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It’s no easy feat, staying healthy both physically and mentally while starting up and running a business—stress, long hours, and (especially in the early years) financial challenges all take their toll. These nine entrepreneurs share some of their secrets for balancing work and wellness.
As the owner of The Spa Magnolia and the president of PureStem Beauty in Victoria, Paula Veenema spends much of her time helping others focus on their own wellness, relaxation, and rejuvenation.
Juggling the many moving parts that keep your business sustainable. For me, even after 21 years of ownership, it is still a priority. Managing sales, fixed and variable costs, inventory, and marketing, and—perhaps most importantly—maintaining a happy and healthy team all demand focussed organization. Ensuring that every element aligns to deliver top-notch products or services can be both challenging and exhausting.
It’s absolutely essential to choose an industry you truly love. When you’re passionate about what you do, the ongoing tasks that might otherwise lead to burnout feel less daunting. The ability to pivot, problem-solve, and implement change comes more naturally when you’re driven to maintain high standards and take pride in your accomplishments. While fitting in a gym or yoga session can sometimes feel overwhelming, I firmly believe that getting enough sleep is crucial. I prioritize sleep as the single most important factor in functioning effectively every day.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of volunteering with WeBC’s mentorship program, supporting new entrepreneurs. The first and most crucial step in entrepreneurship is understanding the viability of your business idea. Before seeking financing, I recommend consulting with experts, attending webinars, and crafting a detailed business plan to thoroughly assess your competition. Confidence in a well-thought-out plan not only reduces stress but also fuels excitement and anticipation for the future. Approaching tasks methodically and knowing when to seek help are also key strategies for avoiding burnout and staying on track.
Miranda McCullagh is the founder and designer of Whistle & Flute, a Victoria-based apparel company that makes gender-neutral children’s clothing adorned with cute imagery, from smiling apples and colourful gumball machines to grinning planets and curious otters.
There is no real time “off.” I was checking emails from my hospital bed the day after giving birth.
Realize that there will always be more to do (so trying to complete a to-do list is futile) and that I always feel better if I’ve exercised. Connection is also really important as an entrepreneur. Sometimes it’s too easy—especially working from home—to be in your own bubble, but when you get a chance to talk with other people who are going through the same thing, it’s incredibly helpful and reassuring.
Delegate and trust. We have been lucky to find some really great people who work with us. It’s hard at first to let go of any part of the business when, as a small-business founder, you start off by doing everything yourself. But finding those people we can trust and letting them do their thing has been one of the keys to our success. We don’t presume to know better than our employees, and we trust them to make decisions.
Angus An is the talented chef/restaurateur behind Maenam—a perennial favourite at Vancouver Magazine’s annual restaurant awards—and other Lower Mainland dining destinations such as Longtail Kitchen, Fat Mao, Sen Pad Thai, and Popina.
Facing the uncertainties. Trying to forecast business in tough economic times. Taking care of your staff and suppliers. For most staff, they show up and work, but for owners, they have to worry about a million things to keep the doors open.
Having good staff and trusting them to do their job. If you are constantly second-guessing yourself or your staff, you will make everything that much more difficult. Trusting in your staff, having time for yourself and family, taking breaks both mentally and physically—these are the keys for longevity.
It’s really important to make time for yourself. Making sure you have time for exercise, mental breaks, clearing of the mind. It’s easy to get lost in your own business. I find it important to take a step back so I can see the whole picture, rather than just focussing on problem areas.
Joleen Mitton spent years travelling the world as a professional model. These days she wears many hats—founder and artistic director of Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week, president of AMRIS (All My Relations Indigenous Society), cofounder of the world’s only all-Indigenous modelling agency, Supernaturals Modelling—but she still finds the time to play on the All My Relations women’s basketball team.
I feel I’ve shifted away from doing as much of the frontline work as I used to. Working directly with people inspires me and gives me so much energy. More of my time these days is spent in offices and in meetings. And while the shift from the frontline to the office has some perks, I do miss spending as much time directly with the people I’m working with.
Remaining active, which I do through All My Relations basketball. It keeps me sane and fit. Especially as an aging athlete, it’s so important to keep active.
I cannot overemphasize the need to surround yourself with people who have gone through it as well and come out the other side. Make sure you have strong mentors and a support network—they will help you navigate what will inevitably be a monumental amount of stress. I’m so grateful to have a Wisdom Circle who offers me guidance.
The founder and CEO of Easy Daysies in Coquitlam, Elaine Tan Comeau makes magnetic daily schedules that help kids visualize their days, leading to decreased anxiety and increased independence. When she appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2011—along with her husband and three adorable young children—her clever product started a bidding war.
