6 Entrepreneurs Share How they Protect Their Mental Health
Photo by Regina As The Photographer
Hey, babe! How are you? No, really– how’s everything going? We are so used to being asked ‘how are you’ and the pressure to answer positively & simply that comes with that question that we never get to be honest.
Taking care of your mental health is not a one and done kind of situation. It’s something you’ll practice every day for your whole life.
Take it from these 6 amazing entrepreneurs! Each woman shares how she protects her mental health and in turn is a better person & business owner for it.
xx -Gina
Martha VanCacmp | Be Martha Fit // IG
“I set business hours and abide by them. I leave my laptop in my office and only go in there during office hours. Another tip: on the weekends, I UNINSTALL FB messenger. Messenger is how our clients communicate with us. It's not enough to just turn off notifications, so I physically uninstall the app on weekends.”
Tampa, FL
Lena Gosik-Wolfe | Lena Designs Studio // IG
“I’m so glad we’re talking about this because I think there’s a lack of conversation about mental health in the entrepreneurial world. For a long time, people have praised the hustle mentality and I think that’s a road that goes straight to burn out. As someone who has suffered from both anxiety and depression over the years, I am always interested in speaking to fellow entrepreneurs about how they protect their own mental health. I love working from home- being able to be comfortable in my environment and have my mind free as a creative, but it does get lonely. So a huge thing for me is making sure I have like-minded people to talk to on a regular basis. Finding a biz bestie who knows you and understands your business and can be there to listen or bounce ideas off of is huge.”
Tampa, FL
Kristen Hansen | Flawless Fetes & The Cabooze // IG
“Protecting my mental health as an ambitious business owner almost always boils down to trusting my gut and not saying yes to every opportunity or client. If you feel it's not a good match, don't move forward out of obligation. 9 times out of 10, you were right in the first place and it wasn't worth the headaches for the dollars.”
Seminole Heights, FL
Madison Skipper | Madison Skipper Creative // IG
“As a business owner, it can be challenging to protect my mental health when my mind is always racing of ways I can improve my business. I make it a priority to take time each day to do something for my personal growth, not my business' growth. It could be something like attending a workout class or listening to a nonbusiness podcast or reading a book just because.”
Tampa, FL
Jessica Santander | Project Moment Designs // IG
“By making the time to commit to daily self-rest periods as it's tempting to keep going and keep crossing off that to-do list without pausing to rest our own minds. So, I've promised myself to either take the first full hour of my day where I do something for myself and not open up any emails/look at the phone or I take a few minutes at the end of the day to read a novel that's not business related. We all deserve to protect our mind and energy and it starts with that one promise to yourself.”
Tampa, FL
Emily Benko | Benko Dynamic Styling // IG
“As a woman who has tangoed with mental health issues since childhood, I know myself well enough to recognize the neon flashing signs of struggle, but more importantly know the burnout I will experience if I ignore them. Even though my business is my passion, my wellbeing is my purpose. My business will only survive if I thrive mentally, emotionally and physically so my business decisions are always aligned with my mental health.”
St Petersburg, FL
