From Burnout to Balance: Mental Health Tips for Small Business Owners

Running your own business can be deeply rewarding, but the toll it takes on mental health can be very real.

From finding the time to manage invoices, all the way to managing tariffs, entrepreneurial stress and challenges can take a toll on mental health. In fact, according to the FreshBooks State of Small Business Report, 57% of small business owners said that work-life balance and time management got harder in 2025 compared to previous years.

Here’s how to recognize the mental health challenges you might be facing, and some tips to help you manage them.

Common mental health challenges for small business owners

Before we jump into how to navigate stress and take care of your mental health, let’s touch on what is stressing out business owners to begin with.

All things financial

Managing overhead, chasing down client payments, and trying to understand taxes can be mentally taxing for many small business owners even in the best of scenarios.

Good news: overall financial optimism was up for business owners in 2025. 56% felt somewhat or very positive about their business finances, compared with 46% in 2024

Loneliness

Running a business by yourself can get lonely at times. Even outside the solopreneur space, 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. report feeling lonely every week. You may have even heard a new name for loneliness: the silent epidemic.

In addition to mental health impacts of loneliness, it can also come with physical ones, including increased risk of heart disease and stroke, Type 2 diabetes, anxiety, and dementia.

Managing clients

Just because small business owners don’t have a traditional boss doesn’t mean they don’t have anyone to answer to. Rather, you answer to everyone, especially clients.

Wanting to make every client experience an exceptional one can be stressful, and without the right boundaries can easily lead to mental health challenges.

Crushing responsibility

When you’re the boss, everything falls on your shoulders: admin work, proposals, approving time off, and marketing. The list goes on (and on).

The weight can feel even greater for small business owners with employees. It’s not entirely uncommon for that pressure to take a toll.

Dealing with imposter syndrome

Many entrepreneurs struggle with imposter syndrome—feeling like they’re not qualified to run their company. Not only can this lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions, but it can also lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms. For example, according to a past FreshBooks report 27% of entrepreneurs say they feel like they can never show vulnerability or weakness.

Too much to do. Too little time to do it.

Ever wish you could clone yourself or stop time? You wouldn’t be alone. A previous FreshBooks report revealed that 28% of owners are concerned about having too much work to do in too little time, and 57% of small business owners believe that work-life balance got even harder in 2025.

Even with AI and tools for efficiency, this perpetual time crunch can lead to overwork, burnout, and anxiety.

8 small business mental health tips

See yourself in the challenges listed above? If the answer is yes—or even just a small maybe—consider it a sign to take some action. Below are nine mental health tips made for small business owners to keep you feeling your best.

1. Establish personal-professional boundaries

It’s an easy line to blur for small business owners. When there’s no separation between your work and personal life, it can feel like you’re always working. And working 24/7 as a small business owner is a big no-no, making this mental health tip a must.

Setting clear boundaries around work is an absolute must to keep stress at bay, avoid burnout, and support your mental health. Some tips?

Setting start and end times for work each day and sticking to them as much as possible. Keeping work contained to a specific space, rather than working in your bedroom, on your couch, or in other living spaces.

2. Learn to say no

Protecting your well-being sometimes means reintroducing a word that may have fallen out of your vocabulary: no. Saying yes to things that you should probably say no to, like working with difficult clients, taking on projects you don’t have the capacity for, or agreeing to lower rates, can lead to unnecessary stress and burnout.

Like anything unfamiliar, saying no takes practice. Start small by declining minor requests in your professional or even personal life (yes, you have permission to trade your Super Bowl host status for guest).

As you build confidence and strengthen your “no” muscles, it becomes easier to set boundaries in more meaningful moments, like turning down a client or project that simply isn’t the right fit.

3. Don’t be afraid to delegate

One of the most important phrases to learn as a small business owner is: “I don’t have to do this one on my own.” While it’s tempting to stay hands-on in every part of your business, trying to manage every task yourself is rarely sustainable and can often lead to stress, fatigue, and even resentment.

Instead, focus on delegation. Identify tasks that don’t require your unique skills or attention—like time tracking or expense tracking—and get them off your plate. That might mean handing them to an employee or business partner, outsourcing them to a freelancer, or finding the right small business software to take over the admin.

“Technology can be a game-changer, yet only 10% of business owners are investing in technology to address time and financial management challenges,” says Faye Pang, Chief Growth Officer at FreshBooks. “It’s more important than ever for entrepreneurs to explore new tools and strategies to reclaim their time.”

Delegating work you don’t enjoy, aren’t particularly good at, or simply don’t have time for can free up energy, reduce overwhelm, and not only support your mental health but help you grow your business.

4. Stay intentionally productive

If we’re being honest, there’s rarely ‘not enough to do’ in small business ownership. Being productive doesn’t mean going overboard and overwhelming yourself, rather continually working towards the goals you’re excited about.

Not sure where to focus your energy? Consider the 80/20 rule, a framework that says that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts—and figure out where to put 20% of your efforts to deliver the 80% of results you’re looking for.

You might also find it helpful to maintain a schedule. For many small business owners, the predictability of having a consistent schedule can make it easier to stay on task, achieve their goals, and stay intentionally productive.

5. Take time off

Vacation is calling—are you picking up?

One of the most effective mental health tips for small business owners is surprisingly simple: put on an auto-reply and take a well-deserved break, even if that break is just a single mental health day.

Whether you spend that time with family or friends, take a short vacation, or simply catch up on sleep, mental health days offer the reset you need to recharge and return to work feeling more like yourself.

Stepping back to make time for the people, hobbies, or rest is fuel. And it’s often exactly what you need to avoid burnout and keep going for the long run.

6. Build your own mental health toolbox

You need the right tools to build a thriving business. The same goes for your mental health.

There are apps and platforms that can help support your mental health so you can be a more effective business owner. For example, for stress and overwhelm, there are meditation or breathwork apps. There are also apps that can connect you to mental health professionals that can help you come up with strategies for balancing business ownership.

7. Take a break to move

Increasingly, scientific evidence supports the connection between mind and body. The feel-good endorphins you release during physical activity can be incredibly supportive of your mental health, so you feel happier, more energetic, and better equipped to tackle the rest of your to-do list.

So, taking a break and moving your body can do more than just support your physical health.

8. Find community

Building a community and finding the right support networks is crucial to your mental health as a solopreneur or small business owner.

Take the time to foster more connections in your day. Reach out to a friend and ask to meet for coffee. Call a family member to catch up. Attend networking events to meet other local business owners.

It might feel uncomfortable at first, but making a conscious effort to drive more connections is key to fighting loneliness and building community as a small business owner.

Your mental health matters

At the end of the day, your business is only as healthy as you are. You need time, energy, and community to feel connected to who you really are, not just to your identity as a small business owner. Understanding that it’s okay (and even necessary) to say no to what doesn’t feel right and to delegate where needed are the first steps to keeping your mental health in check.

The more you put up boundaries, the more you have room for growth—your’s and your business’s.