Wearing all the hats in the business (and thinking you have to), and learning as you go and grow. This is the time when you figure out how to do all the parts that make your business run smoothly as it grows. When cashflow is tight, you may find you are doing everything, from manufacturing to marketing and selling to warehousing logistics and shipping. The positive aspect during this time is you learn what your strengths and weaknesses are so you can eventually hire people to do the things you are not the expert at, so that you can focus on what you are good at.
Make smart decisions that respect your time, passion, and purpose. My purpose and passion revolve around building a happy family—for myself and for other families—through the products that my company creates. How do you do this? Well, it took me years to learn how to make decisions that help me live a life by design and not by default, a life where I can say “I choose to” rather than “I have to.” When I am now faced with a decision, I go through a mental checklist: Does it benefit both the profitability of the business and my mental health? Does it create more joy? And, lastly, do I have time to focus on this? If I can answer yes to all three check points, I am in! This means the decision will not drain me or my business, it was not a choice made out of the pressure of people-pleasing or mom-guilt or any guilt but instead creates joy, and, lastly, it promotes the passion or purpose I stand for. Life (and work) should not be about getting as many things done as possible but about getting the right things done.
It is easy to want to work on your business 24/7, but please don’t. As many startups are working from home or doing it as a side hustle, my advice is to give yourself real office hours and respect them. Respecting your office hours begins with you. If you open an email on a Sunday morning or a Saturday night, then you may feel that you need to reply, and then your customers will think that it is the norm to get replies in the middle of the night or on weekends, and then they will have that expectation. It is healthy to give yourself time off. It is good for your mental and physical health. Please believe me, I have been there. A healthy business begins with a healthy you.
A familiar face on Vancouver stages and in local television and movie shoots, Aaron Craven is the founder and artistic director of Mitch and Murray Productions, a theatre and film production company. He also created and runs the Working Actors Gym, which holds weekly acting classes for professional actors.
A lack of financial security—being uninsulated from the sudden turns in trends, the economy, a pandemic, etc. Being an entrepreneur takes mental and emotional stamina and a fierce resiliency of spirit.
You have to take periods of time as well as small moments to recharge. In today’s world, we’re too busy filling up our spare moments by staring at our screens. This leads to a 24/7 cycle of always being “on” or activated by our need to “check in.” The allowance for even a few minutes of boredom, reflection, meditation is a necessity in order to stay grounded and healthy.
Follow the simple wisdom we all know but often ignore: sleep, exercise, diet. You need to habitually take care of all three elements. Some deviation will happen, but these things need to be constants in your life if you’re going to be a lifelong entrepreneur.
Christina Louey is the founder and CEO of Aralea Beauty, a Vancouver-based company that makes nourishing lip products infused with vitamin D3. Her goal is to help people—especially residents of northern regions such as the Pacific Northwest—maintain a consistent level of this essential vitamin.
As a startup with lean resources, we have to make our finances stretch while trying to hit big goals in order to become a viable, sustainable business. We operate with a very small team to accomplish a lot—from processing orders, to back office admin and accounting, to grant applications, to sales and marketing. Oftentimes, making progress feels like inching up a huge mountain, taking two steps forward, one step back along the way. But I am very proud of what we have accomplished so far. I feel like we are the Little Engine That Could.
I practice meditation. It may sound silly—literally sitting and doing “nothing,” with the simple goal of clearing one’s mind. How would meditation help someone with an ever-growing laundry list of tasks to get through?
Well, I took the plunge and went on a six-day silent retreat this summer. Prior to attending the retreat, I was anxious about being disconnected from my family and business. Even the first one to two days into the retreat, I was in denial, rejecting the practice—wondering, how am I being a productive and effective person by doing “nothing”? But once I surrendered to the meditation practice, something fundamental happened. I came to realize how much of what I normally stress over is not really within my control. This singular realization is truly humbling and yet also very freeing. Of course, I still approach my business and work with passion and genuine effort. However, I am so much better able to discern what I can truly effectively do and make an impact on while knowing that other stresses are beyond my control. I think having this distinction is the foundation between feeling burnt out versus having a sense of calmness and satisfaction with a good day’s worth of work.
Maintain balance in three areas: mind, body, soul. For mind, not everyone has the luxury of the time and resources to attend silent retreats regularly. I certainly don’t, especially with three active kids and a growing business. However, I try to integrate meditation into my daily life, even just for 20 minutes in the morning to start off the day. For body, I make sure I get enough nutrition and exercise every day. As the founder of a wellness beauty brand, I try to put my best foot forward to represent Aralea Beauty genuinely. For soul, I always bring it back to the main reasons why I started my business. Aralea’s mission is to help customers reach their best optimal health through beauty. With this “true north” as my guide, I focus on finding joy in the process, such as getting to know the wonderful people I meet through this business, from customers to suppliers to vendors, as well as fellow entrepreneurs. The results are just the byproduct of this whole entrepreneurial journey.
