MENTALLY PREPARING FOR YOUR ENTREPRENEURSHIP JOURNEY
A recent study on entrepreneur mental health asked the question “Who in their right mind would choose to be an entrepreneur”? The barriers to success are virtually unlimited and most startups fail as a result.
Feedback from the study showed entrepreneurs have lower initial earnings, lower earnings growth, lower long-term earnings, greater work stress, and more psychosomatic health problems than employees. Thus the myopic ask; why would anyone voluntarily accept the longer work hours, fewer weekends, more responsibility, chronic uncertainty and greater personal risk to be an entrepreneur? Logically, choosing entrepreneurship over employment has been deemed as exercising bad judgment.
While the above is true, the rewards of entrepreneurship offer a compelling counterargument that has led us to justify why many of us actively seek entrepreneurship.
As an entrepreneur, your most precious assets are:
- Your brain
- Your attitude
- Your mental state
How you think, what you know, how you manage stress, relate with people, your attitudes towards your staff, and your self-esteem are all related to your brain and thus it is imperative that you protect what you feed/expose your mind to as it ultimately affects your mental health.
Unknown to many, the entrepreneurial journey can be a lonely, stressful and exhilarating rollercoaster of good and bad days that demands physical and mental resilience. Thus as you venture into entrepreneurship, it is imperative you prioritize your mental health and make it part of your entrepreneurship journey.
While many aspiring entrepreneurs just see the allure and illusion of successful entrepreneurship, many are myopic and miss the reality it entails and these are the things that trigger mental health issues for most entrepreneurs. From paying bills to meeting payroll, and taxes, making decisions, hiring and firing, supplier needs, turnaround times, etc. these are the hidden realities packaged as stress triggers for you as an entrepreneur.
Understanding mental health
Indeed no successful entrepreneur ever said that building a company was easy; it is very brutal that some of those that have excelled like Kate Spade, the founder of Kate Spade bags, and Mao Kankan founder of Beijing Times Majoy Technology Co. ended up taking their own lives?
Studies by UC College Barkley show over 72% of entrepreneurs are living constantly with some kind of stress, anxiety, and burnout with a further 49% of all entrepreneurs at-risk of at least one mental illness. Of concern though entrepreneurial mental health is not a topic that has received the right attention and it is still being swept under the carpet.
What is mental health?
Mental health is holistic and it affects or can be affected by your emotional, psychological, and social well-being while also determining how you handle stress, relationships, and decision-making.
Given the above, it is imperative that as an entrepreneur you prioritize your mental health by asking for help and seeking your balance. Many an entrepreneur immerse themselves so much in their business that they eventually suffer from “I am my business syndrome”; a state of being where you and your business become one.
The danger of this is these individuals lose their identity to their business; they eat, live, and sleep their business and eventually end up working themselves to an early grave. To mitigate this every entrepreneur must:
● Activate self-care
● Sleep to avoid burnout
● Hydrate regularly and eat healthily
● Feed their mind with books and rest
● Avoid isolation- socialize and seek support
● Minimize screen time- put down their devices
● Exercise and or play sport
All these are important because if you take care of your mind you will also take care of your physical health.
Why is mental health important to an entrepreneur?
As the saying goes, the fish rots from the head, and thus your mental health as a business owner directly affects your business based on the decisions you make, your attitudes, relationship with employees and stakeholders. Your mental health also determines the kind of culture and work environment you create; it may motivate or demotivate your staff and contribute to the outcomes that affect your corporate outcomes.
In this regard, embracing a wellness routine is imperative for every entrepreneur more so by building a business that can exist and thrive without your physical presence. To this end, entrepreneurs are encouraged to build systems to allow detaching of the “umbilical cord” by employing technology to run the systems and create a culture that allows for delegation where possible.
Further sharing and engaging with your peers, and giving yourself rest and recreation time have been proven as boosters of mental health; nurture relationships, go for regular check-ups, work on your physical health, work on your business – not in your business, limit your finances and divide and delegate. All these will help you avoid the pitfalls of entrepreneurship like social alienation, obsession, I-am-my-company syndrome, financial risk, burnout, and substance abuse.
Should you wish to learn more about the relationship between mental health and business health, contact Springboard Capital at 0700 944 444/WhatsApp us through the button below or email us at info@springboardcapital.co.ke. Our team members are aware of the difficulties that many of us may encounter, and as a result, have created forums to share our challenges and celebrate our milestones. If you wish to be part of our entrepreneur’s community, click here to WhatsApp us 0700 094 444
Click here to WhatsApp us 0700 094 444
Article based on Joseph Ajal Webinar Presentation– Mr Joseph is an Associate Certified Coach, a HR Professional, a Certified Talent Practitioner (CTP), a Chartered HR Business Partner and a Fellow of the Academy of Project Management. (FAAPM).
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