Are small business owners at higher risk for business burnout?

July 3, 2016 by Ed Becker

Business owners tend to be at a higher risk for business burnout, due to high stress lifestyles from being a small business owner. There are other factors that may create a higher risk for business burnout in small business owners as well. In this month’s series of articles, we will discuss why as well as what is business burnout, what causes it, what the effects are, and how to prevent it.

Business burnout seems to be a new trend in the business world, especially among small business owners. It may not be a new issue for business owners, but one that is becoming more publicized. Now, more business owners are talking about the high stress of their jobs and admitting to having issues.

• What is Business Burnout?

Business burnout is when business owners or even upper management have so much stress and work so many hours that they begin to burnout physically and mentally. When you work too much and too hard without recharging yourself it takes a major toll on your body and your mental health.

The burnout point is different for every person, but can have similar effects on most people. Their mental capacity becomes diminished, and sleep deprivation causes poor decision making capabilities. Being in a constant state of worry and exhaustion will always take its toll on any person. Family and friend relationships get ignored, which lessens the support circle for the business owner.

• Why are small business owners at higher risk?

The environment of small business ownership creates a perfect breeding ground for high stress. There are never enough hours in the day for a business owner to get everything done. Many new owners have learned or cannot afford to delegate or outsource tasks, so they get caught up in the mundane daily tasks and lose their passion for why they started a business in the first place.

There is the mental stress that comes with business ownership, or being self-employed. Having all the stress of your income and being a successful business owner creates a lot of pressure. Personal and business related bills are huge stress creators, If there are employees, the concern of making payroll creates a lot of tension. A small business owner wears many hats, that each has its own stress and it all takes a toll on the owner.

• Entrepreneur or job changer?

Another reason that small business owners are at higher risk for business burnout is that when someone decides to leave, an employee job to begin a business, there is a fine line between being an entrepreneur or simply a job change. This means that just because you start your own business does not mean you are not still an employee; it just means that the boss changed to yourself. Many small business owners are also employees in their business. They trade time for dollars. This brings the employee mindset to the business, trading time for dollars.

Entrepreneurs trade money for ideas. The mindset is totally different. Money is not the drive for an entrepreneur, they look at the leverage points to get their ideas out there. They believe that ideas will harness the power of their ideas and the financial reward will come with that.

Business burnout is definitely a concern for small business owners, because of their higher risk factors that contribute to burnout. Knowing that business burnout is very common among small business owners makes it easier to reduce your risk of burning out.  In our next articles we will discuss what specifically causes business burnout and how to prevent it or at least reduce the risks and effects of burnout.