When Danielle and Wade Papin founded Pyrrha in 1995, they had no background in jewellery design. The Vancouver couple learned through trial and error while working at their kitchen table. Now their handcrafted talismans can be spotted on celebs such as Julia Roberts and Jeremy Renner.
The lines between work and home are definitely blurred for us. Establishing boundaries and sticking to them is important, but in our case, it’s all intertwined. We’ve been a couple just a bit longer than we’ve been business partners, so it all feels like one continuous experience. It can sometimes feel like we’re in a perpetual business meeting because there’s always something that needs our attention.
It might sound obvious, but taking time off is essential, even if it’s just a little bit. For us, weekends are non-negotiable. We have a 12-year-old daughter, and we make sure to spend plenty of downtime with her. She really helps keep us grounded and in the moment.
A business can quickly consume all of your time, and it’s easy to convince yourself that it’s the most important thing in your life. But it’s crucial not to forget what mattered to you before the business—whether it’s hiking, brunch with friends, reading, or any other activity that brings you joy. Those things might seem frivolous when you’re deep in work, but a little downtime is essential for long-term success. If you’re running a home-based business, it’s even more important to carve out time outside of the house to recharge and maintain balance.
As an entrepreneur it’s vital to wear many hats, but you don’t have to do everything yourself. Focus on what you’re good at and do more of that, and don’t hesitate to delegate the tasks you’re not as strong at. Hiring someone else to handle those areas might eat away at some of your profits, but it’s important to your mental health, and it makes the business more sustainable in the long run. It’s an investment in your success and well-being.
Based in Victoria, photographer Chase Teron is the cofounder of Artica, which takes small groups on wildlife and nature photo tours. He’s also the cofounder and CMO of Overlai, an app that protects digital media from being scraped to train generative AI, and the cofounder of 100 for the Ocean, which raises funds for ocean conservation by selling prints by esteemed photographers.
Mentally, it’s challenging to keep a pulse on shifting priorities and to balance tasks according to the macro and micro environments. Ensuring I’m not a roadblock for myself or my team members while making decisions about task delegation can be draining. The emotional rollercoaster of entrepreneurship adds to the strain—some days feel like a sprint with high-profile successes, while others can be a marathon filled with internal conflicts, negative reviews, or software bugs. Staying even-keeled through these ups and downs is a significant mental challenge. Also, I struggle with feeling satisfied with the amount of work and effort I put in, and I’m always wondering what more I could do. I am my own worst critic, without question.
Physically, the desk work required in my role in building a SaaS organization can be quite draining. I thrive on hands-on activities and enjoy being physically present in different locations, so sitting at a desk for extended periods can feel monotonous. I find much more satisfaction in engaging in public speaking, participating in panel discussions, networking, and podcasting. Although these activities are not the bulk of my responsibilities, they invigorate me and provide a refreshing change from daily routines.
Prioritizing health and wellness is crucial for sustained success. One of the most important practices is setting clear boundaries between work and personal life. This means allocating dedicated time for rest, exercise, and hobbies. Implementing a structured schedule and sticking to it, even if it means delegating tasks or seeking support, helps prevent overworking. Additionally, practising mindfulness and stress-management techniques, like meditation or regular physical activity, can significantly improve overall well-being. I have a tough time sitting still, so I’m still working on the meditation piece. Also, what’s really important to me is eating a plant-based diet based on eating at home and making whole-foods meals. I have been plant-based for almost 10 years and haven’t been sick for more than a few days in this time.
It’s important that you have a support network, whether through mentors, peers, or a professional coach, who can also provide valuable guidance and stress relief.
My wife, Jenni, is extremely supportive, and she’s my biggest fan and my biggest support system. She’s the one who enabled me to make the jump to entrepreneurship, almost a decade ago now, when we started our first business together. She knows me better than anyone, and I wouldn’t be a successful entrepreneur without a teammate like her. Jenni understands the bigger picture of what I’m trying to create for our family, and she’s super patient with me, whether my schedule is unpredictable or I’m up and down with my emotions or moods.
Recognize that health and wellness are integral to long-term success. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and demands of starting a business, but neglecting your health can lead to burnout and impact your effectiveness. Develop a routine that includes regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and adequate sleep. I don’t believe in any of the 5 a.m. club or ridiculous trends—they actually hinder my ability to get much-needed rest. The only 5 a.m. club I’m a part of is if my son wakes up too early, otherwise eight to nine hours of sleep every night.
Don’t hesitate to seek help or delegate tasks when needed. For solo-preneurs, this is extremely challenging, but hiring someone as a contractor through Fiverr can help big-time.
Building a support system and maintaining a healthy work-life balance are essential. One of the reasons why someone may get into entrepreneurship is because they like to set their own schedule, to be their own boss. You are the one who sets your routines, not just for work, but for play also—it’s a necessity for sustainable entrepreneurship.
