Why looking after your mental health is the best business plan

Running a small business can be stressful at the best of times. “Long working hours, social isolation, the demands of customers, cash flow issues and a lack of administrative support can really have an impact,” says business wellness coach Linda-Ann Northey.

In the past few years, the impact of COVID, supply chain issues, floods, and now interest rate rises and inflation thrown into the mix, times have been particularly challenging.

Small business owners are their business’s greatest asset.

“All of those external environmental factors have an impact on the capacity of a small business to function,” Northey says, “And on the small business owner’s wellbeing and ability to manage the corresponding stress.”

High demand for help

Services that support small business owners’ mental health in Queensland have experienced up to a 25 per cent a year increase in requests for help over the past two years, says Northey, who is the program coordinator for the Business Wellness Coaching team in the Rural and Small Business Financial Counselling Service Southern Queensland.

But this rise in requests for assistance may not be all bad news. While stress in the community may have escalated, this upsurge in demand also points to an increase in, and more awareness of, relevant services, Northey says.

Reduced stigma around mental health has no doubt also played a part. And that can only be a good thing because, for small business owners, seeking help when it’s needed is not just imperative for their personal wellbeing, but for their business, too.

Queensland has experienced a 25 per cent a year increase in requests for help from small business owners.

“Reducing mental health challenges, or reducing the severity of those challenges, especially at the early stages, can make a huge difference to the long-term impacts for that individual person, staff wellbeing, and the income and maintenance of the business,” Northey says.

It’s important for small business owners to know that they are their business’s greatest asset, she adds. “Without them, the business would not continue to function.”

Free assistance available

Those under stress can experience a range of emotional and mental health responses, Northey says. “Early warning signs that may indicate people may need some attention include having trouble sleeping, trouble switching off, not being able to let go of their worries, feeling anxious, and feeling like they’re struggling to keep their head above water.”

The first step in dealing with this is to tell someone, she says. It all begins with “reaching out and just saying, ‘I’m really having trouble with this situation and I need some help’.”

Confiding in a friend, family member or colleague can be one method. Alternatively, it’s worth considering services such as the free, confidential Business Wellness Coaching program provided by the Queensland Government.

“It’s customised one-to-one support,” Northey says.

The Queensland Government provides free, confidential Business Wellness Coaching.

In the program, clients get a wellness coach they can work with for weeks, months or longer, if needed. There’s no requirement for a doctor’s referral. They can chat on the phone, by video call, or in person in the Cairns, Mackay, Townsville, Toowoomba, Northern Brisbane and Southern Brisbane regions. Wellness coaches are qualified in psychology counselling, or behavioural sciences, and also have business experience, so they know what clients are dealing with.

Alongside coaching, clients can get free, impartial and confidential financial advice from a financial counsellor. And there are plenty of resources online too.

Empowering business owners

What does a wellness coach do? Their role is to empower the client by increasing their skills, explains Northey.

“One of the key things is helping them to develop strategies in decision making. Often people who are experiencing mental health stress find it very hard to decide what to do next. People can get stuck. We walk alongside them to help them take those steps.”

Coaching support helps small business owners identify the source of challenges, and reduce and manage stress to improve their overall wellbeing.

Talking to someone, bouncing around ideas, looking for new approaches, can be a great de-stressor in itself for clients, Northey says. It’s a chance to work through a range of feelings they might have been holding in because they were too busy dealing with the day-to-day concerns of running their business.

“I often ask, ‘What emotion would you be feeling if you weren’t busy coping?’” Northey says. “It’s about being able to recognise that trying to cope alone, especially without talking about it, may be the opposite of helping yourself.”

Find a coach at business.qld.gov.au/wellness

Authorised by the Queensland Government, William Street, Brisbane.