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Resilience: Tips for small business owners
Hear from a small business owner and get expert tips tailored for small business owners and sole traders from an expert in wellbeing.
Resilience for small business owners
Video transcript: Resilience tips for small business owners
[Audio: Soft instrumental piano synth music plays.]
[Visual: The camera opens on a wide shot of a business owner sitting crossed legged on a black floor inside a yoga studio.]
[Visual: She sits in the centre of the frame at an angle facing the left side of frame. She is wearing a peach-coloured sweatshirt, grey leggings, and white socks.]
[Visual: Behind her is a wall of white shelving filled with workout equipment such as yoga mats, weights, blocks, and folded towels. To the far right of the frame is an open white door.]
Business owner: We opened in July 2021 and a few weeks later.
[Visual: The camera moves to a medium close up.]
[Visual: The business owner is shown in profile facing the left side of the frame.]
Business owner: we went into a lockdown because of Covid, and.
[Visual: The business owner nods her head.]
Business owner: that was incredibly scary for us because we had to change everything overnight.
[Visual: The camera pulls out to a wide shot.]
[Visual: The business owner is shown in profile facing the left side and is sitting centre frame. There is a large grey potted plant in the background to the left of the screen. Behind the plant on the white wall is one yellow and one multi-coloured piece of artwork. There is white shelving with folded towels, clothing, workout gear and water bottles to the right of frame.]
Business owner: As a business owner, when you’re running your own business it’s very stressful, because you are all things to all people.
[Visual: The business owner counts with her fingers as she lists off the different departments.]
Business owner: You’re the Human Resources department, your sales, you’re marketing, customer experience.
[Visual: The camera moves closer into a medium close up.]
[Visual: The business owner is sitting centre frame and faces the left side of frame. The shelving in the background is softly blurred but there is a pink yoga mat on the left of the frame and some colourful yoga equipment on the right side of the frame. The business owner shakes her head.]
Business owner: You know, you fix the leaks in your building. You clean the toilets, all that kind of stuff.
So, you have to do everything, and you have to be willing to turn your hand to anything that needs done in the business at any given time. And that’s always pretty full on as a business owner cause there’s never really an off button.
[Visual: The camera cuts back to the wide profile shot.]
[Visual: The business owner is sitting in the same position at the same angle. The large grey potted plant is in the background to the left of the screen with the yellow and multi-coloured pieces of artwork on the white wall behind it. The white shelving with the folded towels is on the left at the edge of the frame.]
Business owner: When I get stressed, I can be quite grumpy.
[Visual: The camera moves to a medium close up.]
[Visual: The business owner is sitting centre frame in the same position. There background shows blurred shelving with a pink yoga mat on the left of the frame and colourful yoga equipment on the right side of the frame.]
[Visual: The business owner leans forward.]
Business owner: I start to feel more tired than usual. And that for me, isn’t a great combination because you ultimately end up taking all of that into the home world as well which is not fair for the family.
[Audio: Soft instrumental music continues.]
[Visual: The camera pulls to the wide shot.]
[Visual: The business owner sits in the same cross-legged position at an angle in the centre of the frame. Behind her in the background is a wall of white shelving, filled with workout equipment such as yoga mats, weights, blocks and folded towels.]
[Visual: The business owner lifts both arms and gestures with her hands.]
Business owner: Not knowing sometimes, kind of who to ask for advice or even where to go for advice can be quite challenging when you’re setting up a business.
[Visual: The camera moves to a medium profile shot.]
[Visual: The business owner is still sitting on the floor. She is placed slightly right of the frame and faces the left side. The background is softly blurred. Slightly visible on the left side of the frame is the base of the large grey potted plant and the yellow and multi coloured art pieces on the white wall behind it. There is white shelving to the right side of the frame with the pink yoga mat. She gestures with her hands as she speaks.]
Business owner: But also, quite often you don’t know the questions you need to be asking when you’re just starting out, because you don’t necessarily have the experience.
