Discover how to help a small business owner

Many organisations and individuals who support or work alongside small business owners know first-hand some of the challenges they face as part of daily operations. These challenges may be managing cash flow, maintaining a healthy work life balance, feeling isolated, or finding time for family responsibilities.

If you develop policy for small business owners or provide services to them, then you have an opportunity to support both their mental health and business health. You also have t chance to educate the broader community on how they can support small business.

This can be as simple as understanding the challenges and principles for engaging with small businesses owners through to identifying warning signs for mental ill-health, having a conversation with the person you are worried about and identifying avenues for support.

The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, in collaboration with key stakeholders including mental health organisations and small business peak bodies, has developed a set of toolkits to guide policy makers, policy implementers and the broader community around how they can play a role in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of small business owners.

These toolkits include a set of principles which aim to foster a greater understanding of the mental health and business health needs of small business owners, while encouraging collaboration between stakeholders.

Before you start conversations with small business owners, it’s worth taking a look at the language toolkit within this policy maker guide.

Developed in consultation with small business owners, these language sets are context dependent. So whether you are providing assistance, or responding to a request for help, or feel someone is at a crisis point – there are suggestions on how to communicate about it.

Discover the Policy Maker Toolkit today!