Mental health help for small business owners

SMALL business owners who are struggling with their mental health are being urged to sign up to a free Beyond Blue program that offers tailored support.

No GP referral is required for the New Access for Small Business Owners (NASBO) program, which includes up to six sessions and two follow-up sessions with a trained and clinically supervised mental health coach with a background in small business.

The participant takes part in an initial one-hour assessment session and up to five 30-minute long treatment sessions, which are usually scheduled on a weekly basis.

NASBO coach Michelle Ford said a lot of small business owners in the Northern Rivers region had been impacted by the floods.

“For a lot of them it wasn’t just their businesses affected – it was their homes, it was their families,” she said. “That has had quite an impact on their mental health.”

She said rising rents, energy costs and minimum wage increases that came into effect in 2024 were compounding the problem.

“The cost of running a business is increasing so small business owners are having to work twice as hard to get their usual income, combined with reduced consumer spending, so they are getting it from both sides,” she said.

“They’re not getting the rewards they once were financially and that leads to a drop in confidence. A lot of small business owners are reporting that they’re looking for alternative or additional employment. They’re working extra hours on top of the business, or have to give it in altogether.”

Small businesses make up the majority of all actively trading businesses in Australia, and many have not recovered from the impact of COVID-19.

Research shows that they experience higher levels of mental ill-health, they are exposed to unique risk factors that put them at greater risk of mental ill-health than the general population, and they demonstrate lower levels of help seeking behaviour.