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The Entrepreneur Mental Health Report 2023

Mental health and entrepreneurship:

How do clients impact small business owners?

512 small business owners took part in this survey

There’s more open discussion than ever around employee mental health. We’ve all heard the phrases ‘employee burnout’ or ‘quiet quitting’, right? 

But there’s less discussion about business owners’ mental health – even though research indicates entrepreneurs are more likely to suffer from mental health problems than those in employment. 

This could be down to a few reasons. 

Why do some entrepreneurs struggle with their mental health?

Firstly, a lack of anyone to talk to. Whether you’re a solo business owner or manage a large team, it can be lonely. There aren’t the same support mechanisms in place for entrepreneurs, and often friends and family don’t understand the unique challenges business owners face. 

Secondly, the nature of entrepreneurship is one that can impact mental health – instability, long hours, lack of sickness or health benefits, cash flow problems etc. 

The third reason is the one that’s impacted us the strongest, and also the one we’ve found that is talked about the least – client relationships. Or more specifically, difficult client relationships. 

 

About the data

And this is something that there’s very little research on. Until now. We’ve surveyed 512 business owners primarily in the b2b service-based industries, ranging from copywriters, accountancy firms, agencies, coaches and consultants and graphic designers. 

And this is what they had to say about their client relationships…

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Why We Did This Survey...

When we created this survey, some people asked us why we came up with these questions. Are they not a bit..well, upsetting?

But the reason we asked these questions is that we’d experienced these problems ourselves. 

In the process of growing our agency, we worked with every single client who approached us–with no way of ensuring whether they were the right fit. In fact, we’d never really considered what ‘right fit’ actually was beyond, ‘anyone who could afford to pay us.’

This led to a lot of stress. We worked with people who didn’t want to fit within our process, who expected us to communicate in the evenings or at the weekend, who demanded calls that would last hours and take us away from doing our work and who, quite simply, weren’t pleasant people to be around. 

We’d exchanged one boss for tens of bossy clients. And it took its toll. So much so that Martin developed myoclonus–an involuntary muscle spasm that made him look like his entire body experienced an electric shock every five to ten seconds. And it took a drastic change in how we attracted clients to fix it. 

 

Speaking to others made us realise this was a much bigger problem than us!

When we spoke to other business owners about it, they’d tell us they’d experienced a similar thing. Maybe not with the same physical symptoms, but that clients, too, had had an impact on their mental health.

But we didn’t understand the scale of the problem. Did this impact a small minority of business owners? Or was it bigger than that?

In all honesty, we didn’t know what results to expect. However, it’s clear that this is a HUGE problem. And that business owner are impacted by the relationships they have with their clients.

On this web page we’ll go through the ways you can improve your relationships with your clients and, with it, your overall mental health and enjoyment for your business.

But we also want you to know that if you are struggling with client relationships and running a business in general, please know that you are far from alone. We hope this helps…

Entrepreneurs are losing sleep because of clients...

Question:

Have you ever lost sleep because of difficult client situations?

70% Yes

30% No

Loss of sleep

"Are you functional or vital?"

“I am unsurprised that so many entrepreneurs have lost sleep over difficult client situations. 

I’ve coached thousands of entrepreneurs, and I’ve noticed that those under the most stress try to do everything in their business. They are responsible for sales and marketing, admin, delivering the actual product, and everything in between. 

They hire too late and end up paying the price, unfortunately.”

Daniel Priestley

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74% of small business owners’ mental health is suffering because of clients

Question:

Has your mental health ever been impacted due to dealing with clients?

74% Yes

26% No

Mental Health

"While it’s important to maintain positive cashflow in your business, it’s just as important to reflect on the choices you’re making on a regular basis"

“As an entrepreneur, you’re more than a business owner; your business is an extension of your vision, talents and contribution to society.

Therefore, it stands to reason that you’ll be emotionally invested in the success of your business, and when encountering difficulties with clients it can be hard not to take it personally at times…”

“As an entrepreneur, you’re more than a business owner; your business is an extension of your vision, talents and contribution to society. Therefore, it stands to reason that you’ll be emotionally invested in the success of your business, and when encountering difficulties with clients it can be hard not to take it personally at times.

If you are dealing with difficult clients, ask yourself these questions:

– How clear have I been in my communications with my clients from the very start?
– How am I managing their expectations, as well as my own, on a regular basis?
– What is in my control, what can I influence, and what is out of my control?
– Do I know exactly who my ideal client is, or could I take more time to understand this?

While it’s important to maintain positive cashflow in your business, it’s just as important to reflect on the choices you’re making on a regular basis. This will help to ensure you feel aligned with the values of your business, which in turn can further support your mental health.

For further resources on entrepreneur wellbeing, visit the Calmer Blog: www.thisiscalmer.com/blog.

Tania Diggory

Some good news...The majority of entrepreneurs are happy with their work/life balance!

Question:

Do you feel like you have a good work/life balance? I.e. you’re happy with the amount of time you work and personal time you have?

59% Yes

41% No

Work/life balance

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A huge majority of entrepreneurs have been ghosted by potential clients

Question:

Have you ever spent over 30 minutes with a potential client only to never hear back from them about working with you?

