According to research by Opus Energy 76 per cent of SME owners are losing sleep over their business. Running a business puts pressure on all aspects of a person’s life, with owners making personal sacrifices for their business.
Time, money and emotional investment of growing and making a business profitable can be all consuming. Working over-time, late in to the night and a six or seven-day week is all too common for owners of SMEs. As a consequence of this, burnout, stress and health related issues are playing havoc on a business owner’s life.
SMEs are key to building the economy and UK businesses are facing incredibly challenging conditions with huge uncertainties. Unless companies are planning and adapting to the challenging market place, they are finding themselves struggling and being left behind. We have seen many headlines of well-known brands on the high street facing closure or closing-down.
Work-life balance is an increasingly prominent debate, with employers being challenged to offer workers flexibility to achieve this. But how can an owner of a SME achieve this balance?
Investing in technology can help to free up time as can a good support network of family, friends and peers.
As a SME owner myself I appreciate first hand the sacrifices and challenges of owning a business. Which is why we are looking to start our own network of support with other SMEs where we share our own tips and advice of how to reduce the stress of managing people. We would love to hear from you if you are interested in attending our breakfast meeting later this year, which offers practical HR advice and support for SMEs, contact us here.