The pandemic shutdown has taken a heavy toll on the finances of small-business owners. Somewhat less reported is the enormous strain it has put on their mental health.
“Over the last few months, I’ve seen a huge increase in reported levels of anxiety and depression,” said Aleya Littleton, a therapist in Golden, Colorado, who runs Wild & Wonderful Life counseling and has numerous small-business owners as patients. “It’s coming from the sense of hopelessness business owners are feeling.”
In March, many governors ordered the closing of many nonessential businesses to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Other businesses were restricted to only curbside and delivery service. In early April, a poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found 45% of people in the United States said that the pandemic had a negative impact on their mental health.
“Soul-crushing depression is the best way to describe it,” said John Camp of his mental state. “I thought I was really going to make progress this season. I’d made a bunch of plans, everything looked great, and then BAM!”
A painting contractor in Newnan, Georgia, Camp has had only one contracting job thus far in 2020. The resulting stress has caused Camp health problems that may make it hard for him once business picks up.
“I was working on my lawnmower, and my knees swelled up immensely,” Camp said. “It turned out I had Lyme disease. My doctor said the stress caused the bacteria to increase, and that has caused severe arthritis in both knees.”
Painting contracting is seasonal, with most business occurring between late February and mid-November. Camp stated that although construction, including painting, is considered an essential business, people either don’t want other people in their homes right now or are waiting out the economic downturn before hiring contractors.
Justin Carpenter, owner of TREC Roofing and Remodeling in Edgewater, Maryland, is facing similar problems.
“Home improvement is a very direct sale industry,” said Carpenter. “People call us to replace their roof, and we schedule an appointment to go to their home. We’ll take measurements, show products, and give them an estimate. Well, that source is gone. We can’t go into anyone’s home right now. As a result, we’re down 72% on the year.”
The drop in business has caused him insomnia.
“Sleepless nights are an understatement,” Carpenter said. “My wife has to come into my home office regularly at 4 a.m. to tell me to try to go to bed. I’ll lay down for 30 minutes and then get right back up because I can’t sleep.”
Poor mental health can lead to poor decision-making.
“When we feel safe and we have hope, we’re able to think clearly and creatively,” said Littleton. “In a situation like this, a lot of small business owners go into survival mode, which can lead to poor decisions, such as letting go of staff out of fear, even staff that have already been trained.”
Carpenter worries a great deal about his employees.
“I think the stress for my employees is even worse for them than it is for me,” he said. “They are dealing with the unknown, of when will the business start to come back.” Carpenter has managed to keep his 39 employees paid during the pandemic, but he’s drained the liquidity in his business to do it.
Concern for the people who work at the Artistic Edge Salon & Spa in Eldersburg, Maryland, has been an enormous source of stress for owner Katina Finks as well.
“Some of the people who work in my salon are single parents,” said Finks. “They don’t have anyone else who can help them out monetarily.”
Per Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s orders, Finks had to close her business down in late March. Fink rents out booths to hairdressers and beauticians at her salon, so the people who work there are not technically her employees. That has made it more difficult to keep her business afloat.
“The day after I closed down, I applied for a [Small Business Administration] grant,” she said. “I was turned down because I have renters and not employees.” She was turned down for small-business funds under the Paycheck Protection Program for similar reasons.
“I was upset when I had to shut down my business. It’s been seven weeks at home by myself when I’m used to talking to people all day long,” Finks said. “I went through a range of being sad, to being angry, to being depressed.”
Her eating habits have also changed for the worse.
“I’m an avid healthy eater. I have issues with my back, so I’m on an anti-inflammatory diet,” she said. “Stuck at home, I’ve not been eating as well as I should.”
A healthy diet is an important way for small business owners to combat stress, Littleton emphasized. “We need to be eating really healthy right now, taking advantage of opportunities to exercise and to be in contact with nature,” she said.
She also stated that owners need to focus on the reasons why they started their businesses in the first place. “The intent is to result in a shift away from survival values and into one that will help them thrive again.”
Many states are reopening their economies, but Littleton suggests that won’t relieve stress for a while. “There is still a high level of anxiety among the public for going outside, even to places like groceries stores,” she said. “That means business owners still face a lot of uncertainty.”
Even for businesses that are seeing customers return, much anxiety remains.
“We were able to open on 5 p.m. on Friday [May 15],” said Finks. “We’re only allowed to be open at 50% capacity. Of the 14 chairs I rent out, I can only allow seven to be used at a time right now. That means we also have to limit the customers we can take. We are only making about half the money we usually do, but 50% is better than nothing because we’ve had nothing for seven weeks.”
