The Importance of Taking Care of Your Mental Health as a Startup Owner

Building your business from the ground up can be very fulfilling, but entrepreneurs, particularly startup owners, know that a long and arduous journey lies ahead. The phrase “fake it ‘til you make it” is often embraced by many business leaders, but this approach can greatly impact their wellbeing and impede the progress of the businesses they are trying to establish.  

Studies show that entrepreneurs are 50% more likely to report having a mental health condition than the general population, but it is often swept under the rug. While leaders work their way to success, their passion and drive can sometimes consume them, rendering them “vulnerable to the dark side of obsession.” 

As a business owner, I admit that caring for my wellbeing is something I constantly need to work on. However, I have since learned that developing self-awareness and becoming mentally prepared for the challenges ahead can contribute significantly to building a more successful business. 

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Josh Gerben, a fellow trade mark lawyer based in the United States, for his podcast called The Josh Gerben Show. (You can listen to the podcast here.) During our chat, we touched on the importance of taking care of your mental health, especially if you’re a business leader or startup owner. Here are some lessons gleaned from our discussion: 

Don’t worry until you actually need to worry.  

 In 2017, I was diagnosed with acoustic neuroma, a benign brain tumour that can affect your hearing, balance and facial nerves. It came out of nowhere – I woke up one morning with a blocked ear. 

At first, doctors said I just had some congestion, and that taking medicine would clear it up. But after taking medicine for a week or two, I went to see an ENT specialist who told me they wanted to run some tests and do an MRI.  

That’s when they discovered that I had a 2-centimetre tumour and needed gamma knife radiation surgery. 

Just last week, I went for another MRI. I was so anxious that I wrote to the surgeon’s PA and said I couldn’t wait another week for the results. They called me and said, “You know, the tumour is stable. The surgeon wants to see you next Wednesday. Please relax and don’t panic.” 

So the moral of the story is, don’t worry until there’s something to worry about. While easier said than done in all facets of our lives, I realised after that incident that I actually needed external help in managing anxiety. Despite being physically active and in good health, I’m probably not looking after my mental health the way I should. Owning a business is an intense job, so looking after your mental health is a non-negotiable aspect of overall well-being.  

Find your balance. 

As a lawyer who runs his own law firm, Josh also knows what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. To manage his anxieties, he’s had to make a few adjustments to his lifestyle, such as refraining from using his smartphone and browsing through social media at night, and instead opting for business books or light-hearted TV shows. According to Josh, he’s found it best to avoid anything that will trigger his worries or upset him when he needs to relax and rest.  

It’s one of those things we need to keep in perspective. You’ll experience anxiety at some point in your life, but there are ways to mitigate it and find more peaceful moments. It’s about managing your day-to-day life—work a little bit, play a little bit and take care of yourself a little bit. Finding that balance is challenging, but it will get easier as you gradually work on it. 

Prioritising mental health can go a long way. It not only enhances your well-being, but also positively impacts your relationships with clients, your family and yourself.  

Celebrate small victories. 

Running your own business is tough and draining. There’s a constant risk of failure, you juggle many roles and face countless setbacks, all while managing the challenges of payroll.  

There are days when the phone remains silent, and new work inquiries seem scarce. I often find myself turning to my wife in the evening, feeling stressed. Then she’ll gently remind me, “You had a massive amount of work yesterday.”  

As an entrepreneur, you’ll constantly face doubt regarding the future. During tough periods, it’s easy to overlook recent achievements. But those triumphs should be celebrated and remembered.  

Every business leader and startup owner faces moments of self-doubt. However, working through that doubt rather than working in spite of it is the key to success. Sharing your vulnerabilities, speaking out about your internal struggles, and maintaining strong connections with loved ones can help keep you from spiralling out of control. 

Furthermore, it’s essential to create an identity beyond your business. Engage in activities that pique your interest, whether it’s spending time with family, lending a hand to charity, or even something as simple as reading the books you love. Finding fulfilment outside of work is essential for every entrepreneur.  

Failure and loss can happen to any startup, but adept business leaders learn to reframe these experiences positively. Remember: nothing ventured, nothing gained.  

Business, like life, is all about trial and error. The most crucial thing is to have self-awareness of these experiences so you can continue to nurture your mental health, become more resilient in the face of challenges and translate it into creating more successful businesses.  

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Mark Lazarus

Mark Lazarus, the visionary behind the business and the fresh blood of the Lazarus Legal team, Mark (or Laz as he is often known) owes much of his success to his past experiences. And he’s made it his personal goal to bring that wisdom and formula to the firm.

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Barry Lazarus

CEO & Notary Public

barry@lazaruslegal.com.au 

We’d be lying if we told you that this bloke isn’t the big honcho of our team, but his name is a dead give-away. The founder of Lazarus Legal, Barry is an old school, tough as nails lawyer. They don’t forge litigators like this anymore.

With decades of experience in both Australia and South Africa, his wisdom is as renowned as his name. Back in the days when Schwarzenegger and Van Damme were kicking ass on VHS, Barry was kicking ass in the courtroom. And after all these years, he still has a reputation for refusing to back down.Barry is definitely the badass you’d want in a fight – in court or otherwise. But really, he’s a big softie. Just don’t let him know you know that (although he probably won’t read this anyway – navigating the Internet is not his strong point).

Aside from putting other lawyers in their place, taking long walks on the beach and spending time with his family, Barry enjoys seeing others succeed. Not only is Barry a staunch and unmoving litigator, he has sharp business and commercial acumen having started up ventures from scratch and growing them into full-blown franchises – from real estate to creating ice cream, to making pasta. With his experience on both sides of the commercial and legal equation, you want this guy to be on your side, whether you’re the next Zuckerberg realising your genius, or the next Zuckerberg taking on your opponents in court.

When Barry is not busy lawyering about, he is a part-time lawn bowler and a wannabe comedian, but never took both as a day job, because let’s face it, he’s a lot better at his day job.

If someone ever threatens you to lawyer up…relax, call Barry and he’ll handle the rest. 

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Mark Lazarus Director

Mark Lazarus

Director

mark@lazaruslegal.com.au 

The visionary behind the business and the fresh blood of the Lazarus Legal team, Mark (or Laz as he is often known) owes much of his success to his past stories and experiences. And he’s made it his personal goal to bring that wisdom and formula to the firm.

He’s a bit of jet setter, splitting his time between Australia and the UK, maximising every hour of his professional life. He thrives on this adrenalin. It allowed him to work in private practice in Sydney, act for a host of famous celebrities in London, do a two year stint as a NSW barrister (and not the pretentious coffee type in the Melbourne laneways) and more recently did a gig as the Legal Director covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa for one of the world’s coolest fast-moving consumer good brands!  

As an Aussie and UK lawyer and former barrister, Mark not only has the gift of the gab but he’ll walk the walk to prove it too. He likes to think he’s a bit like Harvey Specter or Michael Corleone, the main difference is you can actually retain him as your lawyer and consigliere. He’ll tell you how it really is and will take on any challenge head on. Although litigation and court advocacy comes naturally to him, commercial and IP is what gets his blood pumping! 

When Mark is not out there doing his thing, you will probably catch him chilling at home with his family, on the sidelines of the soccer (football) pitch cheering on his two boys, crawling through mud obstacles, or training hard at the gym. Passion and commitment is what drives Mark to succeed, along with his burning desire to disrupt the legal profession by finding new ways to change the game.

He has sights on the future. So if you’re breaking new ground, ahead of the times, and on the verge of something big, but you need someone who’s got your back and who can give you straight up advice, this is the guy you will want on speed dial.

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