For many business founders, switching off is not as simple as closing a laptop or turning on their out-of-office.
When you are building a business, especially at its earliest stages, there is a growing pressure to be constantly available. Every customer enquiry feels urgent and every operational issue feels personal.
Founders often carry the weight of the whole business on their shoulders, from cashflow and product development, to customer service, marketing, social media management, hiring and growth.
Through the Virgin StartUp community, I speak to ambitious and resilient founders everyday. But I also hear how difficult it can be to step back when the business depends so heavily on them.
For many, the pressure is deeply emotional. The business is their idea, their risk and their reputation, often funded by their savings. The lines between personal identity and business identity often become completely blurred making switching off feel almost impossible....
