We facilitated a workshop a couple of weeks ago with a group of entrepreneurs. Some knew each other, some did not, and they all had very different backgrounds and lived experiences. The commonality? They’ve all walked the strenuous, nerve-wracking, sometimes lonely, often bumpy road of entrepreneurship. 

As we often do, we started our session brainstorming and chatting about the meaning of mental health (shameless plug to check out our earlier blog post on this topic, if you haven’t already). We then moved to discussing what comes to mind when we think of entrepreneur mental health (shocking, another relevant blog post!). The result? A very long list of challenges that seemed to resonate with most people in the room.

Shareholder pressure

Non-existent

Isolated 

Family

Perfectionism

Always “on”

Judgment

Lack of self-care

Scared of making mistakes

No supports

Critical

“Ahhhh!!!”

Loneliness

Lack of balance

Zero stability

Isolated

Compartmentalization

Challenged

Survival mode

Too many priorities

Fear

Over-committed

Vulnerable

Financial concerns

Fatigued

Imposter Syndrome

We’ve touted off (and we’ll continue to) about the research that demonstrates that entrepreneurs experience mental health challenges at greater rates than the general population—here’s the link to a fantastic Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) report that we often cite, if you haven’t read it yet—but this conversation was meaningful in its own right. Like these workshops and events so often do, the comments and conversation validated everything that the research tells us. 

Entrepreneurs don’t have the mental health support that they need.

Entrepreneurs experience a lot of barriers to accessing services.

Entrepreneurs experience a lot of stigma around mental health, preventing them from speaking up, speaking out, and from accessing services. 

So, where do we go from here? Well, we’d be foolish if we didn’t remind you that addressing these barriers and concerns is what Collectively Tangled does. It’s our bread and butter, if you will. But beyond connecting with us, there are simple things that you can do within your business or your company. 

Our number one suggestion? CHECK IN. If you don’t do it already, incorporate daily or weekly check-ins with your team. Ask folks how they’re actually doing. If you’re a founder, lead by example. Be honest and open about how you’re feeling, whether or not you’re struggling to cope, and what you need from those you work with. If you’re an employee at a startup or small business, spearhead it! Suggest to your team that you start incorporating mental health check-ins into your meeting agendas. A solopreneur? Schedule daily check-ins with yourself. The check-ins are just as useful for ourselves as they are for our teams. 

What can this look like? Here’s a few suggestions of questions that you and your team might ask one another during these scheduled check-ins:

• On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being super chill, and 10 being super stressed), how are you feeling right now?

• What emotion are you feeling the most today? OR What emotion are you feeling right now?

• What’s one high and one low from your day (or week)? If you’re feeling more creative, you can call this one Apples and Onions. Share one apple (your high or something positive) and one onion (your low or something challenging) from your day (or week).

• In one word, describe how you’re coming into this meeting. 

Follow the check-in with a follow-up. If someone has expressed that they’re having a challenging time, either during the meeting or after the meeting (use your discretion), follow-up: 

• Is there anything I can do to support you? 

• What do you need right now? 

• Would you like to talk further about how you’re feeling or what’s going on for you?

The most important takeaway from the check-in? Making sure that folks know that it’s okay not to be okay. It takes a lot of bravery to be honest about how you’re feeling and how you’re doing. Entrepreneurs are pretty darn remarkable, but let’s stop pretending that they’re invincible. We are all human, after all.