{"id":1830,"date":"2020-10-27T18:00:18","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T22:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/?p=1830"},"modified":"2024-02-13T11:50:45","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T16:50:45","slug":"mental-health-entrepreneurship-how-four-canadian-entrepreneurs-stay-grounded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/blog\/mental-health-entrepreneurship-how-four-canadian-entrepreneurs-stay-grounded\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Health & Entrepreneurship: How four Canadian entrepreneurs stay grounded"},"content":{"rendered":"

The day before entrepreneur Devon Fiddler went into labour with her first child, she had stayed up until midnight setting up a pop-up shop for her business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat goes to show you the type of stress I had put on my body,\u201d says the Saskatchewan-based entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

Fiddler, the founder of SheNative Goods<\/a>, had spent years throwing herself into growing the business, which sells leather bags, jewelry and accessories handmade by Indigenous craftswomen. Often, her days would begin at 6 am and stretch to midnight.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Fiddler attended an event geared toward young entrepreneurs: \u201c[My friend] had this whole conversation with me at that event that I didn\u2019t even remember because I was starting to lose my memory as well,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Now, Fiddler is committed to opening up the conversation around mental health in the entrepreneurship community. Last week, along with fellow entrepreneurs Nathon Kong (of Nathon Kong<\/a>) and Jason Courtepatte (of Kite Electric), she shared her experiences as part of Futurpreneur and BDC\u2019s recent sold-out event, Trailblazers: Mental Health and Entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

Marie Chevrier of Sampler<\/a> moderated the discussion, which took a wide-ranging look at the entrepreneurs\u2019 personal histories with building businesses while learning to manage their own mental health and the stresses of starting a new business.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the first steps is talking about it, sharing with each other, and acknowledging that mental health is a huge issue for entrepreneurs,\u201d said Futurpreneur CEO Karen Greve Young in her introductory remarks.<\/p>\n

Kong says that the pressure entrepreneurs face to lead their businesses and remain in control often means mental health issues get swept under the rug.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople expect us to have an answer (on mental health). People expect us to know everything. People expect us to hide fear and project confidence that we know everything. We don\u2019t,\u201d he says. \u201cI pretend that I do \u2013 even today \u2013 but I don\u2019t. It\u2019s difficult to admit that to yourself, let alone to your customers and your team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even before the onset of COVID-19, BDC found that two-thirds of entrepreneurs reported feeling depressed at least once a week \u2013 with women entrepreneurs, smaller businesses and earlier-stage businesses all reporting more consistent health issues.<\/p>\n

A follow-up survey on how entrepreneurs were dealing with COVID showed that 77% of entrepreneurs were stressed \u201cbecause of high self-expectations, the fear of loss and failure \u2013 and loneliness, because most of us are at home and unable to connect with their customers,\u201d BDC CMO Annie Marsolais said at the event.<\/p>\n

She added, however, that the survey also points to entrepreneurs\u2019 resilience: \u201cTwo-thirds say they feel things are back under control.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Minister Mary Ng addresses the Trailblazers: Mental Health & Entrepreneurship panel. (Courtesy Global Affairs Canada)<\/h6>\n

Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng, who kicked off the event, praised this resilience in her opening remarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen many entrepreneurs be innovative and nimble, finding new ways to adapt, finding new solutions to the current challenges posed by the pandemic \u2013 and we\u2019re seeing so many businesses and entrepreneurs finding ways to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely okay to not feel okay right now, but I can tell you we\u2019re going to get through this,\u201d Ng said.<\/p>\n

Here are just a few of the strategies the panelists have used to manage their own mental health and keep stress in check:<\/p>\n

Find a way to blow off steam. Chevrier and Fiddler both make meditation a part of their regular wellness practice, while Kong likes to clear his head in pottery class.<\/p>\n

Courtepatte, of Kite Electric, practices mindfulness in different ways, whether that\u2019s taking a moment to just sit with his thoughts or going for a drive. \u201cBeing aware of the situation that I\u2019m in, checking in with what\u2019s around [me] \u2013 that just kind of brings me back to the moment, grounds me, realizing there are no leopards coming out of the bush to eat me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also a fan of journaling, including bullet journaling: \u201cAs soon as my thoughts are on paper, they can\u2019t scare me anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Come to terms with the worst-case scenario. Things got \u201cpretty dark\u201d after the onset of COVID, Courtepatte said. \u201cI\u2019ll be perfectly honest \u2013 there were times when I was researching insolvency or bankruptcy. \u2018What happens if I lose everything? What happens if everything comes crashing to the ground?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

But doing that research, he says, took some out of the fear out of the situation. \u201cI was surprised at how logical the steps were \u2013 you do this and that, you recover, you move on, you start again,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce I looked it in the face, that actually gave me the courage to face it and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rely on your support network. Partners, family members and even furry friends can play a role in keeping entrepreneurs grounded \u2013 though entrepreneurship can also impact interpersonal relationships in unexpected ways.<\/p>\n

Fiddler says she \u201cexperienced more extreme loneliness\u201d when she first started out, as she had a tough time finding friends who understood what she was going through as a new business owner. \u201cI really had two friends I\u2019d made through entrepreneurship connections \u2013 and that\u2019s how my friendship circle started to change,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Courtepatte adds that some delineation between your work life and friendships may be necessary: \u201cIt can sometimes be an onslaught of advice. People are offering you all different directions to take your company, and you have to decide where you want to go. I like knowing who to reach out to when I have a problem to solve, because if the group grows too wide, it can be tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stick to a routine. Adding structure to your day as an entrepreneur is crucial. Kong goes for daily runs and makes time to cook, and the panel also took time to delve into the importance of a nutritious breakfast.<\/p>\n

Take some time to give back. In addition to the charitable aspect of his business, which has a partnership with mental health organization Les Impatients, Kong also makes time to volunteer. \u201cWe are nothing without our community around us. I would find something to do that I would feel good about without getting something in return,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Open up the discussion in your workplace. As a result of their own experiences, several panelists said they now make a point of creating dialogue around mental health within their own organizations. \u201cI would actually try to hide my stress early on, but we got to a place where we can actually talk things out,\u201d Fiddler says.<\/p>\n

Chevrier adds that the workplace culture at Sampler has evolved to include supports like flexible scheduling.<\/p>\n

Their motto, Chevrier says, is: \u201cYou are always the most important thing on the to-do list.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want to learn how Futurpreneur can support you in your entrepreneurship journey? Click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The day before entrepreneur Devon Fiddler went into labour with her first child, she had stayed up until midnight setting up a pop-up shop for her business. \u201cThat goes to show you the type of stress I had put on my body,\u201d says the Saskatchewan-based entrepreneur. Fiddler, the founder of SheNative Goods, had spent years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entrepreneurship"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}