Checking in on your colleagues… and fellow business owners
Lockdowns are hard. For people in NSW now, even with some select areas opening up and vaccine rates promising October relief, it is wearing thin on people.
For the team at Inland, lockdowns make it particularly difficult. With offices closed we see business technology pivoting to the home, and that provides us with some unique challenges. But like everything we do, we’re riding it out as a team, supporting each other.
In a conversation with my daughter, she asked me, “Dad, how are you doing with all this? Are you okay?” That got me thinking… are we checking in enough as business owners on our fellow entrepreneurs?
Business life can be tough
As business owners, we naturally have a risk-taking element to our lives. It’s a challenge starting and running a business and you take on plenty of risk in making the call. Having run businesses for much of my career, it is incredibly rewarding, but also presents some tough periods.
At the moment for business owners, it’s hard. In industries like tourism or hospitality, it’s near impossible. Other businesses are just doing whatever they can to survive. It can be a lonely existence in times like this, worrying about business costs, wages, and the mental health of your team. Sometimes it’s your health that feels like it comes last, which is all the more reason I believe it’s important to check in on our mates in the business community.
Check in on your network
It can be a simple phone call, not to talk work, just to see how someone in your network is coping. Often as a business owner, you can downplay challenges you face, looking at the positives. That’s a great attitude to have but sometimes it’s more about checking in.
One of our partners, who is also a great friend of mine, is someone that I’ve actively checked in on. Being a big personality and stuck in Sydney, I can imagine the challenges of being in lockdown, especially when you add in running a business. We talk weekly, not so much about business, more just as a check in to have a laugh and talk about life. It helps me as much as it does him.
The key takeaway of this for me:
Maybe we all just need to take a few minutes to check in. Coming off the back of RU OK? Day, it might just change the mindset of someone you value and respect.