Running a small business can be challenging—you're the strategist, the problem-solver,
the cheerleader, and everything in between.
It's no wonder so many small business owners feel overwhelmed and stretched thin.
Prioritising your mental health doesn’t have to be just another task on your already-full to-do list. With a few simple, intentional steps, you can protect your mental wellbeing with the clarity and resilience needed to tackle whatever comes your way.
According to MYOB’s Business Monitor (2024), over half (56%) of Australian small business owners experience elevated feelings of depression and anxiety from running their own businesses. That's more than just a number; it's a sign that the pressure of running a business is taking a significant toll. The constant juggling can create the perfect storm for small business owners to miss the warning signs of their neglected mental wellbeing and lead to more severe mental health issues, like burnout.
As a small business owner, prioritising your mental health is essential—not just for your personal wellbeing, but for maintaining the focus and energy needed to lead your team and drive your business forward.
The good news? You can proactively support your wellbeing with small, incremental steps. A few minutes every day can improve your mental wellbeing, increase your energy and improve your mental clarity to help smash your business goals.
Understanding the Exhaustion Funnel
Professor Marie Asberg’s ‘Exhaustion Funnel’ explains how sometimes we can slide into burnout without even realising it. When we’re at the top
of the funnel, life feels balanced. We’re making time for all the things—
the ones we know we ‘need’ to do, and the ones we want to do.
When we’re leading a balanced and healthy lifestyle—we allow space and time for the things that bring us joy and rest. At this level, we:
- Are open to new experiences and perspectives
- Can more easily problem-solve and adapt
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Take time to reset and reflect when we need to
But as stress creeps in, we might start to let go of enjoyable activities, and the more we give up, the narrower our world becomes. In the end, we can be left feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and burnt out.
When we regularly fail to care for our psychological and emotional wellbeing, we are susceptible to travel down this exhaustion funnel towards burnout.
At the bottom of the exhaustion funnel, mental health conditions like burnout, anxiety and depression rise. In Australia alone, mental health conditions like these are currently causing businesses to lose up to $12 billion each year from sick leave, reduced work performance and lower productivity.
Consider your work/life balance as it stands today. How often do you see friends? Do you make time for yourself to move your body how you enjoy? When is the last time you properly switched off outside of work?
Tips for Proactively Managing Your Mental Health
Prioritising self-care to stay at “the top of the funnel” doesn’t need to be another burden. Small moments of intentional action can make a world of difference to your mental wellbeing.
The same way that building physical fitness and strength-building helps our body to function well, practising mental fitness helps us develop a diverse set of tools to overcome challenges that come our way.
1. Live Mindfully - Stay Present
When you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed with “what could happen”, try to pause to recognise how you feel in the moment, and take a step away to re-centre yourself.
Doing this can:
- Lower feelings of stress and anxiety
- Increase your ability to focus
- Actively engage with the task at hand
- Contribute to lower blood pressure over time
Engage with mindful movement: Movement isn’t just about staying physically fit—it’s also a powerful way to reset the mind and reconnect with the present moment. Schedule in time to move your body—whether it’s a walk, a vinyasa yoga flow, dancing, anything that gets you moving! Even 10 minutes a day can help our mind and body return to the present and disengage from the day’s stress—sort of like hitting the pause button.
Try going screen-free during this time to focus on your senses. What can you hear? How are you breathing? What can you feel? Is the sun on your face? Is the breeze cool? What colour are the leaves?
By focusing on small details, it can be easier to re-centre into the present and allow the nervous system to take a break from the constant stimulus we’re exposed to throughout the day.
2. Embrace Flexible Thinking - Choose Gratitude
Dedicating time to recognise external factors that have helped or made us happy throughout the day is a great way to bolster our sense of wellbeing. Research shows that practising gratitude can have a wealth of positive effects on health, including:
- Reduced depression and anxiety
- Higher levels of positive emotions
- Better quality sleep
- Increased resilience and less stress
- Stronger relationships
- Improved physical health
When we purposefully recognise what we’re grateful for, we also acknowledge what makes us feel seen and valued.
Start to incorporate gratitude into your daily routine through:
The 5-minute gratitude reflection
Consider what you’re grateful for with these prompts:
- Who (or what) are you grateful for?
- What did they do or what did it influence?
- Why are you grateful for their actions?
If you’re short on time—or want to involve others—try making gratitude a shared activity! At dinner, during a phone call, or in a team meeting, take turns sharing one thing you're grateful for and why.
These small, consistent practices can brighten your perspective, whether you’re flying solo or sharing them with others.
3. Grow Connections - Celebrate Wins
When stress takes over, it can cause our relationships to feel neglected or tainted by our negative mindset. This can make us feel disconnected or even isolated from our community, leading to:
- Higher levels of stress
- Disrupted sleep
- Lower immunity
- Increased antisocial behaviour and sadness
As a small business owner, building and maintaining healthy, positive relationships is critical. Think of your relationships as a positive feedback loop—a healthy mindset attracts healthy relationships, which in turn help maintain a healthy mindset!
A great way to grow connections is by focusing on and celebrating the positives in our day.
Introduce shout-outs: At team meetings or one-on-ones, try to end on a positive note by identifying or ‘shouting out’ any business’ wins.
This looks like:
- Sharing appreciation for a coworker or advisor
- Thanking a focus group for their hard work solving an issue
- Recognising when your business has overcome a hurdle or reached
a new goal - Encouraging your team to share any PB’s outside the office
4. Live Purposefully - Finding Your Passion & Giving Back
When running your own business, it can feel like your whole world is that business. You may lose yourself in the day-to-day, making the work feel monotonous and sometimes, aimless. When this happens, motivation, productivity and job satisfaction can all take a downward trend.
Finding ways that your work can positively impact others is a great way to reconnect with your community and coworkers while refueling your sense of purpose. But how do you do this?
Remind yourself of your values and strengths - where do they lie? How can you pivot your work to utilise them? What can you do with them to give back to others and feel connected to your work?
Giving back: Finding small ways to support others isn’t just kind—it’s also a powerful way to boost our own mental health. Acts of service can foster a sense of purpose, strengthen connections, and provide a positive shift in perspective, all of which can improve our mental wellbeing.
In the workplace, this might mean getting a colleague a coffee, lending an ear to help someone talk through a challenge, or collaborating to problem-solve a tricky issue. These small gestures not only help others feel valued and supported, but can also deepen our professional relationships and create a more positive team environment.
Engaging in these acts of kindness can create a ripple effect of positivity—enhancing both your mental health and the wellbeing of those around you.
5. Rest & Recover - Embrace Breaks
When life gets busy, it can be tempting to approach our days on auto-pilot—moving from one urgent task to the next without a break. When we do this, we can lose sight of how we’re feeling while we do our work.
Over time, this ‘autopilot’ mode can mask for our body’s stress response. The longer we ignore our body’s stress response, the higher the risk of health issues, including:
- Headaches
- Sleep problems
- Heart disease
- Anxiety
- Problems with memory and focus
Take mindful breaks throughout the day, it’s a great way to beat the stress cycle you might be experiencing at work.
Schedule dedicated lunch breaks: Break away from your “to-do” list to eat a meal or snack. Schedule a break into your calendar to avoid clashes and keep you accountable.
Disengage from all digital devices during this time so you can really focus on your food. Tune in to your senses while you eat—what can you smell? How does your food feel? What textures are experiencing? What flavours are you noticing?
Want to learn more on how you can support your mental health as a small business owner this year? Download Smiling Mind’s Fact Sheet for a handy guide with helpful tips to help you get started.
