Mental health awareness month→ Managing your mental health as a small business owner
When people take the plunge to become self-employed, there can be many positive outcomes such as increased freedom and more flexibility. In a study by IPSE, 80% self-employed individuals felt that moving to self-employment had at least a somewhat positive impact on their mental health, with 48% saying it was very positive. However, it can also involve pressure and significant emotional challenges that can negatively affect your business, relationships and overall lifestyle (and I’ve definitely struggled with this in the past!).
In light of Mental Health Awareness Month, I wanted to focus this blog on the importance of taking care of yourself and your mind as a creative small business owner. I’m going to outline some of the top tips I’ve tried and tested so you can work on setting a positive work-life balance (something that has taken me a while to figure out - so know that you’re not alone!).
The reality of mental health in the creative sector
There were around 4.4 million solo, self-employed individuals in the UK in 2020, who contributed as much as £162 billion to the UK economy. So, despite us all having questions about where our government is currently spending the revenue we’re generating, us small business owners make a significant contribution to the wider community and that of society. Therefore, it’s imperative we all prioritise looking after our mental health to keep being able to make an impact.
1 in 4 people experience a mental illness of some kind each year in England. Shockingly however, those working in the creative sector are 3 times more likely to experience mental health issues – the most common disorders being anxiety and depression. There are many reasons why the likelihood of developing mental health problems in the creative sector is significantly higher. From the pressure to reach high standards and irregular work patterns to the perceived lack of value placed on our work and the inadequate financial rewards – creative freelancing is a tough gig. Additionally, according to the study by IPSE, during the first year of the pandemic, almost one in ten people who are self-employed didn’t take any days off. This in itself proves the amount of pressure we put on themselves, but also highlights the amount of stress they face on a day-to-day basis externally.
What is really impacting our mental health as creative small business owners?
Statistically, these are the key aspects of self-employment that have the biggest negative impact on our mental health.
Finding work
Irregular nature of income
Blurring boundaries between work and home life
Access to statuary employment benefits e.g., sick pay, holiday pay
Working long hours or to tight deadlines
Late payment
Managing your own finances
Feeling lonely and isolated
Experiencing project delays or cancellations
Administrative tasks e.g., accounting, bookkeeping
Have you struggled with any of these?
When we are our own bosses, spending time working alone with our own thoughts, how can we make sure that we’re doing the best to look after our all-important mental health?
Why your mental health matters
For self-employed creatives, our mental health is intrinsically linked to our business (especially if we are completely solo because we really are the face of the business). If we find ourselves struggling with our mental health, chances are our business will also struggle too.
A number of people who choose to become self-employed do so because their employed life just wasn’t working out – usually for mental health reasons (whether that be hours, pressure or a toxic work culture). Before starting on the journey of self-employment, many of us also paint a very rosy picture of being able to choose our own hours, work with clients who respect us and earn as much money as we want to earn. However, in reality, this isn’t always the case. Throw a global pandemic into the mix and the grass definitely isn’t greener.
Over the past couple of years, the number of small business owners experiencing poor or very poor mental health rose from 6% to a whopping 26% - and only 9% of people reported not having experience any negative mental health effects as a small business owner during the pandemic. So, if you have experienced mental health problems, you are not alone!
What you can do to protect your mental health? Set those boundaries!
When I refer to boundaries, I mean the rules, processes and procedures that I put in place to protect my own energy and my mental health when I’m not working. Respecting my own boundaries has been critical to protecting myself and keeping my own mental health in check. So why not consider setting your own boundaries too?
For example, I could work with a business that has a clearly defined project such as designing a new logo and a set of brand guidelines. However, the business owner keeps pushing their luck. They keep emailing me in the middle of the night asking for additional bits to be added onto the project. Because of the individual I am (or was!) I don’t mind doing a little extra. However, this means that the project is now overrunning and my next project with another client is going to be delayed unless I work extra hours to get all of these extra bits done. What is the result – more stress for me. The business owner is constantly contacting me, assuming I will always reply instantly and not respecting my working hours either. And what happens next? My mental health begins to suffer.
The business owner in this example has crossed my boundaries and this highlights how incredibly damaging a situation like this can be to your mental health. This is why clearly defined boundaries matter. By knowing your boundaries and clearly communicating these with your clients, you are actively protecting your mental health.
Boundaries could include →
Adding your work hours to your email signature
Setting an autoresponder on your emails and letting people know your working hours and when they can expect to hear from you
Setting up auto-responses for your social media DMs
Including a ‘Boundaries’ section in your client welcome guide or contract, clearly stating what you will and won’t be doing, what your working hours are, how clients can contact you and what they can expect from your working relationship
Establish what your boundaries are and work on putting practices in place to protect your business and your mental health.
A final word
If you’re struggling with your mental health, there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Most of us have struggled at some point and the most important thing you can do is be honest with yourself and talk to someone about how you’re feeling. If you think that you may be reaching a crisis point, talk to your GP, book an emergency session with a therapist or take a look at Mind’s supportive resources here.
Your mental health should always be your number one priority.
Business can wait. Your mental health can’t.
