In one episode I welcome an owner of a Luxe Message, which got me thinking of self-care.
What is self-care, why is it important, and why should an entrepreneur care?
How does self-care lead to entrepreneurial success or how the lack of self-care can lead to the downfall of the business. The sad reality is only 58% of small business survive beyond 3 years.
And of the current small business owners surveyed by entrepreneur.com reported 57% of small business owners had above-average stress and 80% admit cash flow issues affect their mental wellbeing. This is nothing new.
The entrepreneurs who I am so grateful to have shared their stories on this show have stated similar wellness concerns at various times in their entrepreneurial career.
Now if you have ventured this far down The Shades of E podcast then certainly you have come to appreciate the toll a new venture takes on the entrepreneur: long days, little sleep, high-stress, loneliness.
There is no simpler way to put it: if the business is not profitable, the business will not be successful.
According to entrepreneur.com, over 50% of owners work 9 hour-plus days and 43% work weekends. But long hours do not make us more effective if we are wasting time spinning our wheels because we are too tired to think straight, and we risk burning out completely.
When building a business strategy, although this sounds extremely difficult when running a business alone, try to include wellness of oneself, staff, colleagues, loved ones, and even those you do not know. But why? How is self-care good for an entrepreneur?
First: stress relief. Stress is going to play a role in everyone’s life but taking time for self-care helps activate the body’s relaxation response, reducing cortisol and adrenalin levels in your body, which helps to reduce stress according to Jess McCallum, a Clinical Psychologist who runs Confident Life.
Another benefit of self-care? It improves clarity and creativity! Feeling overwhelmed while trying to multitask is not a great mindset to be creative, organized, or successful. Make sure to schedule in a short break throughout the day for self-care, such as a 10-minute medication break, a 15-minute walk or reading a book.
Let us be honest: if we do not schedule it in our day and make it a part of our routine, we will seldom do it – we will say we do not have the time (something I do too often).
However, if we look at our screen time on our phone, I think we may find we have a few minutes to spare in a day.
And self-care must go beyond the entrepreneur. The 2017 American Psychological Association’s Center for Organizational Excellence survey found that 61% of working Americans experience chronic work-related stress.
As a result, numerous workplaces are beginning to implement wellness programs that benefit both executives and workers.
And employees are taking note.
Roseann Bennett, Executive Director and Cofounder of Center for Assessment and Treatment, a 501 c(3) charitable organization wrote, “Millennials demand more workplace benefits that help them live more secure, promising lives, self-care themes may continue to become ingrained in our every facet of our lives.”
Listen I work in healthcare. My whole philosophy is people want to be cared for and about.
From a business perspective, prioritizing self-care could help secure a positive atmosphere socially and financially.
The World Health Organization and the American Institute of Stress estimate that stress costs American businesses $300 billion (about $920 per person in the US) annually.
As Roseann Bennett said, “implementing self-care business practices not only helps yourself and others feel better", but you could also help the economy feel better, too.
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