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by Stephen Parezo

Smart Brief

It’s very stressful for small business owners to run their businesses so they need to learn how to deal with stress. Those wanting to operate their own business need to weigh the costs that stress will take. Every owner has their own “trip point” or amount of stress they can handle before it becomes too much. When the trip point is reached, it’s time to seek some help both on a personal and business level. Stress can become immobilizing and cause severe depression. Smart entrepreneurs look for ways to keep the stress in perspective.

August 10, 2006—Running a small business these days is certainly no picnic. In fact, it’s downright stressful most of the time because the small business owner’s responsibility doesn’t end when they turn off the lights. Industry watchers maintain that those entrepreneurs who learn to deal with stress will have a much healthier business.

For those thinking about operating their own business, experts say they need to weigh the costs since the stress takes its toll.

“If they want the apparent freedom of being their own boss before they jump into the pool they ought to look at the inherent stress of being your own boss and what happens when you have to staff operations yourself,” said Dr. Ralph Daniel, a business psychologist and family governance expert for the Center For Family Business Dynamics in Santa Barbara, CA.

Daniel told fiducial.com that it takes an enormous amount of time and effort to run your own business which can be very stressful.

“It’s bad for their pocketbook and for their psychological well-being because it impacts their family life,” he said. “They have to worry about finding capital and many start out undercapitalized. There are a lot of things to learn about running a business such as how to market, sales, taking care of purchasing inventory and borrowing money.”

Regardless of the type of business, every owner has their own “trip point” or amount of stress they can handle before it becomes too much.

“When you have external stress and you’re experiencing physical stress you’re not getting enough sleep and not able to concentrate,” he said. “In order to solve those problems you need to feel optimistic. That’s the problem when people reach the trip point. They can fly out of control very quickly.”

When someone reaches their trip point, Daniel says it’s time to reach out for some help both on a personal and business level and consult with professionals that deal with stress management.

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“Most of my clients have some kind of stress,” he said. “The smart ones go out and put advisory boards together or hire a professional to ask for advice. Even small businesses can put an advisory board together. Two or three minds are a whole lot more effective than one.”

While Daniel is not a medical doctor, he knows that stress can become immobilizing.

“You can end up with severe depression,” he said.

Keep it in perspective

One office would be stressful enough for most small business owners but imagine having three such as Larry Recor, a Fiducial franchisee, does with upstate New York offices in Boonville, Old Forge and Utica. He realizes just how devastating stress can be for entrepreneurs.

“They’re overwhelmed by being so close to it everyday that they need to get away to get a fresh perspective,” said Recor. “But a lot of business owners deal with stress in different ways by getting some exercise, doing some walking or whatever the person likes to do. Of course walking has the additional advantage of getting you away from the office as well as burning off some of that stress by getting some exercise.”

Technological developments such as the computer and cell phone have made things easier for some owners to run their operations. But other businesses like a trucking company can’t use technology too much to their advantage because they still have the same stress they’ve always had in trying to make deliveries on time and dealing with traffic congestion.

“There’s an example where they just plain need to get away from it for a bit which is a lot easier said than done,” he said. “But the smart ones look for ways to keep the stress in perspective.”

Recor has observed where stress has made people sick, old before their time and even killed them.

“It’s something that needs to be addressed so that you can enjoy your life a lot more,” he said. “Certainly there’s a lot of help out there. We, as accountants, help our clients deal with stress. We help them manage their business and run their business better so they have less stress. That’s our job.”

Recently Recor noticed a client was having cash flow problems so he ran a report that identified the problem areas and how it could be addressed.

“That’s basically what we’re all about, giving them some peace of mind so they know what to do,” he said.

Over the years, Recor has learned to read his stress levels so he knows when it’s time to take a break. When that happens, he usually hops aboard his Honda Gold Wing touring motorcycle and takes an evening ride with his wife.

Looking for the signs

Stress comes in many forms for small business owners and some handle it better than others.

“Some people can have issues, problems and challenges and they just float off their back,” said Gene Fairbrother, a Dallas, TX-based consultant with the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE). “Other people have personality issues and get upset if the traffic light is red too long.”

Fairbrother reminds owners that they need to be aware of their stress levels and what they can do to help themselves.

“They need to know when they’re reaching the level that they need to take a break,” he said. “They need to look for the signs. Generally, you need to get away from the atmosphere that’s causing the stress.”

It seems that everyone has their own way of dealing with stress.

“For some people it’s going for a walk around the building, reading a book, going for a cup of coffee or whatever it takes to get away from the issues,” he said.

One of his friends, for instance, owns a business that deals in intellectual properties and helps clients get patents. When things get too stressful, his friend heads for the mountains in Colorado so he can run his business over the Internet.

Like Recor, Fairbrother believes technology has created a monster when it comes to stress whether it’s the computer, Internet or cell phone.

“We’ve learned how to capitalize physically on technology but don’t know how to handle technology—that’s where the stress comes in,” he said. “The key is we’re not learning how to deal with it. If you’ve got a financial problem you just can’t take a pill and make it go away.”

Things get so stressful that small business owners take it home with them at the end of the day.

Getting support from home

“It’s like the third person sitting in bed with them at night,” said Gene Polley, a senior business advisor in Fiducial’s San Diego, CA, office. “It’s probably a topic of conversation whenever they’re out with the family. Often times the spouse gets sick of talking about it.”

This happens because owners don’t have outlets to vent their concerns about stress. In a corporate setting they would have a peer group to go out to lunch with or a board of advisors. When they’re on their own, they’re just isolated which, Polley says, can lead to “some really dumb decisions.”

Where corporate environments would have some type of employee assistance programs offering stress management assistance and a referral to a therapist, entrepreneurs are unlikely to have any insurance coverage that would provide stress mitigation.

“So they have more stress and are less likely than their counterparts in a big organization to have any place to turn to,” he said.

It takes the right kind of temperament to run a small business which includes getting full support on the home front.

“If you don’t, don’t take the plunge,” he said. “You might have a great idea and have everything going for you but if you don’t have the support at home or have the situation where you can take risks, it might not be the best thing to do.”

A catering client of his struggled in her business which caused her stress levels to rise. Her husband, meanwhile, went out and got a sandwich cart and was doing quite well with a lot less stress.

“He was making more money on that then she made in the catering business,” he said. “She had many difficulties but he had no collection problems, no worries.”

Polley has seen how stress can become immobilizing for small business owners when they can least afford to be in that condition.

“It’s like battlefield stress,” he added.

Still, not all owners realize they have actually have stress, according to Dale Ellery, Fiducial’s district manager for the Detroit region.

“It’s part of the job so some people are oblivious to it,” said Ellery. “I don’t see much of it but during last tax season I did work as much as seven days a week.”

Stephen Parezo is the Media Manager for Fiducial.

Whatever your small business needs, your Fiducial tax and financial professional can analyze your situation and recommend an appropriate action plan. To locate a Fiducial office nearest you on fiducial.com, see the Zip Code Locator located in the upper right hand corner of the page. Do you have a particular topic that we should be writing about that can help your business? Please send your suggestions to: stephen.parezo@fiducial.com.

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