Mental health warning for small business owners amid coronavirus lockdowns

Horror stories are emerging about small business owners struggling in the economic downturn, with a majority saying they are concerned about their own mental health.

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Small business advocates are warning of a spike in mental health problems in the sector, with nearly seven out of 10 managers and owners saying they are concerned for their own state of mind.

The most recent fortnightly online survey of small and medium enterprises by ACA Research showed that 69 per cent of respondents said they were either quite concerned (48 per cent) or very concerned (21 per cent) about their current health and wellbeing.

This total figure was up from 50 per cent in the first week of July.

Company strategist Bill Lang from Small Business Australia told News Corp that the economic downturn was making an enormous impact, and this was exacerbated by the lack of certainty about the road out of COVID-19.

“I had six small business owner deaths in Melbourne reported to me in the first week of July,” he said.

Brett Aldons, founder of Crocs Playcentre, said the lockdowns and economic downturn have had a “horrendous” impact on his team of franchisees. Picture: Jason Edwards

Among the horror stories he had heard about were the suicides of neighbouring cafe owners on the Mornington Peninsula within seven days of each other.

Data from the Victorian Coroner’s Court shows that the suicide rate in the state is consistent with its 2019 level, although last week Lifeline reported that it had experienced a 30 per cent increase in calls originating from Victoria.

The ACA Research revealed many small business owners were pessimistic about the future, with a total of 28 per cent of respondents saying they expected revenue to get worse or significantly worse.

In Victoria that number was 41 per cent. (Nationally, 55 per cent of business owners said they expected revenue to stay about the same.)

Crocs Playcentres reopened in some states, but patrons caps of 20 meant they were losing money.

Brett Aldons, founder of the Crocs Playcentre national franchise, said he expected indoor entertainment facilities would “probably be one of the last businesses to recover fully”.

Of 24 Crocs franchises across Australia, 14 in Victoria have been shut since March, while centres in other states have struggled with economically unviable caps on patrons.

“It’s been horrendous for our franchisees who invested most of their life savings to come into this business,” said Mr Aldons, who opened the first Crocs in 2008.

Franchisees were concerned about the eventual withdrawal of government assistance, massive deferred rent bills, and lingering questions about whether customers will return once they re-open fully, he said.

Bill Lang of Small Business Australia said the uncertainty of the road map out of COVID-19 was one of the hardest factors for business owners.

“There’s a lot of stress and pressure. We’ve been trying to navigate all of our businesses through,” Mr Aldons said.

“At the moment there’s no meat on the bone, from the government, particularly in Victoria, that we’re going to be able to get out of this and get through it.

We just don’t know what it looks like, and that’s probably the biggest and the hardest thing for my people.

“When are we going to come back, and how?”

Concern about the mental health of small enterprise owners has prompted the National Australian Bank to devise a new support program for business clients, called NAB Business Fit, with contributions from psychologists and social workers.

Ana Marinkovic, Executive General Manager of Small Business for the National Australia Bank. Picture: Supplied

The Executive General Manager of Small Business for the bank, Ana Marinkovic, told News Corp that the program would offer advice on a range of areas, including mental health, resilience and leadership through crisis, as well as practical advice on matters such as e-commerce and new supply chain models.

“We’ve had some 220,000 COVID-related needs conversations with business owners over the past few months, so we have first person knowledge and understanding of what they’re going through,” she said.

“We felt we had a duty of care to reach out.”

NAB Business Fit is expected to launch within a few weeks.

If you need assistance, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via www.lifeline.org.au, or

Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or via www.beyondblue.org.au

Originally published as Mental health warning for small business owners amid coronavirus lockdowns