84% Yes

16% No

Clients Ghosting

7 out of 10 Business owners have been told they’re ‘too expensive’

Question:

Has a potential client ever said that you’re too expensive after you’ve spent time with them?

70% Yes

30% No

"Too expensive"

"Work on your own money mindset "

“When someone says you’re expensive… that’s a reason to celebrate… and here’s why…

1. They gave you a reason. They didn’t lead you on. They didn’t ghost you – and honestly, that’s absolutely a cause for celebration

2. It’s a data point. So many people are deathly afraid of speaking about money and as such giving you something to go on is really powerful.”

“Working with data is always easier than not – so that’s an important and exciting opportunity for you to take the next steps.

So here are a few things to note about when someone says you’re expensive before we figure out what to do with it.

1. It may not be what they mean.

Expensive (as I explain it) is where the PRICE being asked exceeds the PERCEIVED VALUE on offer

– if that was genuinely true, that would be a ‘you’ problem, and something that you would need to fix (by increasing the perception of or actual value, or adjusting the price) – but…

People are sloppy with language, and so they often say the word expensive when they mean.

‘That’s more than I wanted to pay’ = UNDESIRED PRICE POINT
‘That’s out of my budget range’ = UNAFFORDABLE

Both of which are very different from expensive – and is NOT the same type of problem at all.

And opportunities like payment plans can help resolve the budgetary constraints, while insights shared below can help make your price point more desirable without changing it.

2. It’ may be poorly framed…

I’m always keen to find out the comparison point when someone speaks about something being expensive because it is a comparative expression and so much to be compared to something else.

So it’ll be good to know what they are comparing the pricepoint to, in order to understand why they have that perception. What they almost certainly aren’t comparing it to is the cost of inaction, which is mounting silently on a daily basis.

And ways to help overcome this:

Remember that there is a price for every customer and as such there will always be someone to buy your offer at the price you want to change. If Tiffany’s can sell a paperclip for $150, you have some room to play with on your prices. So choose your market segment wisely – it’s one of the most overlooked choices every business owner has to make, and it is one of the most important as it is in your control.

Sell them on the value before you introduce the price. If you correctly build the value stack and include all of the components – THAT is what they will frame the price that you are proposing to them, and that is how they will decide on the relative value of their price. This is one of the most important parts of the equation when you are making your offers, and once again is something in your control.

Prequalify who you make offers to. Some people are telling you it’s expensive because it’s unaffordable to them, and if it’s unaffordable to them, you shouldn’t be making that offer to that prospect. Thankfully this is something you can also control.

Work on your own money mindset and emotional management around this topic to do the work to be able to respond strategically, rather than react emotionally when you heard the big E word.

And know that when you have a great offer – anyone giving you a ‘No’ on the basis of them SAYING it’s too expensive – is really just reminding you to go to the Next Opportunity”

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69% of entrepreneurs have reduced their prices to land new clients!

Question:

Have you ever reduced your prices in order to get a new client?

69% Yes

31% No

Cutting Prices

"We strongly recommend you resist"

“We get why business owners reduce their prices, but it’s something we strongly recommend you resist!

 

When you reduce your prices, you sacrifice your time for a small gain right now.

But imagine if you didn’t reduce your prices, and instead, you freed up your time to find a better fit client who does value what you do and can pay full price for your services?

And if you’re really tempted to reduce your prices, try adding value instead. Is there any bonus or special little something you can add to your service that won’t hit your profitability as hard as reducing the price? That’s a much better option!”

Andrew and Pete

A shocking 81% of entrepreneurs have had a difficult client in the last year

Question:

Have you had a difficult client within the last year?

81% Yes

19% No

Difficult Clients

68% of business owners have completed more work than original agreed (WITHOUT charging extra)

Question:

Has a client ever requested more from you than you initially agreed? (I.e. have you ever experienced scope creep?)

68% Yes

25% Yes, but charged for extra work

7% No

Score Creep

"Focus on the things you can control"

“Scope creep is one of the things that can have the biggest impact on stress levels when you’re freelancing and on how much you earn. Unfortunately, it doesn’t surprise me that it’s happened to most of us.”

“Scope creep is one of the things that can have the biggest impact on stress levels when you’re freelancing and on how much you earn. Unfortunately, it doesn’t surprise me that it’s happened to most of us.

Focus on the things you can control to avoid it happening again and, if you can, try and see it as an opportunity to earn more (after all, the client needs more work doing) and move forward with better processes in place. Three tips to help you do this…

1. List out all of the services you offer and what you charge for each element. See yourself as a business – if you were running a restaurant you wouldn’t not charge people for the extra things they asked for.

2. Put a contract in place that details all your exact deliverables for a client that’s agreed by both parties before you get started.”

3. Don’t feel like you can’t communicate with existing clients that although you’ve been doing additional work to this date, you’ll be charging for additional services from now on.”

Sophie Cross

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89% of entrepreneurs felt like they spent too much time communicating with a particular client

Question:

Have you ever spent what you feel is too much time communicating with a particular client?

