wrote that while there's evidence that exercise reduces stress, helps focus, improves productivity, and enhances memory, it can also increase creativity. She wrote an article for Quartz highlighting how exercise stimulates the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which encourages the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that allows us to "imagine the future and think creatively."
Speaking of the creative idea I had for a podcast interview, exercise is also a great time to squeeze in a podcast that broadens your thinking in some capacity. I'm a fan of "School of Greatness" by Lewis Howes, "The Tony Robbins Podcast," and "So Money" by Farnoosh Torabi.
6. Separate your identity from your business venture (and p.s., this is really hard)
Even though we had some measures in place financially, I still started my business with a sense of panic. My identity and self-worth were very much wrapped up in the pass or fail of my business. What terrified me was that if my business failed, I would no longer be who I thought I was.
I went through a season in my business when I thought I was doing all the right things, then all of a sudden the prospect of starting over was a real possibility. The business partner that I'd given 49% of the company to a year after starting the business decided to change career paths and wanted to be bought out. I couldn't do it. If I'd given him the payout he wanted, I would have been working for free for several years to get him paid off.
After some negotiation, we arrived at a much smaller, much more palatable financial arrangement and I continued the business on my own. But it was this combination of panic, not being able to control every variable, and realizing I'd be okay no matter what happened with my business that helped me get over the feeling that I was a failure if my business failed.
7. Find a community
Having a group of like-minded people with whom you can share experiences is worth its weight in gold. Just last week, I shared with an entrepreneur friend, Kimberly, that I was nervous about writing another book because I'd gotten mixed reviews on my first (the one that kept me up until 3 a.m. when I was nine months pregnant). She listened thoughtfully and then lovingly exclaimed, "Who cares? No reviews would be worse!" When I finished laughing, I wrote that line on the whiteboard in my office. It's made me laugh every day since.
I have found communities of like-minded entrepreneurs in Facebook groups after taking an online course or attending a conference — this has been the case for me when registering for programs from Jeff Walker, Biz Template Babe, and Susie Moore.
Community can be found in person, too. If you run a local business, the Chamber of Commerce, a nearby 1MillionCups chapter, or even industry groups could be a great fit.
These groups can help boost well-being because you can ask questions of people who are working on very similar goals. Or, like in my instance above with my friend Kimberly, we encourage each other when the inevitable ups and downs of entrepreneurship emerge.
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