Transcript
(Soft instrumental piano synth music plays. The camera opens on a wide shot of a business owner sitting crossed-legged on a black floor inside a yoga studio. She sits in the centre of the frame at an angle facing the left side of frame.
She is wearing a peach-coloured sweatshirt, grey leggings and white socks.
Behind her is a wall of white shelving filled with workout equipment such as yoga mats, weights, blocks and folded towels. To the far right of the frame is an open white door).
Business owner: We opened in July 2021 and a few weeks later
(The camera moves to a medium close up. The business owner is shown in profile facing the left side of the frame)
Business owner: we went into a lockdown because of Covid, and
(The business owner nods her head)
Business owner: that was incredibly scary for us because we had to change everything overnight.
(The camera pulls out to a wide shot. The business owner is shown in profile facing the left side and is sitting centre frame. There is a large grey potted plant in the background to the left of the screen. Behind the plant on the white wall is one yellow and one multi-coloured piece of artwork.
There is white shelving with folded towels, clothing, workout gear and water bottles to the right of frame.)
Business owner: As a business owner, when you’re running your own business it’s very stressful, because you are all things to all people.
(The business owner counts with her fingers as she lists off the different departments)
Business owner: You’re the Human Resources department, you’re sales,
you’re marketing, customer experience.
(The camera moves closer into a medium close up. The business owner is sitting centre frame and faces the left side of frame. The shelving in the background is softly blurred but there is a pink yoga mat on the left of the frame and some colourful yoga equipment on the right side of the frame. The business owner shakes her head.)
Business owner: You know, you fix the leaks in your building.
You clean the toilets, all that kind of stuff.
So, you have to do everything, and you have to be willing to turn your hand to anything that needs done in the business at any given time.
And that’s always pretty full on as a business owner cause there’s never really an off button.
(The camera cuts back to the wide profile shot. The business owner is sitting in the same position at the same angle. The large grey potted plant is in the background to the left of the screen with the yellow and multi-coloured pieces of artwork on the white wall behind it. The white shelving with the folded towels is on the left at the edge of the frame)
Business owner: When I get stressed, I can be quite grumpy.
(The camera moves to a medium close up. The business owner is sitting centre frame in the same position. There background shows blurred shelving with a pink yoga mat on the left of the frame and colourful yoga equipment on the right side of the frame)
Business owner: I start to feel more
(The business owner leans forward)
Business owner: tired than usual. And that for me, isn’t a great combination because you ultimately end up taking all of that into the home world as well which is not fair for the family.
(Soft instrumental music continues. The camera pulls to the wide shot. The business owner sits in the same cross-legged position at an angle in the centre of the frame. Behind her in the background is a wall of white shelving, filled with workout equipment such as yoga mats, weights, blocks and folded towels)
Business owner: Not knowing sometimes,
(The business owner lifts both arms and gestures with her hands)
Business owner: kind of who to ask for advice or even where to go for advice can be quite challenging when you’re setting up a business. But also,
(The camera moves to a medium profile shot. The business owner is still sitting on the floor. She is placed slightly right of the frame and faces the left side.
The background is softly blurred. Slightly visible on the left side of the frame is the base of the large grey potted plant and the yellow and multi coloured art pieces on the white wall behind it. There is white shelving to the right side of the frame with the pink yoga mat. She gestures with her hands as she speaks)
Business owner: quite often you don’t know the questions you need to be asking when you’re just starting out, because you don’t necessarily have the experience.
So, it’s always sort of test and learn,
(The business owner nods her head)
Business owner: test and learn. And it’s taken me quite a lot of time to get comfortable with that.
(Soft instrumental music continues. The camera pulls back to the wide profile shot.
The business owner is sitting at the same angle and is placed slightly right of the frame. Visible in the slightly blurred out background is the large grey potted plant to the left of the screen, the yellow and multicoloured pieces of art on the white wall behind it.
White shelving with folded towels to its left at the edge of the frame, and white shelving containing weights, blocks, water bottles, and other workout equipment to the right of the frame)
Business owner: I’m very lucky that I can talk to my husband because he
(The business owner gestures with her hands)
Business owner: obviously shares this business with me and he usually has a different perspective, so that’s very useful.
(The camera cuts to a medium close up. The business owner is sitting in the same position. There is blurred shelving with a pink yoga mat on the left of the frame and colourful yoga equipment on the right side of the frame)
Business owner: But I think for me, the greatest value has been from a business mentor.
(The business owner nods her head)
Business owner: And they have a very different perspective because they’re completely outside of the business and they’ll always challenge my thinking and come at things from
(Soft instrumental music continues. The camera cuts back to the wide profile shot.
