How to Support Small Business Owner

The times have encouraged many people to start talking about the importance of wellbeing or well-being and its impact on everyday life. This also applies to small business owners and their employees. For this reason, research or literature related to small businesses should not only discuss finances, capital or profits.

Prioritizing wellbeing in the process of developing a business can help prevent stress and create a positive work environment. With this step, both individuals and organizations can grow hand in hand. Guaranteed health and well-being has the potential to increase engagement within the company for efficient business performance.

Factors Affecting the Welfare of Small Business Owners

A successful business or business must be able to overcome various challenges well. In order to find solutions to these problems, know the factors or challenges that can affect the welfare of small business owners:

Macroeconomic and financial difficulties

National and global economic conditions tend to have an impact on welfare, especially when the world is experiencing difficult situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Inflation and economic growth are factors that are quite influential in the development of small businesses. Meanwhile, recruitment has also become more difficult as people tend to choose jobs in more stable companies.

Stress management and mindset

A cheerful, calm, and active mindset tends to contribute significantly to a small business owner's well-being. Meanwhile, pressure on personal life caused by business problems will affect life satisfaction. Therefore, it is important for business owners to be able to manage stress for the smooth running of their business.

Recovery priority

When you feel well-rested and are free to take time off when needed, the well-being of the business owner will benefit. It would be better if small business owners could integrate work with everyday life rather than treating the two as polar opposites. This allows you to get better rest even when working at high intensity.

Satisfaction in carrying out work

Most people get satisfaction from work, especially when the work they do has a positive effect. Although not everyone can find satisfaction in running a small business, it can be great fun when you can find meaning and purpose in doing so. This is the reason for people who stay in business even though they experience a lot of pressure in other fields.

Access support

Affordable counseling and support is often inaccessible for small business owners to which they have to make sacrifices amid macroeconomic difficulties and personal crises. As economic and financial pressures increase, there is less access to counseling support. Without policy change, this will hurt the economy and livelihoods.

How to Support Small Business Owners' Wellbeing

In business operations there are interests of several parties, namely small business owners, advisors, government, and industry bodies. The following are recommendations for parties involved in efforts to support the welfare of small business owners:

Invest in small business innovation and learning

There is a significant relationship between small business owners who find their daily activities interesting. Satisfaction in carrying out work affects the level of one's welfare. Therefore, policies that support learning, training, skills upgrading, and innovation among small business owners can improve their welfare.

Small business owners can also help manage well-being by trying to incorporate professional assistance into the business. Several types of assistance can be in the form of assistance from accountants, digital systems in terms of payroll, billing, or ordering or marketing systems so that productivity and business operations can increase.

Address the main causes of employee mental health problems

Employee mental health issues emerge as a consistent stressor for small business owners. This can be triggered by a number of things, for example rising costs of living, low purchasing power, and weaker perceptions of job security compared to large companies. It is clear that when employees have problems, the employer also feels the discomfort.

Policies and programs that help employers address the root causes of employee stress are likely to have long-term benefits for the well-being of small business owners. Programs that can help manage stress are often welcomed and have a positive impact on business growth for both business owners and employees.

Network for peer support

It is important to increase policy support for counseling services that deal with pressures of small business ownership. Peer networks also have a role to play in helping small business owners learn how to deal with each other's stress from fellow small business owners.

Get more rest time

Even though small business owners say they find time off easily, that doesn't automatically mean they have higher quality breaks. Small business owners should set aside time to rest and put business matters aside. This is better than taking time off in between activities or making other external changes.

Success in running a small business does not mean you have to always be active and working. In fact, many factors influence the success of a business owner. The meaning of well-being is not only measured by money or profits, but also mental health, sufficient rest time, satisfaction in doing work, and the purpose of working in order to achieve complete and sustainable well-being.