Running a business can be incredibly rewarding. It can also be stressful, overwhelming and surprisingly lonely. For Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re exploring the importance of looking after ourselves, with five wellbeing suggestions shared by members of our Howick Orb Networking group.
We see you. One minute you’ve landed a fantastic new client, received a glowing review or finally cracked a problem that’s been keeping you awake at night. You’re on top of the world.
A few hours later, a client cancels, an unexpected bill arrives or something goes spectacularly wrong. Now you’re questioning every life decision that brought you here.
Welcome to the emotional rollercoaster of running a business!
For business owners, the highs and lows can feel incredibly personal. And while being your own boss comes with plenty of freedom, it also brings responsibilities that don’t necessarily disappear when you close your laptop.
When you’re responsible for a business, there’s often an expectation that you should have everything under control.
Your clients expect answers. Your team looks to you for decisions. Your family might assume that because you work for yourself, you can take time off whenever you like.
(If only – hahaha!)
Research from Business Mentors New Zealand, referenced by Business.govt.nz, found that 80% of business owners surveyed had experienced feelings of isolation.
That’s a pretty significant number.
Of course, running a business isn’t all stress and uncertainty. There are wonderful moments, great relationships and achievements worth celebrating.
But it’s important to recognise that the difficult days are part of the experience too.
And sometimes, talking to someone who understands can make a real difference.
The theme for New Zealand’s Mental Health Awareness Week 2026 is Belonging Matters.
It’s a particularly relevant theme for business owners and professionals.
Belonging is about having people around you who understand you, support you and make you feel comfortable being yourself. People who can offer a different perspective when you’re stuck, and people you can admit to that things aren’t going brilliantly, without feeling you need to put on a brave face!
During a recent meeting of our Howick Orb Networking group, we asked members a simple question:
What do you do to look after your mental health, particularly when business starts to feel overwhelming?
The conversation produced some thoughtful, practical and occasionally hilarious suggestions.
Here are five that stood out.
When the workload piles up, our natural reaction is often to work harder.
Skip lunch, stay at the desk a little longer…
But one of our members suggested doing the opposite. Slow down to speed up.
Sometimes stepping away from work is what helps us return with fresh energy, clearer thinking and a different perspective. That might mean planning regular breaks, making time for hobbies, catching up with friends or simply having something enjoyable in the diary to look forward to.
And there’s something important about planning these things rather than hoping there’ll be time left over because we know that when you’re running a business, there’s almost always something else you could be doing!
It’s 8.30pm. You’re relaxing on the sofa when your phone pings.
Now you’re thinking about that client. You remember something else you need to do and you’ve start mentally planning tomorrow.
Your laptop might be closed, but your brain is back at work! Sound familiar?
Another suggestion from our members was to establish clearer boundaries between work and personal time. Let clients know when you’re available and when they can expect a response. Agree with colleagues what constitutes a genuine emergency. Have a way for people to contact you when something really can’t wait.
And perhaps most importantly, remember that receiving a message doesn’t automatically mean you need to respond immediately.
This suggestion got a few laughs!
When asked how to improve mental wellbeing, one member suggested getting divorced.
Long pause…
From your phone.
And there’s something rather appealing about that idea.
Our phones are wonderful tools, especially when we’re managing a business. But they’re also remarkably good at demanding our attention.
The suggestion wasn’t to abandon technology altogether, just to spend a little more time away from it. Leave your phone behind when you go for a walk, keep it off the dinner table and put it in another room while you’re enjoying time with family or friends.
And perhaps being a little less connected to our devices gives us more opportunity to connect with the people around us.
We all know people who leave us feeling energised after a conversation.
They listen, encourage, share ideas and help us see opportunities we might have missed.
And then there are those people who somehow manage to drain our energy.
Another suggestion from our Howick members was to think carefully about the people we spend time with.
Who builds you up? Who challenges your thinking in a positive way? Who can you learn from? And who do you feel comfortable talking to when things aren’t going to plan?
For business owners, having people outside your immediate business who understand the challenges can be particularly valuable.
They don’t necessarily need to work in the same industry. In fact, sometimes the most useful perspective comes from someone whose business is completely different from yours.
What matters is having relationships where people want to see one another succeed, which is one of the clearest examples of why belonging matters.
Breathe? Really?
Pretty sure we’ve all got that one covered!
But our final suggestion was about something a little more deliberate: using movement and conscious breathing to help manage stress.
When we’re stressed, our breathing can become faster and shallower as our body’s fight-or-flight response kicks in.
Slow, controlled breathing can help us calm down and regulate our response to stress.
Repeat a few times, without forcing your breath. If holding your breath is uncomfortable, simply breathe gently in and out.
Looking back at these five suggestions, none of them requires a dramatic lifestyle overhaul.
What made the discussion valuable wasn’t necessarily the individual suggestions.
It was the opportunity to talk openly about the challenges of running a business, hear how other people manage them and recognise that we’re not the only ones experiencing those ups and downs.
There was plenty of laughter too.
That’s one of the things we love about bringing business owners together at Orb. The conversations aren’t always about generating leads, finding customers or growing revenue. We also talk about the people behind the businesses.
You don’t have to have all the answers. And you don’t have to figure everything out alone.
This article shares personal wellbeing suggestions from Orb Networking members and is not intended as professional mental health advice. If you’re struggling with your mental health, consider speaking with a qualified health professional.
