New research: Burning out is a burning fear for small business owners

One fifth of small business owners are worried about burning out over the next 12 months, with many saying that the pandemic has taken its toll on their mental health.

Indeed, almost half (49%) said their mental health has been "up and down" since the emergence of Covid-19, with small businesses across the UK faced with the dual challenges of uncertainty and having to adapt their business models.

This is according to new Enterprise Nation research that assesses the mood, and the concerns, of Britain's small business community.

How has lockdown affected business owners' mental health?

Among its key findings is the true picture of small business owners' mental health. Aside from the 49% who said theirs is "up and down", 10.4% said theirs was "low", with a further 8.1% saying theirs was "very low".

Just over a fifth (20.8%), however, said theirs was "good" (a further 20.8% said theirs was "very good"), with further encouraging news coming in the form of the numbers of small business owners who plan to take more time out of the business - in order to work on their business - over the coming months.

Almost one third (29.6%) expressed a strong intention to do this, with many more taking the idea seriously as they try to find ways of overcoming their concerns.

What are small business owners most worried about right now?

Aside from burnout - which 20.7% are most worried about - are the issues of post-Covid uncertainty (57.1%), volatile economic conditions (50.7%) and increasing competition (24.7%). A further 19.4% were primarily concerned about sustaining their energy levels.

Other findings from the research revealed the extent of the pandemic's effect on small businesses' operations. Almost four in 10 (38.8%) said they had developed a new product or service, with:

• 34.6% saying they had limited the physical services they provide

• 34.2% offering online services only

• 25.6% temporarily closing most or all of their physical premises

• 22.4% changing their business model

Last week, we published 10 essential wellness tips for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. If you need advice on juggling multiple responsibilities, putting time aside and overcoming imposter syndrome - or even simply how to be more productive - it's well worth reading.

The research was conducted amongst 434 Enterprise Nation small business members between 26 April and 3 May 3 2021.