Five easy ways small and micro-business owners can support their wellbeing

Words by Julia Clements Roche

Small businesses have had many challenges to navigate during the last two years, from Brexit uncertainties and pandemic lockdowns to continually changing Covid19 regulations and worries about the health of employees and loved ones.​

Therefore, it is of little surprise that time for self-care often comes fairly low down the priority list for small business owners. In fact, according to research from The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), 96% of small business owners admit to keeping the stress of running a business ‘bottled up’, and nearly two-thirds say they deprioritise their mental health in the name of financial success.

Over half of the business owners that took part in BACP’s research felt they didn’t know where to start when it came to looking after their mental health. It can feel impossible to take time out when you are nose-deep in the day-to-day stresses of running a small business.

Rebecca Hill, UKBF’s Chief Commercial Officer, shares five easy steps small business owners can take every day to redress the balance and better support their wellbeing.

1. Improve self-awareness​

The first step in improving your wellbeing is recognising the signs of overwhelm or burnout before they become a problem. For some people, these can present themselves as feelings of exhaustion, insomnia, catastrophising, the inability to concentrate, or feeling less interested in work. With a hectic schedule, it’s easy to overlook some of these warning signs, so it can help to schedule a time each day to check in with how you are feeling. Take yourself away from whatever you have been focusing on and spend a few minutes considering how you are. Ask yourself questions and talk kindly to yourself, just like you would with a friend.

Tuning in and picking up on any feelings of stress, upset or discomfort early on means you can start implementing solutions to your stress triggers before they snowball.

2. Put pen to paper​

Journalling seems to be having something of a renaissance, and it’s not without good reason. Reflectively writing down what you are thinking and feeling has been shown to be an effective way of helping people manage stress and anxiety. When we take time out of our day to journal, we improve our self-awareness and educate ourselves. We can see patterns in our behaviours.

Writing down affirmations and positive quotes can also help support motivation and mindset. Similarly, a daily gratitude practice where a few minutes are spent reflecting on the day can help calm down frantic mind monkeys by bringing clarity and focus on what is meaningful to us.

3. Take time out every day​

Modern technology has facilitated a world where we have more information and insights into the lives of others than ever before. In an instant, we can communicate with people on the other side of the world. We have a window into the daily grind of millions of people through social media - most of whom we will never, ever speak to or meet in real life. Because these people are there, in the palm of our hands, they can feel so familiar to us, and it’s common to be drawn into the worlds in our phones when we are supposed to be unwinding.

Your business will not stop if you allow yourself some screen-free time. If you leave your phone in a drawer while watching a film or walking outside, it won't fail. On the contrary, both yourself and your business will benefit when you take time out and give yourself time to refresh and recharge.

4. Be more present​

Every day we do certain activities without giving them any real thought or attention. Routines become so familiar that we act on autopilot and take no real notice of what we are thinking, feeling and doing at that precise moment. We are often so busy rushing through life that we don’t pause or tune in to the moment we are living. Then it is over, and it can feel like time is running away from us.

Ironically, despite living in a world that enables us to connect with billions of people, we have never been so disconnected from the world around us in many ways. Technology has sped up our daily lives, and its incessant availability means that we are ‘always on’ too.

When we feel the world has sped up, it is time to step away. Far from running faster to try and keep up, we need to stop. We need to slow down and allow ourselves to be more present in the moment. By developing greater awareness of our surroundings and how we are feeling and thinking through mindfulness meditation practices, we can improve control over our feelings and help ourselves overcome negative emotions and behaviours.