[Visual: The business owner nods her head.]
Business owner: So, it’s always sort of test and learn, test and learn. And it’s taken me quite a lot of time to get comfortable with that.
[Audio: Soft instrumental music continues.
[Visual: The camera pulls back to the wide profile shot.]
[Visual: The business owner is sitting at the same angle and is placed slightly right of the frame. Visible in the slightly blurred out background is the large grey potted plant to the left of the screen, the yellow and multicoloured pieces of art on the white wall behind it. White shelving with folded towels to its left at the edge of the frame, and white shelving containing weights, blocks, water bottles, and other workout equipment to the right of the frame.]
[Visual: The business owner gestures with her hands.]
Business owner: I’m very lucky that I can talk to my husband because he obviously shares this business with me and he usually has a different perspective, so that’s very useful.
[Visual: The camera cuts to a medium close up.]
[Visual: The business owner is sitting in the same position. There is blurred shelving with a pink yoga mat on the left of the frame and colourful yoga equipment on the right side of the frame.]
Business owner: But I think for me, the greatest value has been from a business mentor.
[Visual: The business owner nods her head.]
Business owner: And they have a very different perspective because they’re completely outside of the business and they’ll always challenge my thinking and come at things from a really different point of view and that’s really rich and really helpful.
[Audio: Soft instrumental music continues.]
[Visual: The camera cuts back to the wide profile shot.]
[Visual: The business owner is sitting at the same angle and is placed slightly right of the frame. In the slightly blurred out background is the large grey potted plant to the left of the frame, the yellow and multi-coloured pieces of art on the white wall behind it. White shelving with folded towels to its left at the edge of the frame, and white shelving containing weight, blocks, water bottles, and other workout equipment to the right of the frame. She gestures with both hands in a swirling motion and nods her head.]
[The camera cuts to a medium close up of her hands. She twiddles her fingers around the ring on her finger.]
Business owner: Writing a list for me is important.
[Visual: The camera cuts back to the medium close up.]
[Visual: The business owner sits in the same cross-legged position at the same angle looking to the left of the frame. She is in the centre of the frame. There is the same blurred shelving with the pink yoga mat on the left of the frame and the colourful yoga equipment on the right side of the frame.]
Business owner: It’s quite good when you can see things written down and it obviously helps you to prioritise but also to see that things.
[Audio: Soft instrumental music continues.]
[Visual: The camera cuts back to the wide profile shot.]
[Visual: The business owner sits at the same angle and is placed slightly right of the frame facing the left side. In the slightly blurred out background is the large grey potted plant to the left of the screen, the yellow and multi-coloured pieces of art on the white wall behind it, white shelving with folded towels to its left at the edge of the frame, and white shelving containing weights, blocks, water bottles, and other workout equipment to the right of the frame. She gestures with both hands and shakes her head.]
Business owner: sometimes when they’re in your head, they seem a big deal but when they’re in front of you on a piece of paper it’s not that much of a problem.
[Visual: The camera cuts back to the medium close up.]
[Visual: The business owner remains on the floor and is placed slightly right of the frame, facing the left side.
The background is blurred but slightly visible on the left side of the frame is the base of the large grey potted plant and the yellow and multi-coloured art pieces on the white wall behind it. There is white shelving to the right side of the frame with a pink yoga mat. She leans back slightly.]
[Audio: Soft instrumental music continues.
[Visual: The camera cuts back to the wide shot. The business owner sits centre frame at an angle and is facing slightly left. Behind her in the background is a potted plant to the right and a wall of white shelving, filled with workout equipment such as yoga mats, weights, blocks, and folded towels or clothing. She gestures with her left arm.]
Business owner: So, for me, I really value having time doing nothing and that probably sounds quite indulgent to lots of people.
[Visual: The camera cuts back to the medium close up.]
[Visual: The business owner sits on the floor slightly right of the frame and is facing the left.
