If you’re wondering what is the main reason why entrepreneurs experience daily stress, you’re in the right place.
Below are 12 of the most common answers to this question, complete with actionable plans to prevent you from becoming too stressed by each one of them.
I’ve worked one-on-one with a number of entrepreneurs to help them reach their business and life goals.
Stress management is a huge part of that.
Indeed, if you’re a business owner, a great first step is to recognise what is the main reason why entrepreneurs experience daily stress.
Once you know these reasons and have identified the triggers in your own life, you’ll be in a much better position to tackle them.
So, let’s dive in.
#1 Instability
When there is potential for something to go horribly wrong at a moment’s notice, it is a lot harder to relax.
There isn’t much you can do to eliminate instability in your life as an entrepreneur.
Still, it’s recommended to remind yourself of the alternative.
Most entrepreneurs choose life as a business owner because they are bored by the predictability of having to work as an employee.
#2 Considerable responsibility
Entrepreneurs carry considerable responsibility for their employees’ futures.
If you can’t pay your staff, they can’t eat.
Of course, this responsibility can be stressful for any entrepreneur.
Again, the best way to deal with this is a change of mindset.
Without responsibility, our lives are essentially meaningless.
Many entrepreneurs crave considerable responsibility for others because it makes them feel alive.
Entrepreneurs with this mindset tend to use responsibility as a motivational tool, rather than a stress trigger.
#3 Financial concerns
The prospect of not being able to put food on your own table could be a huge cause of daily stress.
Deal with this by creating a contingency plan for your business failing.
Ideally, you’ll have savings to fall back on and can pay yourself a wage high enough that lets you add to them.
Also, set your company up as an LLC, so your business debts can’t be recovered from your personal funds.
#4 Constantly fighting fires
When you’re at the top of a company, other people’s problems become your problems.
Your employees’ mistakes become your mistakes to deal with. A large part of an entrepreneur’s job is cleaning up others’ mess.
Dealing with those involved becomes a lot easier when you have good communication skills.
Books like ’Crucial Conversations’ by Kerry Patterson will help you settle disputes much easier.
#5 A lack of control
We are all affected negatively by events that are out of our control, but an entrepreneur may have to deal with this in their business every day.
Gratitude affirmations or meditations can help entrepreneurs realise there is a balance of good and bad fortune that strikes them.
The mindset illustrated by the ‘Buddhist flowchart’ also tends to be extremely helpful.
Image by newbuddhist.com
#6 No support
They say “it’s lonely at the top” because business owners rarely have anyone at the company to confide in.
This can be especially stressful if your friends and family aren’t completely supportive of your work either.
To get over this problem, network with other business owners or invest in a life coach.
Related Article: Stress Coach: Ultimate Guide & 8 Best Stress Coaches
#7 Unreachable standards for success
Entrepreneurs tend to be fiercely ambitious, but this often proves detrimental to their mental health.
Many get stuck in the mindset that their success is ‘never enough’.
If their desire to be the best comes from a healthy place, it might not cause stress.
If it is causing stress, perhaps it’s being driven by fear, ego or a lack of self-love.
Discussing this problem with a psychologist or a life coach can help.
#8 No room for vulnerability
When you’re the face of a company, it always has to be a brave face, even if times are hard and you are scared for the future.
When we bottle up our stress, it gets worse over time.
It’s actually incredibly healthy to be vulnerable and reveal your true feelings.
Support systems, like those suggested above, can be crucial to allow this.
#9 You’re an easy target for criticism
When you’re an entrepreneur, you make decisions that affect a huge range of employees and customers.
In this scenario, it’s impossible to make everyone happy. You’ll nearly always have to deal with criticism from others.
Accepting that you can’t please everybody is a good starting point for dealing with this.
Confidence in your ability to make the best decision for the business is crucial.
It’s also recommended to hone the skill of not taking criticism personally.
#10 Competition
Some people thrive amid fierce competition, while others crumble.
If you’re the latter, you’d be well advised not to pay much attention to what your competitors are doing.
This is rarely time well spent. Instead, focus on how to make your offering better.
#11 The odds are against them
The odds of a business failing have been widely published in the media.
Any entrepreneur worth their salt will be aware of them.
It’s those who constantly read negative news or surround themselves with pessimistic people that are worst affected by the difficulty of running a business.
Those who feed themselves positive media and optimistic peers will see this as a challenge and rise to the occasion.
#12 No time for self-care
This is arguably the main reason why entrepreneurs experience daily stress.
When their business is still establishing itself, the workload of an entrepreneur is huge.
Many feel forced to sacrifice relaxation time, physical exercise, preparation of healthy food, socialising etc.
In the long run, this will lose you time and money because it causes burnout.
Even before you reach burnout, you’ll take longer to complete tasks and will be unable to perform as effectively throughout your business.
Create a schedule which allows some time for the self-care activities listed above.
In all likelihood, this may require the delegation of many business activities.
Let me know what you think
As you can see there is far more than one main reason why entrepreneurs experience daily stress, but there are plenty of powerful actions to prevent this from happening while running your business.
Did I miss one? Drop me a comment to let me know what stress-relieving rituals you like.
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