As an entrepreneur, it can be hard to take a break from your new venture. It’s easy to work hard and focus solely on your business to get it up and running. However, research shows that focusing on your well-being is hugely important to making your business successful!
This is the first article of a 2 part series on entrepreneurial wellness. Today, we will outline how well-being impacts an entrepreneur’s business. Later this month, we will focus on how to boost your well-being as an entrepreneur.
What is an Entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurship is the creation of a new venture or, more broadly, choosing to work for yourself. An entrepreneur is the person who creates that new venture or makes that self-employment decision. They can be freelancers or independent consultants. Traditionally, we think about entrepreneurs as people who start their own business, regardless of what that business is.
One unique thing about entrepreneurs is how central work is to their identity. Compared to full-time employees, entrepreneurs’ job satisfaction is more closely related to their satisfaction with their life, family, and self. In other words, if they are unhappy with their business venture, they are likely to be unhappy in all aspects of their life.
They went out on their own because they believe in the importance of their work and their ability to make it happen. If they aren’t achieving their goals or the business isn’t working out as expected, their identity feels threatened and their unhappiness can spread outside of just their work life. Focusing on wellness can help reduce some of the negative personal consequences if, unfortunately, the venture doesn’t work out.
In addition to helping bounce back from failure, entrepreneurial well-being can help create business success, as outlined below.
Well-Being and Persistence
Being a successful entrepreneur requires hard work and consistency in pursuing your business goals. Interestingly, well-being has a big impact on how persistent an entrepreneur is in chasing these goals. Entrepreneurs with low well-being and high exhaustion feel less motivated to continue their new business venture.
If you are an entrepreneur, you know that results and success take time. Quitting before giving the business a fair chance means you’ve wasted your time, energy, and money. Working on your personal wellness will help you push through the tough times and continue chasing those dreams! You started this venture for a reason – don’t let exhaustion derail you!
Business Performance
Obviously, entrepreneurs want to build successful businesses and the success of those businesses depends on the well-being of their founders! Overall, research shows that happy entrepreneurs have higher performing businesses. The reverse has also been found. If someone is generally unhappy, they are more likely to experience financial problems in their new venture.
Similar to the ‘happy, productive worker’ idea, being happy as an entrepreneur makes your venture more productive. Creating your own business can be exciting and satisfying, but make sure you are focusing on your happiness in all aspects of your life. You may have less time for friends, family, and hobbies but don’t completely forget about them! Keep your relationships strong and take time to do other things you love.
Opportunities for Growth
For a new venture to grow, entrepreneurs need to be able to find the right opportunities. They see opportunities where others don’t. Interestingly, research shows that healthy entrepreneurs are more likely to recognize good business opportunities, while entrepreneurs with lower well-being can often miss those chances.
In sum, research strongly suggests that well-being is important to being a successful entrepreneur. Some entrepreneurs actually believe that having high well-being is a sign of their success. If you plan to start your own business or have already ventured out on your own, make sure you are taking the time to nurture your well-being. Don’t let yourself get too exhausted, burnt out, or unhappy. It’ll impact your ability to pursue your goals, find good opportunities, and build a high performing business!
Now it’s your turn. Are you an entrepreneur? Do you struggle with wellness while trying to grow your business? Let us know your challenges and your solutions! And stay tuned for more details on what can help you boost your well-being in Part 2 of this series.
