A Guide to Managing Founder Stress | Tory Burch Foundation

More than half of all entrepreneurs report their mental health has declined since starting their company. Unsurprisingly, the stats are worse if you’re a woman. 

Founder stress just isn’t regular work stress. You work longer hours, every decision you make feels bigger and people’s livelihoods depend on you. Psychologist Nina Kaiser, Ph.D., a Tory Burch Fellow and founder of Practice San Francisco, put it plainly: “Being in a state of stress as a leader costs not only our own emotional functioning, but also our relationships and business bottom line.” 

As part of our webinar series, Kaiser delved into the practical tools and mindset shifts you need to manage stress effectively—for both you and your team. “Invest time in mental health and wellbeing,” she emphasized. “They’re critical to the longevity and success of your business.” 

THE SCIENCE OF STRESS

Stress is a real, biological reaction to external and internal events. When you’re stressed, the brain activates the fight-or-flight response. Your hormones surge. Your heart starts pumping. Your body is directing blood to your muscles and away from the brain. “Our higher-level thinking goes offline,” Kaiser said, adding that, as a result, problem-solving and decision-making suffer. You’re much more likely to act impulsively, too. 

And those are only the short-term impacts. Chronic stress raises the risk of everything from heart disease to inflammation, and is a precursor to clinically significant anxiety and depression. Then, there’s burnout. “The energy leaders bring to the table trickles down to the entire team,” she noted. 

Continuing to push through will more likely impair you over time.

THE ACTION PLAN

 “Stress is part and parcel of life. I hate to break it to you, but we are not going to eliminate it,” said Kaiser. “The key is learning how to manage it.” Here are her seven strategies for doing so. 

1. Work with your body.

Get moving: When fight-or-flight kicks in, energy builds up in your muscles and nervous system. Give it a place to go and move your body. “Walk around the block or do jumping jacks in place,” Kaiser recommended. 

Slow your breath: Breathe slowly and deeply. Kaiser likes this breathwork exercise: seven counts in, 11 counts out to return to a state of emotional equilibrium. Make sure to breathe into your belly, not your chest. Even doing this for less than a minute can make a difference. 

Anchor yourself: Focus your attention on where your body touches a surface—for example, your back against a chair or your feet on the floor. “It’s a way to step out of the swirl of emotion and ground yourself into the present moment,” explained Kaiser, noting that her favorite contact point is a beverage in her hands. “I always have one with me during meetings. I zoom out from the immediate stress and feel the weight and temperature of the glass.”

2. Set yourself up for success. 

Your mother was right. Drink lots of water, eat a nutrient-dense diet and sleep well. This sounds basic, but decades of research show these lifestyle factors are directly linked to mental health. 

If getting a good night’s rest is easier said than done, Kaiser offers a few strategies that can help: 

• The cognitive shuffle, a.k.a. serial diverse imaging: Choose a word and, starting with the first letter, list as many words as you can that begin with it. Then move on to the next letter and so on. 
•  Loving-kindness meditation: Think about people you care about and send good wishes their way. Or do so by repeating a benevolent mantra, such as “may (person’s name) be protected.” 
• Breath narration: This is exactly as it sounds. When your mind wanders as you’re falling asleep, narrate your breath—”breathing in, breathing out.” 
•  For more in-depth sleep support, Kaiser suggested looking into cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). 

3. Organize your workload. 

 Begin each day and week by identifying your top priorities. Limit distractions, like turning off notifications, and use the Eisenhower matrix, time blocks and time boxes to optimize your hours. 

“I encourage you to know yourself,” Kaiser added. Translation: Determine when you do your best work—e.g., are you a morning person or a night owl?—and schedule your most important tasks during those peak periods. 

Don’t forget to delegate tasks or leverage AI where you can. “When you’re not sweating the small stuff,” said Kaiser, “you have the bandwidth to show up for the stuff that matters most.”

4. Master the Beautiful No. 

 Hold your boundaries with what Kaiser calls the Beautiful No. “Whenever we say yes to something,” she explained, “we are inherently saying no to something else.” Did you agree to do a presentation for free? That means saying no to a night of sleep. Be more strategic with your yeses.

5. Zoom out—and reframe your thinking. 

 Don’t lose sight of the big picture—regularly revisit your values and ask yourself what’s most essential to you in this moment and your life as a whole. “You are not just your business,” Kaiser stressed. “You’re also a friend, a partner, a parent and a human with interests and passions outside of the office. When you allow room for all of those things, you can show up more effectively at work.”

This may require a mindset shift. Instead of thinking “this is my business and my responsibility, so I have to do it alone,” for example, consider rephrasing to “running a business is a marathon, so how can I best set myself up for long-term success?”

6. Make room for the good. 

 Keep a running list of micro self-care practices. Even quick actions, like drinking your coffee in the sun or eating a bite of dark chocolate, can shape the tone of your day. 

Amplify your successes as well. Keep a “wins” folder that includes things like great client feedback or press mentions, and carve out time for the following daily reflections: What went well today? What was your role? How did it feel?

7. Find your community. 

 According to a landmark Harvard study, connection is the number one driver of health, happiness and longevity. So, seek out mentorships, learning opportunities and founder meetups. As Kaiser said, “You don’t have to do this alone.” 

EVERYDAY STRESSORS VS. MAJOR CRISES.

 Not all problems are the same—your response shouldn’t be, either. For sudden stressors, the most powerful thing you can do is pause. For example, take that deep breath or zero in on a physical contact point, as in, notice where your legs meet your chair. 

If you receive an upsetting email, remember, you are not obligated to reply right away. Sit on it for a few hours and let the immediate fight-or-flight response lift. 

For those facing a major life disruption, e.g., a bad health diagnosis or caregiving responsibilities, Kaiser recommended being honest and transparent with your inner circle and—most importantly—having compassion for yourself. 

“There are times when our capacity changes because of factors outside of our control,” she said. “Maybe it’s 30 percent of our usual 100 percent—but it’s still our 100 percent in that moment, right? Continuing to push through will more likely impair you over time.”

HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR TEAM’S MENTAL HEALTH.

For starters, practice what you preach. “Take your PTO and do the work to manage your own stress as a leader,” said Kaiser. 

Then, build the infrastructure. Open meetings with breathwork or by recognizing wins. Block off, say, Monday mornings so the team can prioritize for the week. Instill a culture of pausing before taking action and create opportunities for conversation and connection, whether one-on-one check-ins or off-site activities. Kaiser, for instance, has taken her team out to paddleboard yoga and sound baths. “Don’t just talk about wellness,” she said. “Give people the opportunities to practice it.”