This not-so-new 2013 Inc. article ‘The Psychological Price of Entrepreneurship‘ is still quoted often as a reference as it describes in no uncertain terms the issues entrepreneurs have to struggle with.
And it is true from my personal experience that the responsibility of a company can be sometimes heavy to bear in particular when the economy is down, that you may have to lay-off employees and lose a lot of what you struggled to build. This is compounded for entrepreneurs who are trying generally to build something that has never been done before, with a high degree of risk.
“Successful entrepreneurs achieve hero status in our culture. […] But many of those entrepreneurs […] harbor secret demons: Before they made it big, they struggled through moments of near-debilitating anxiety and despair–times when it seemed everything might crumble.”
The article also gives some advice: make time for your loves ones; try to limit your financial exposure in particular if it may affect your family; exercise sufficiently.
How to overcome the stress of being an entrepreneur is certainly a discriminating factor for founders. It is quite important to know what one is actually looking for in his life. And we need to recognize this struggle when we meet founders even if they have to put on their ‘successful entrepreneur’ face. They often need support and encouragement, and we need to provide it whenever we can.