89% Yes

11% No

Too much communication

"This stat does not surprise me"

“Culturally we are not only massively conflict-averse but also generally averse to any form of discomfort in conversation. Especially in the UK! So, in fact, this stat doesn’t surprise me at all.”

Culturally we are not only massively conflict-averse but also generally averse to any form of discomfort in conversation. Especially in the UK! So, in fact, this stat doesn’t surprise me at all.

A lack of clarity in the communication of expectations and boundaries (or the lack of knowing how to do that effectively) reliably leads to months – years?! – of a pretty nasty ‘giving-too-much-and-consistently-feeling-resentful’ cycle. I see it time and again. And my god, I’ve been there.

First step to solving it? Become aware of your patterns, and validate your own experience.

Here are three truths to help:

1.) Learn to recognise resentment as a sign that you didn’t set a boundary early enough. Does your heart sink the second a client call appears in your diary because you KNOW they’ll keep you glued to the phone far longer than you wish for? DING DING DING! Boundary needed! And I’m afraid it’s on you to set that. We need to stop waiting and hoping that things will somehow magically change to also take our needs into account. Let’s step up and kindly advocate for them instead.

2.) Embrace the crunch. This stuff is hard, and that’s ok. Especially if you’re a fellow people-pleaser (hey there my tribe!), setting a boundary may feel like you’re inconveniencing the other person. And of course that doesn’t feel good. It can also feel pretty counterintuitive in the client relationship, where you are driven to deliver excellent service.

We need to stop waiting for the ‘unicorn’ boundary where we get our needs met AND it doesn’t in any way inconvenience the other person. Instead, we need to get curious about what comes up for us when we DO inconvenience somebody else and to gently expand our ability to tolerate it. Where to begin? Start the call with a clear statement of time you have available. Sit with the crunch that comes up for you as you say ‘I have 20 minutes for this call today, how can I help?’. Steadily teach your body you get to set a boundary AND you’re safe to do so.

3.) Contract, contract, contract. What do I mean by this? COMMUNICATE expectations and boundaries super clearly and super kindly so that everyone knows where they stand and knows what to expect. And it’s never too late in a client relationship to start doing this.

It might sound sweeping, but any relationship that feels it’s gone awry? – I’d bet my bottom dollar it’s a lack of ‘contracting’ from the off, and we’ve had crossed wires creep in around expectations.

It may feel jarring to begin to consistently clarify your steps, your process, and your time commitment, but ask yourself this – how do you want your client relationships to feel? Fuelled by dread and resentment on your side? Or dreamy, boundaried connections where in the time you have together you’re really able to give them your all without the fear they’re gonna take too much?!

It’s in your hands – you’ve got this.

Lousia Clarke

Virginie Ferguson

"The 89% knew in their guts their client would be difficult"

“This statistic is not surprising at all, because, in business, we lead with the mind.

However, I am certain that almost all of the full 89% KNEW in their guts the client would be difficult, but talked themselves into working with them anyway….”

“This statistic is not surprising at all, because, in business, we lead with the mind.

However, I am certain that almost all of the full 89% KNEW in their guts the client would be difficult, but talked themselves into working with them anyway. They let their mind apply filters over what their body and heart told them.

As a yoga teacher and HeartMath coach, I teach my clients to reconnect to their bodies and heart in my coaching practice. Emotions and feelings come first, and they never lie, unlike our mind does. When we take the time to connect to our bodies and heart, breathe deeply or practice heart coherence to regulate our nervous system, we can then access our implicit intuition. Listening to that intuition would save us, business owners, from a lot of grief!

As Rasheed Ongularu beautifully said: “The head thinks. The heart knows”

49% of business owners don't have any content that pre-qualifies clients (e.g. prices on website)

Question:

Do you have any public content in place that pre-qualifies your clients e.g. your prices or outlining your process?

51% Yes

49% No

Transparent Content

Most business owners have zero ‘repelling’ content i.e. content that explains who they’re not the right fit for

Question:

Do you have any content emphasising who you’re NOT the right fit for? E.g. a blog post titled ‘Who I’m not the right fit for?

89% Yes

11% No

Repelling Content

"When you repel you sell more!"

“By actively saying who you’re not the right fit for, you can prevent the wrong-fit clients from contacting you AND working with you. 

But more than that, you build more trust and loyalty with those who are the right fit. Which means you sell more to those people. And don’t sell anything to those that will cause you stress.

Win/win! 

So start that content around who you’re not the right fit for and we promise, it will work!”

Martin & Lyndsay

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A book about how to prevent bad client relationships...

Content Fortress

Having learned some difficult lessons running an agency, we decided to turn our experiences into a best-selling book – Content Fortress.

You’ll learn how to protect yourself  from unnecessary stress by attracting better, higher paying clients – y’know, the kind that don’t ghost you, try to tack on extras, or treat you like servants.

10% of sales (not profit, sales) go to Mind, a mental health charity supporting people in the UK. 

 

Connect with us and say hello...

You can connect with us both on LinkedIn and Twitter. Or, if you don’t want to connect with us both just pick your favourite. Star Wars vs Harry Potter style. 

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