5 Tips while navigating the grief process as a small business owner

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Grief is hard.

There’s no other way to say it, in my opinion. Navigating grief as a small business owner can feel overwhelming, especially when your creative business has only one employee: you. 

As a small business owner, you already wear many hats: social media marketer, email marketer, content creator, writer, designer, and so many others. Adding the grief process is probably not on your to-do list.

I lost my dad about five years ago. We just celebrated his 5th heavenly birthday privately this past week. We continue to do so, as a family, this upcoming labor day weekend. 

At the time, I wasn’t trying to run a business. I had just started my first entry-level job as a young professional across the United States. But as time has gone on, I still have times that I have to navigate the grief process as a new small business owner five years later.

Sometimes, you might need to take a break while others will likely require you to schedule some forethought into your decisions. 

No matter what or why you are experiencing grief, remember to be kind to yourself and give yourself grace through this process. Grief is a familiar feeling and will go through many cycles as you manage and navigate your way through the process.

If you’re starting your grief process or continuing it, here are a few tips as a small business owner. 

Take a break

For some business owners, you might feel like you need more rest while you’re in the grief process. It’s perfectly fine to take a break while you go through these emotions. 

You might have a million things going on and be the one-man-show behind everything related to your small business. That said, see if you can work ahead on anything and, if not, let your audience know your situation. There is nothing wrong with putting things on hold with a professional post or notice. 

I’d recommend at least a day to a weekend when you can to take a break from your business during the grief process. You might need to take things slow when you get back to a routine, but you’ll be available to your customers.

Don’t stop, go slower

After your initial break, you’ll be processing a lot of feelings and emotions. Grief can be overwhelming and shouldn’t be ignored when you open your small business back up. 

Take time to feel all of the emotions that arise in the next few days. When they do overwhelm, take a break and let those feelings out. You’ll feel calmer and have more clarity after processing those emotions rather than trying to carry on. 

Take your time going through things at the office or home. Something that took you two seconds to complete before might take you longer now. Be conscious of what you are doing at various stages and see what you can do. You might consider outsourcing something that you planned to do, especially if that task is overwhelming you and causing you more stress.

Give yourself grace

You might find that it takes longer to complete projects when you’re navigating grief as a business owner. Try to give yourself grace and let your clients and customers know what you are going through during this time. Everyone is allowed to be human and experience emotions that may be difficult to work through.

When you forget to post to Instagram in your endeavor to post daily, please don’t beat yourself up. If you forgot to reply to that email in your Inbox, give yourself another day to respond. Understand that you are going through a process that takes time and will require you to focus on other things besides your business.

Try to stick to your normal routine as much as you can, but make sure to cut yourself some slack if you do not run at 100% as you navigate your grief as a small business owner.

Let others know

As mentioned when taking a break, let others know about your grief. As you navigate your grief as a small business owner, you would be surprised at how much support you might receive from your clients and customers. 

Letting others know will also alert others of possible delays that might occur in the next few days. Everything might run smoother if you have a few extra hands to hand things off. You can still alert everyone and notify them of any alterations in your schedule if it’s just you.

Also, navigating grief as a small business owner is not new for many people. You’ll be able to find support and tips on how to navigate grief on various levels.

Focus on the ‘fun’ things

When I find it difficult to focus on my business, I give my attention to the ‘fun’ things that I can accomplish. I find it easier to get something easy and enjoyable out of the way first before doing any monotonous chores. You might feel differently, and that’s completely fine. Do what you can while you create a new normal for yourself.

Everything might feel like a chore while you are navigating the grief process as a small business owner. When that happens, I suggest writing a to-do list after taking a short break. Don’t worry about what you enjoy; just write everything down. Next, find a few things that you know you can get done, whether because they are fun or straightforward for you, and work on those first. 

It might be challenging to focus on your small business while you are navigating the grief process. Do what you can when you feel able to do so and, again, give yourself grace while working through your emotions.

Remember that your grief process is going to be unique to you as well as the way you respond to it when it comes to your business. Be patient with yourself and navigate things at your pace.