Coast river business journal., June 15, 2022, Page 13, Image 13

BUSINESS COMMENT
COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
JUNE 2022 • 13
Navigating the strain of business ownership and mental health
By Jessica Newhall
Clatsop Community College
Small Business Development Center
recently had the pleasure of watching final pre-
sentations given by the participants of our 2021-
2022 Small Business Management program.
Each owner shared what they had learned over
the eight-month program and where they were
going to take their company.
What struck me in listening to mission state-
ments, business plans and financial forecasts were
the interwoven stories of personal struggle and tri-
umph. People spoke of overcoming adversity, man-
aging setbacks, handling stress and navigating the
toll running a business can have on their personal
lives and relationships.
The reality is we don’t often talk about the pres-
sures that business ownership can have on mental
health — but we need to. For this reason, in addi-
tion to covering traditional business topics in the
Small Business Management program, we also
include mindfulness and meditation in the curric-
ulum as tools and techniques to help owners cope
with stress.
My own journey with mindfulness and medi-
tation began in early 2017. I was at the helm of a
thriving event planning and venue management
business, serving on the board of several charita-
ble and professional organizations, and my per-
sonal life was full of travels and adventure. I was
thus surprised to find myself on New Year’s Day at
a silent meditation retreat we offered to host in our
venue for a mindfulness coach friend, unknowingly
in crisis.
As 20 individuals assembled, we were wel-
comed and given the guidelines that out of respect
for each participant we were not to speak to or
make eye contact with anyone besides the leaders.
The goal of the retreat was to learn how the practice
of meditation can help one more consciously live in
the present rather than dwelling in the past or wor-
rying about the future.
From the outset I struggled to get and stay pres-
ent with what was happening in the retreat. As the
venue host, I wanted everything to be perfect, and
I
THE REALITY IS WE DON’T OFTEN TALK
ABOUT THE PRESSURES THAT BUSINESS
OWNERSHIP CAN HAVE ON MENTAL HEALTH
— BUT WE NEED TO. FOR THIS REASON,
IN ADDITION TO COVERING TRADITIONAL
BUSINESS TOPICS IN THE SMALL BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, WE ALSO INCLUDE
MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION IN THE
CURRICULUM AS TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
TO HELP OWNERS COPE WITH STRESS.
Jessica Newhall
so I could not stop worrying about whether it was
quiet enough or too cool for the other participants.
However, at a very specific moment things shifted,
almost seismically, for me. Our guides invited us
to find a comfortable seat on the ground, close our
eyes, and to try to visualize ourselves as a moun-
tain. What did that mountain look like? What kind
of flora and fauna were found on this mountain?
Was it inviting?
As I sat there on my yoga mat with my eyes
shut and gazed inward, trying desperately to ignore
the mental worry of whether the buzz of the heater
was too loud for people, what slowly emerged in
my mind was not a beautiful, lush, green Bali Hai.
Rather, it was more like Mount Doom from the
“Lord of the Rings.” If you haven’t seen the mov-
ies, basically Mount Doom is the scariest mountain
ever — a barren, blackened, smoldering, wasteland
only habitable by warlocks. That was my mountain.
That was me. I ran smack into the reality that all
my efforts to launch and grow our business, provide
exceptional customer service, support the commu-
nity, take care of my responsibilities at home and
be everything to everyone had led me to a point
where I had stopped taking care of myself. Just as I
was trying to take care of everyone in the retreat at
the expense of my own experience, I had done the
same with myself. There was nothing left for me.
That was a turning point in my life from which
I made some major changes to better support the
kind of mountain I wanted to be. This visualiza-
tion and meditation exercise is one I still draw from
when I am struggling with a big decision or feel
unsettled in an aspect of my life.
According to a study by the National Institute
of Mental Health, 72% of entrepreneurs are directly
or indirectly affected by mental health issues, com-
pared to just 48% of non-entrepreneurs.
The expectation of self-sacrifice often associ-
ated with business ownership can be incredibly
straining. Unchecked it can lead to burnout, broken
relationships, personal financial struggles and dam-
age to one’s physical well-being. My advising role
at the Small Business Development Center affords
me a front row seat to all kinds of personal chal-
lenges that business owners face and I am deeply
grateful to be able to pull from my own experience
in order to relate to and provide support for the
individuals who are able to ask for help.
Everyone handles stress and challenge differ-
ently, but I do hope that by sharing my experience
you see it as an invitation to check in with your-
self (or your mountain) and make time and space
for whatever it is you might need. Perhaps a walk
in nature, taking a vacation, enjoying a phone-free
day with loved ones, finding a trusted someone to
talk to, joining a meditation class or embarking on a
silent retreat — whatever you choose, please know
that making time for you is not selfish. It is neces-
sary and vital to ensuring you can be the best leader
possible.
Jessica Newhall is the associate director of the
Clatsop Community College Small Business Devel-
opment Center. She can be reached at jnewhall@
clatsopcc.edu.
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