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Report on Business: Managing
Entrepreneurs: Practise safe stress People who run small businesses may not have a boss, but they have partners, clients, employees, vendors and suppliers to keep happy. Burnout may be just around the corner
KIRA VERMOND
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL

01/10/2003
The Globe and Mail
Metro
C7
"All material Copyright (c) Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved."

When Rosaleen Citron has a bad day at the office, she cooks. Or to be more accurate, she tenderizes.

"If I've had a really rough day, I'll go home and find a piece of flank steak and beat it up," says the chief executive officer of WhiteHat Inc., a Burlington Ont.-based information technology security company with 20 full-time employees and 40 IT consultants. "It's a great stress reliever when you're pounding the hell out of a piece of meat."

The owner of four profitable small businesses since 1993, including WhiteHat, Ms. Citron has recently figured out some ways to curtail stress -- from pounding meat to delegating work and spending more time with her teenagers.

Stress affects us all, but it can be especially difficult for the self-employed and for small-business owners, who can run themselves ragged as they strive to build their enterprises. A two-week vacation? Forget it. An hour at the gym? Only if they can make calls from their cellphone as they work out.

People who run small businesses are often on the road to burnout because of the multifaceted nature of their work. They may not have a boss, but they have partners, clients, employees, vendors and suppliers they have to keep happy, and wearing so many hats means an increase in stress.

Unfortunately, entrepreneurs are more likely to accept high degrees of stress than find creative ways to tackle it.

A recent survey of 305 small-business owners by American Express Canada Inc. and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that most worked 50 hours a week, and 30 per cent put in 60 hours. Only 13 per cent worked 40 hours or less.

Half of all the owners-managers surveyed said their businesses took up too much of their time, and 29 per cent said they have no leisure time. One respondent reported not having a personal life in five years.

For Ms. Citron, it took two gruelling weeks of 20-hour days earlier this year to realize it was time to loosen the reins and let her employees take more responsibility. She decided to lease additional office space and hire more people to accommodate the load. But the decision to accept less control didn't come easily: "They had to rip it away from me originally, but I was eventually able to start delegating."

Some Fortune 500 executives seek smaller pastures, hoping for more control and flexibility in their lives, only to find that running a smaller business can be more stressful than the career they left behind, says Nora Spinks, president of Toronto-based Work-Life Harmony Enterprises, a company that helps businesses achieve life-friendly working policies.

"There is a fallacy that being self-employed and being your own boss is less stressful, when in fact it can be much more stressful. Instead of having one boss and a regular paycheque, you have a group of clients that you have to continuously keep happy," she says.

Dr. Richard Earle, managing director of the Canadian Institute of Stress in Toronto, notes that chronic stress can lead to fatigue, isolation from friends and family, a pessimistic attitude and eventually stress-related illnesses such as depression and anxiety. "It's basically like our mothers told us. You won't get sick unless you're run down. Stress is the major runner-downer."

There's no easy way to alleviate chronic stress. Five minutes of deep breathing might help, but that alone won't keep stress at bay, says Mark Gorkin, a social worker, syndicated writer and speaker from Washington who deals with stress-related issues in the workplace. Learning how to set limits and being committed to taking a break each day is more effective, he says. "You need to think of it as a NASCAR situation. Even a racecar doesn't run around the track full-speed, non-stop. It takes pit stops."

Mr. Gorkin himself tries to visit a nearby teahouse at least once a day. He takes that time to reflect on his business and come up with new ideas. "Having some ritual and routine can really be stress-relieving," he says. "It helps me tolerate the 16-hour day better. That's my pit stop."

Other ways to practice safe stress? Dr. Earle says all small business owners or entrepreneurs should ask themselves one question: "What am I getting back from what I'm putting in? For small business people it's a question of return on investment. If the return is too small, it's time to rethink personal and business goals.

Putting a time limit on stressful periods is also helpful, says Ms. Spinks, who recommends recognizing potentially stressful times -- like being in a start-up or growth phase -- and accepting that they'll be over eventually. "Having stressful periods of time isn't necessarily bad. It's only when these periods of stress become chronic and there's no end in sight that stress becomes unhealthy."

Knowing what you can and can't control also helps. While business owners can't control tax season, for example, they can control the food they eat, how much sleep they get and how often they exercise, she says. "The reality is you can make those kinds of choices. You can stay up all night clicking channels or you can go to bed and feel rested and ready to roll first thing in the morning."

Anne Bell, managing director for the Toronto office of Resources Connection -- a professional services firm with 1,400 associates -- makes exercising a priority.

She commutes into the city, works long days drumming up business for her three-person office and spends hours in frigid arenas watching her two young sons play hockey. She also makes the rounds at networking events and catches up on work at home.

Still, a trip to the gym is a necessity three or four days a week to combat the stress of such a busy schedule, she says.

"It's almost more psychologically important than physically important."

She also says that leaning on her network of colleagues in the United States, where most of the company's offices are located, is a sanity saver. She can call them with questions, ask for advice or just blow off steam.

Ms. Citron has finally decided to take some advice from her family and take a vacation, but like most small business executives, it's hardly a three-week jaunt to Fiji. For the first time in more than 11/2 years, she's taking a long weekend -- as a birthday present for her husband.

She says spending time with him is long overdue, "because if you don't have your family behind you then it doesn't matter what you're working for."

globecareers@globeandmail.ca

Are you courting burnout?

Prolonged stress and tension can lead to more serious health problems, such as clinical depression, anxiety, ulcers and heart disease. Try some of these coping mechanisms to lower the stress wattage in your life:

-- Use relaxation techniques, such as yoga, meditation, deep breathing or massage.

-- Physical activity is one of the most effective stress remedies around.

-- Practise time management: Do essential tasks and prioritize the others.

-- Watch your diet. Alcohol, caffeine, sugar, fats and tobacco all put a strain on your body's ability to cope with stress.

-- Get enough rest and sleep.

-- Talk with friends, professional counsellors, support groups or relatives about what is bothering you.

-- Volunteer work can be an effective and satisfying stress reducer.

-- Get away for a while: Read a book, watch a movie, play a game, listen to music or go on vacation. Leave yourself some time that's just for you.

-- Work off your anger. Get physically active, dig in the garden, start a project, get your spring-cleaning done.

-- Tackle one thing at a time.

-- Don't try to be perfect.

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