Thankfully, there are some simple tools that can ease stress and help you find balance as an entrepreneur and these techniques help with both. So allow me to share some simple stress management ideas that have kept me sane through running a business, being a mum, and most recently going through breast cancer surgery.

Being a lighthouse

The first is a self-care approach I call ‘being a lighthouse’. As entrepreneurs we often try to do everything and be everything. But like a lighthouse, our job isn’t to steer every ship. It’s to stand strong, stay lit, and shine our light.

Then we need to hold firm, with clear boundaries, with ourselves, and with our clients/ customers and family. For example, working hours that work for us, being clear about what we can and cannot offer and not being afraid to say no when needed.

Then we need to take care of our energy, doing what we need to do for our own wellbeing, that means we can shine our light. Whether that’s resting, exercising, eating well or having fun – it’s also about not giving so much that we end up running on empty.

One of the key ways we can lose energy and dim our light, is to try to control everything or ‘help’ everyone. In other words, we step into other people’s boats and steer them where we think they should go. Preventing them from finding their own way, from learning their own lessons and often taking them in a direction that is not right for them. Furthermore it means you have spread your energy too far and your light is dimmed.

However, if you take a step back, you will have the energy to shine so much brighter and that light will reach far more people and enable or inspire them to find their own way, in the right way for them. Whether that's finding their own way of working, being or healing.

The brighter your light shines, the more everyone else benefits – unless it is someone who is not happy seeing you succeed, in that case hold your ground, make your boundaries even firmer, and give them some sunglasses, because you are not dimming your light for anyone!

Stillness

So, how do you keep your light shining when there can be so many demands on you and so many different plates you need to keep spinning? Stillness is key.

Taking time every day to allow your mind to calm and slow down, even if just for a brief moment.

This is what I call the power of the pause. Stillness is essential as it allows you to reconnect with your own creativity and intuition. Often the drama of life can pull us down, and we start focusing on the negative, with thoughts of ‘I can’t’ or worries about things going wrong, which is stressful and tiring. So take small moments every day to pause and allow your mind to slow down and come back to the present moment.

One very simple way to pause is to stop, take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, remove your tongue from the roof of your mouth, and then focus on your breathing for two-five minutes, allowing the out breaths to extend, maybe breathing in for four counts and out for eight. This will send signals to your nervous system to relax.

Look up

Another very easy way of slowing the mind down and shifting into a more positive and peaceful place, even on a busy day, is to take yourself outside and look up. Gaze at the sky. This will shift you from focusing on the minutiae of life and instead shift to the expansiveness of the sky and into a state of awe. Which in turn can bring a sense of gratitude or appreciation. It helps to bring things into perspective for a moment and you will notice your whole body relax. It is very simple yet very powerful.

Notes

And then another very simple exercise to try is before bed, note down everything you have done that day, and I mean every little thing you have done, even the everyday stuff, you will always have done more than you realised. Be kind to yourself, as appreciate all you do and are.

These tools might seem simple, but don’t underestimate their power. In the whirlwind of entrepreneurship – especially when it’s entwined with parenting or personal challenges – it’s often the small, consistent practices that make the biggest difference. By grounding yourself, setting clear boundaries, and returning to moments of stillness and perspective, you not only manage stress, you create a life and business that feels aligned and sustainable.

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