It Is Time We Acknowledged Loneliness In Entrepreneurs And Did Something About It

Research has shown that entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey. It is, however, mostly ignored and rarely discussed.

Loneliness can make the world feel a little bit devoid of color and bleak at times. Not solitude, but loneliness. That feeling of being alone, craving human company, conversation and accountability.

Did you know that it is slowly becoming an epidemic? Loneliness leads to depression, stress, anxiety and can cause a range of mental illnesses. People are living alone, away from extended families. We are becoming a society of virtual residents. We are also living longer.

The Gallup Wellbeing Index showed that 45% of entrepreneurs report being stressed compared to 42% of “other workers.” Entrepreneurs also were reported to having “worried a lot” — 34% vs. 30%.

According to a story in Harvard Business Review, half of CEOs from the CEO Snapshot Survey reported experiencing feelings of loneliness in their role. Some of the first-time solo entrepreneurs have reported feeling this more acutely than others. In the Self-Employment Review conducted by Julie Deane, the founder of Cambridge Satchel Company in the UK, isolation was cited as one of the biggest challenges faced by business owners and sole traders, with almost 30…