New Research Highlights Loneliness As The Hardest Challenge For Entrepreneurs

Business Insights
02/01/2019

79% of UK founders and entrepreneurs feel lonely running their business; with 71% reporting frequent sleep issues according to a recent UK study conducted by 3Sixty a new social-impact initiative.


A lack of emotional support is leaving 4 out of 5 new business owners feeling overwhelmed. The study shows contributing factors such as the pressure of decision-making, financial instability and lack of resource, which worsens the feelings of loneliness to 82% for sole-founded businesses and sole-traders.


These challenges do not deter UK business owners with 93% glad that they are an entrepreneur and 91% driven by passion for making difference. The focus is getting a healthier balance and improving wellbeing.


New social-impact initiative 3Sixty is constructing safe environments where founders can get support. 3Sixty co-founder Christina Richardson comments;

"Part of the challenge with entrepreneurship is the perception that we should all be 'great' all of the time. But that's often not the reality and it's certainly not healthy to pretend that it is. It can fuel self-doubt and quash motivation. We want our founders to thrive – not just survive."

“In the UK –particularly in these uncertain times – we depend upon new businesses and enterprise to boost our economy, create wealth and provide jobs, but the pressure for new founders can be very high. The cost of living continues to increase and the speed at which founders need to show success is getting tighter as credit lines and external investment becomes harder to come by. We are supporting this vital work by providing founders with a safe environment to problem-solve with their peers. We want to fuel entrepreneurs to their best, most effective selves."


With New Year’s resolutions firmly on the horizon nearly 60% of founders surveyed are planning on peer-support as a focus for 2019. With 84% looking to peers to help them learn and improve their skills to run their businesses.


Five Top Tips from some of our Entrepreneurs:


Peer power solves problems:

"As the CEO you can't talk to your team when things are tough, which can make you feel very alone. Being able to bounce ideas off other founders and hear how they've overcome similar challenges makes a huge difference"
says Alexandra Auger, Founder and MD of Juice Executive producing leading UK cold-press juice brands Radiance Cleanse and THINKPress.


Accountability drives performance:

“For goal-orientated people like entrepreneurs peer-accountability is a powerful performance driver. Successful goal completion goes up to a massive 95% when a goal is prioritized and agreed with a trusted peer and a deadline."
say Rob Rave, ?Performance Coach for partners & directors at EY and Circle Coach at 3Sixty.


There's strength in numbers:

“It's easy to start believing you're the only one struggling with a challenge. Talking to other founders immediately removes this barrier and lets me make faster, more informed decisions.”
Alistair Callender, founder of Gate8 the start-up revolutionising carry-on luggage.


Movement clears the mind:

“We all know that getting away from the desk sparks new ideas and solutions, but it's still tough to squeeze in the exercise. So FitFounders combines the two with runs and yoga with other entrepreneurs and launches January 15th with a group run."
says Kim van Haalen, Head of WeWork Labs, London and partner supporting 3Sixty FitFounders events.


Reflect and invest in yourself:

“We're all so stretched as founders and it’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day, but only you can take time to step back and reflect on what you can do to perform better. That's an investment in the future too."
Wendy Snowdon, founder of organic online marketplace TheFoodMarket.com


3Sixty is a social-impact initiative on a mission to fuel founders to thrive (not just survive) with practical training, events and unique peer-to-peer Circles.


3Sixty was founded by experienced entrepreneur Christina Richardson. After interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs and discovering that her rollercoaster journey of entrepreneurship was being felt by everyone (often to the detriment of our health) she decided to do something to improve it. Since then a passionate team of experts have come together to drive the change forwards and make being a founder a much less lonely place to be.


For more information please contact christina@weare3sixty.org