Is starting your own business bad for your health?

I've no doubt aged considerably in the 2.5 years since starting Mr Green.  How do you feel?

Does it get easier?

Yes it can be bad for your health if you are not careful

If you are unlucky you will end doing the same as me, putting flu's etc down to being just one of those things - in my case it turned out to be heavy lung infection needing 2 months of treatment.

I think I would go mental if I didn't have it to focus on, so in that respect no - that said, I can see what you mean, it's very easy to get "too involved", but it's as much a way of life as anything else really. 

I would agree with Danny...  plus doing a "proper job" so to speak can be more stressful having to put up with incompetent managers, company bureaucracy and office politics!!!

My last job working as PAYE according to my Doctor was going to kill me, and think of your 3 Kids.

This was said after I told the Doctor I wanted to return to the same Job. (IT)

The problem was I love doing a good job and helping people, but this did not work with the business model of the company I woked for.

So no if anything it has made me a lot better with less flash back to the bad old days.

The only down side is I was much better or £££ wise, but I am alive and love seeing the kids grow up.

Only if you get better at it!  It's all down to you.

I would agree with Danny if he replaced "stressful" with "depressing" in the first line.

I reckon I am more stressed now than I ever was as an employee, but that's mainly because I care more.

Starting a business probably is bad for your health, but mainly because it opens your eyes to things which prevously you (the generic you) were blissfully ignorant about.

Plan the time in Simon. I now have to plan time in for exercise every day, make sure I have rest days and down weeks where I don't drive as much.

It isn't being self employed, but the lifestyle some of us choose without sensible food and sleep breaks!

Keep it up Si and by age 42 you too could look like me. I hope that is incentive enough 

I think there is a danger for us to work through an illness rather than take time off on the sick. If we felt ill when employed we would call in, put on our best sick voice and take a day or two off. This ensure we had time to rest.

While we are self employed we tend to think, ahh its just a bit of flu I will carry on working resulting in zero rest. Add to this the fact most of us are doing 12+ hour days rather than 8 hour days, we get zero rest to recover from illness.

If you feel ill, get yourself checked by your GP and explain what you do for a living. They will give you some great advice

Bang on Carl,

I knew last year there was something wrong inside one of my legs,  I got refered by my doctor and the consultant did a ten second feel around and said there is nothing wrong.

He sent me for some scans, I was in a lot of pain and had wounds.

A few days later he called me back, said I needed and operation will next week do.

He cut the back of my knee open and sorted the problem, but he said it may come back.

That was 30th Jan this year, I am not 100% but so much better than before, good job I went and had it sorted.

So yes carl spot on, but i have most of the time let things slide health wise.

Looking around my friends who are employed I'd say that they are all stressed and annoyed at their collegues and managers on some level.

I might work longer hours at times but it's because I want to and there's a direct relationship bewteen effort in and rewards out. I'm in control.

But coming back to health you do have to be careful to balance exercise/work/time off etc, sometimes I get the balance right, frequently I get it wrong.

I would agree with the pro camp such as Danny.

If you want stress overload, work on a factory production line for minimum wage and no matter how you try to cope with tax credits you just cant make ends meet. The employer owns you, the HMRC owns you, you have no control.

Most people benefit from stress, no one benefits from strain. There is a difference.

Gary

Starting your own business is not bad for your health ("THAT'S  GOOD!")  not listening to your body telling you to seek  medical help and slow down when overstressed ("THAT'S  BAD!")

Leaving your business to others who you think are competent and capable when you are too ill to manage doesn't work either as they are not self motivated. They only consider their own interests WHILE USING YOUR MONEY >>>>>>> ("THAT'S BAD!")