Is our pursuit of growth harming us?

Recently, global startup community ‘Startup Grind’ reported 72% of American entrepreneurs were affected by mental health issues. They go on to say that this could be correlated with the boundless ambition and drive that many associates with innovators and business owners.

Closer to home, this sentiment has struck a chord with national coworking operator BizDojo. Through conversations with those in the business community, BizDojo co-founder, and Chief Entrepreneur Nick Shewring says it has become evident that there is a growing need to better support the entrepreneurial community in the area of mental health.

During Mental Health Week, The BizDojo’s spaces in all our centers — Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch have been running a series of events focussed on well-being, health and work-life balance for business owners. Included in the schedule is a Wellington event where Shewring will talk about the emotional struggles he has faced personally while growing BizDojo.

“What we are hearing all too often is that building a business is extremely stressful and all-consuming. When a business owner says they are putting it all on the line to get to the next stage, I understand this, because my co-founder Jonah Merchant and I have been there too. As founders, the focus is on sustaining and scaling your business, and this has been a path that to speak frankly, I’ve personally struggled to cope with at times. Despite how common these feelings are, it is an issue rarely spoken about, and that’s what we really want to change here.” — Nick Shewring | BizDojo Co-Founder

The week’s events aim to both open conversations around the emotional realities that small and early-stage business owners face and to support those affected by these issues.

“Mental Health Awareness Week has given us the perfect platform to launch an initiative around mental health discussions, movement and wellbeing. We’ll be running a week long timetable of community-led activities for both our BizDojo residents and the wider entrepreneurial community. We have been blown away by the response from our community who are keen to step up and contribute to this timetable by sharing their knowledge and personal stories, to help others”. — Monique O’Malley | Wellington BizDojo Community Manager

The insights and learnings from this month will be used to inform a new wellness-focussed BizDojo Auckland location, and learning programs across the BizDojo network.