In this interview, Mike Michalowicz and the host discuss the heightened mental‑health risks that entrepreneurs face, citing a 2015 study that found a higher prevalence of mental‑health issues and suicide risk among business owners. Mike explains the pressure to project confidence to customers, colleagues, and on social media, even when he feels overwhelmed or financially strained. He shares a personal story of a financial crisis a year and a half ago, describing how he openly disclosed the situation to his team, asked for collective prayer, and created a rally point that fostered immediate support and resilience. The conversation underscores the importance of vulnerability, honest communication, and team solidarity as antidotes to the isolation and stress that often accompany entrepreneurship.
Chapters
There's a lot of pressure and a lot of stress that comes with running your own business. A study by Michael Freeman and colleagues in 2015 found that entrepreneurs have a higher prevalence of mental health issues compared to the general population. The study highlighted that mental health challenges are common among entrepreneurs, which could potentially contribute to increased suicide risks. So we really want to have this conversation around mental health, specifically focus on entrepreneurship.
What I believe is when I own a business and say you're my customer for my business, there's a necessity for me to put on an air of we got this all handled. Because if I don't, I also know I may be compromising your perception of me. I have a company doing some electrical work at the house, so I'll use that as an example. Could you imagine I'm your electrical contractor, I'm coming to your house and I'm like, "We're a disaster the last few days. We lost parts. We're really struggling financially. I'm overwhelmed and exhausted." I've spent the last 2 hours crying.
Now let's get the work going. Yeah. I don't know if I want you as a customer.
So what I'm trained is to put out this perception of success, of fluidity. So I'll come and say, "Hey, we're here to do the job." And inside I'm like, "I don't know if I can do this job." Part of it, there's a necessity that we have to put on a presence to give our customers confidence. Yet on the flip side, we think that we have to present ourselves that way to every human being. On social media channels, everything's amazing. To my colleagues, "Perfect day again." When I come home to my spouse, "Nailed it." No, we need these outlets to speak the truth. I think we do a great job here. We went through an unexpected financial challenge a year and a half ago. I immediately came into the office and said, guys, here's the situation. I asked that we pray for not us, but pray for the other person involved in this situation. Yeah. And we did. And that we navigate together. And I spoke openly about it so people know what's going on, so I can alleviate that. If I held that in, it starts boiling, it starts boiling. There was such relief of just letting it out.
Yeah. To get that support and to be on the same page with everybody and to share with your team where you're at emotionally and energetically. Energetically.
It was a rally point. And so our team's like, "Hey, we got this. We're going to keep chugging along." And if I came in and was having a particular dark day, people were like, "Get it.
