Running a small business, especially solo, can be isolating, stressful, and frankly triggering. Nick Pomeroy knows that all too well, which is why he’s vocal in encouraging more of us to talk about our mental health.

Nick took the solo path after heading up a design team. And although he felt supported and cared-for by his previous employer, he’d only begin to realise how stressed he’d become after working for himself.

Things to consider

• Letting someone know you’re struggling doesn’t mean you’re being a burden.
• Someone close to you may have seen the signs of stress or burnout before you’d acknowledged them.
• For Nick, if he’s working late, something’s gone wrong in planning.
• When you consider that being a solopreneur means being good at your job and also at running a small business, feeling like an imposter might not seem quite so outlandish.
• Find your own contentment point for work and life.
• We have to move past “hustle” culture and the idea that men need to “man up”.

Links

• Connect with Nick on LinkedIn
• Background – Nick’s design consultancy
• Caring for your mental health while running a business – Nick’s article for Mind Leeds
• A retrospective on depression – Nick’s company blog post
• A write-up on Muse’s Unsustainable
• Third law of thermodynamics
• Sisyphus
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
• Why Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is wrong