The background is softly blurred but slightly visible on the left side of the frame is the base of the large grey potted plant and the yellow and multi-coloured art pieces on the white wall behind it. There is white shelving to the right side of the frame in the background with a pink yoga mat. She makes a zero sign with fingers.]
Business owner: The thought of doing zilch to zero.
[Visual: The business owner nods her head.]
[Visual: The business owner gestures with both hands and nods her head.]
Business owner: But it’s actually very important because you can’t do anything for other people unless you first take care of yourself. So having that time out and just allowing yourself to reset and re-calibrate is really very important.
[Visual: The camera moves slighter tighter.]
[Visual: The business owner sits in the same position looking to the left of the frame. There is the same blurred shelving with the pink yoga mat on the left of the frame and the colourful yoga equipment on the right side of the frame. She nods her head and smiles.]
Business owner: You’ve got yourself taken care of and then you can sort the business.
[Visual: The frame transitions into a white screen and reveals the words centred and in pink -
Helping businesses succeed with the business.govt.nz logo sitting directly underneath in blue.]
[Audio: The music fades.]
[Video ends.]
Try one thing that might help
“Building mental resilience isn’t about adding more to your to-do list”, says Vanessa Cooper, Mentally Healthy Work Specialist at WorkSafe New Zealand.
“Don’t get overwhelmed by all of the things you ‘should’ be doing for your mental health. Sometimes less is more, so pick one or two things that interest you and try them.”
For instance, if you think breathing exercises might help, just do that.
Or you might be keen to expand your network. Options to choose from include:
- organising a regular coffee catch-up with another business owner
- seeing what events your local Chamber of Commerce has coming up
- tapping into your industry association or professional body.
This will help combat social isolation as well as keep you up to date on new developments and put you in touch with your peers.
Small tweaks
If you don’t have time to add new activities to your schedule, Cooper suggests taking a fresh look at what you’re already doing. See what small tweaks you could make.
“Instead of all these ‘and, and, and’ things you think you should be doing, look at what you’re currently doing. Acknowledge the benefits they give.”
This might be as simple as thinking about your regular meeting with a supplier as a chance to chat and catch up as well as talk shop. Or turn a meeting into a walking meeting so you can get some fresh air.
Check how you talk to yourself
Do you criticise yourself if something doesn’t go according to plan? Or tell yourself off for how you’re reacting? You might be your own worst critic, says Cooper. “Realise that your inner voice might be beating up on yourself a bit, so have a think about how you talk to yourself.”
Next time you find yourself having an inner monologue about something that’s gone wrong, take a breath and imagine you’re talking to a close friend. Chances are you’d never be as brutal with them as you are with yourself. Talk to yourself with the same kindness and compassion you’d use with someone else.
Keep talking
One silver lining from COVID-19 is that the shared experience of going through a global pandemic has helped normalise talking to each other about how we’re feeling. The automatic ‘fine thanks’ answer to ‘How are you?’ might instead turn into a more meaningful discussion.
“For many people lockdown was a great equaliser,” says Cooper. “We were all fighting the same virus, so there’s this shared experience. Harness the gains from that experience and don’t go back to ‘everything’s fine, everything’s fine’.
By building up your network, or getting a business mentor, you can share experiences with peers. Swapping stories, hearing what other people have done, how they’ve coped (or not coped), can help lessen your mental load.
How to get a small business mentor(external link) — Business Mentors NZ
Call or text for free support
If you feel a bit overwhelmed, anxious or just want to talk, free services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
call or text 1737 for support from a trained counsellor
Lifeline 0800 543 354 or text 4357
Samaritans 0800 726 666
Helplines(external link) — Mental Health Foundation
Helpful resources
Websites like the Mental Health Foundation and Wellplace have a range of tips and worksheets for businesses. Some help you identify what you need to stay well. Others focus more on supporting employees.
Minimising and managing workplace stress(external link) — Mental Health Foundation
Ways to wellbeing(external link) — Mental Health Foundation