The business owner is sitting at the same angle and is placed slightly right of the frame. In the slightly blurred out background is the large grey potted plant to the left of the frame, the yellow and multi-coloured pieces of art on the white wall behind it. White shelving with folded towels to its left at the edge of the frame, and white shelving containing weight, blocks, water bottles, and other workout equipment to the right of the frame. She gestures with both hands in a swirling motion and nods her head)
Business owner: a really different point of view and that’s really rich and really helpful.
(The camera cuts to a medium close up of her hands. She twiddles her fingers around the ring on her finger)
Business owner: Writing a list for me is important.
(The camera cuts back to the medium close up. The business owner sits in the same cross-legged position at the same angle looking to the left of the frame. She is in the centre of the frame. There is the same blurred shelving with the pink yoga mat on the left of the frame and the colourful yoga equipment on the right side of the frame)
Business owner: It’s quite good when you can see things written down and it obviously helps you to prioritise but also to see that things,
(Soft instrumental music continues. The camera cuts back to the wide profile shot.
The business owner sits at the same angle and is placed slightly right of the frame facing the left side. In the slightly blurred out background is the large grey potted plant to the left of the screen, the yellow and multi-coloured pieces of art on the white wall behind it, white shelving with folded towels to its left at the edge of the frame, and white shelving containing weights, blocks, water bottles, and other workout equipment to the right of the frame. She gestures with both hands and shakes her head)
Business owner: sometimes when they’re in your head, they seem a big deal but when they’re in front of you on a piece of paper it’s not that much of a problem.
(The camera cuts back to the medium close up. The business owner remains on the floor and is placed slightly right of the frame, facing the left side.
The background is blurred but slightly visible on the left side of the frame is the base of the large grey potted plant and the yellow and multi-coloured art pieces on the white wall behind it. There is white shelving to the right side of the frame with a pink yoga mat. She leans back slightly)
Business owner: So, for me, I really value having time doing nothing and
(Soft instrumental music continues. The camera cuts back to the wide shot. The business owner sits centre frame at an angle and is facing slightly left. Behind her in the background is a potted plant to the right and a wall of white shelving, filled with workout equipment such as yoga mats, weights, blocks, and folded towels or clothing. She gestures with her left arm)
Business owner: that probably sounds quite indulgent to lots of people. The thought of doing
(The camera cuts back to the medium close up. The business owner sits on the floor slightly right of the frame and is facing the left.
The background is softly blurred but slightly visible on the left side of the frame is the base of the large grey potted plant and the yellow and multi-coloured art pieces on the white wall behind it. There is white shelving to the right side of the frame in the background with a pink yoga mat. She makes a zero sign with fingers)
Business owner: zilch to zero.
(The business owner nods her head)
Business owner: But it’s actually very important because you can’t
(The business owner gestures with both hands and nods her head)
Business owner: do anything for other people unless you first take care of yourself. So having that time out and just allowing yourself to reset and re-calibrate is really very important.
(The camera moves slighter tighter. The business owner sits in the same position looking to the left of the frame. There is the same blurred shelving with the pink yoga mat on the left of the frame and the colourful yoga equipment on the right side of the frame. She nods her head and smiles)
Business owner: You’ve got yourself taken care of
and then you can sort the business.
(The frame transitions into a white screen and reveals the words centred and in pink -
Helping businesses succeed with the business.govt.nz logo sitting directly underneath in blue.)
(The music fades.)
How to build mental resilience
Less is more
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the things you ‘should’ be doing for your wellbeing. Sometimes less is more. Pick one or two things that you find interesting, and try them – for example, if you think a breathing exercise might help, just do that.
Make small tweaks
If you don’t have time to add new activities to your schedule, take a fresh look at what you’re already doing and:
- acknowledge what benefits they give
- see what small tweaks you could make.
For example, think about:
- turning your regular meeting with a supplier into a chance to chat and catch up, as well as talk shop
- having a walking meeting so you can get some fresh air.
Check how you talk to yourself
We are often our own worst critics, telling ourselves off for how we react or if something doesn’t go according to plan.
Talk to yourself with the same kindness and compassion you would use with a close friend. Chances are you’d never be as brutal with them as you are with yourself.
Talk about it
The more we talk about how we feel, the more we normalise it. Share your experience by building up a network of trusted people or getting a business mentor. Swapping stories and hearing what other people have done, and how they’ve coped (or not coped), can help lessen your mental load.
Call or text for free support
Free services available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, include:
- call or text 1737 for support from a trained counsellor
- Lifeline - 0800 543 354 or text 4357
- Samaritans - 0800 726 666
Also, websites like the Mental Health Foundation and Wellplace have a range of tips and worksheets. Some help you identify what you need to stay well, others focus more on supporting your employees.
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