How to build personal resilience for running a business in challenging times

Starting and growing a business is never easy, but it’s particularly hard during challenging times. Tough economic conditions, high costs and volatile consumer spending are among the current challenges that mean building personal resilience is more important than ever for UK business owners.  

What is personal resilience in business? 

Personal resilience in business is about coping, adapting, recovering and remaining strong in the face of whatever your entrepreneurial adventures throw at you.  

Developing resilience strategies as an entrepreneur will help you tackle setbacks and stumbling blocks with confidence. When something does go wrong, staying resilient helps you cope and learn lessons for preventing it happening again or dealing with it more effectively in the future.  

Practical ways to build your personal resilience 

To build your resilience as a business owner, here are some tips to follow.  

Stay positive 

Adopting a positive mindset is crucial to maintaining personal resilience and coping with business challenges. If you have staff, it’s important for keeping them motivated too.  

Try to surround yourself with solutions-focused people, whether that’s in your business or working with external advisers and partners.  

Look for ways to learn from and be inspired by positive people. That could be via books, training programmes and podcasts.  

Get into the habit of celebrating all your wins, no matter how big or small they are. Acknowledging your accomplishments can boost your confidence and keep you motivated.  

Look after yourself physically and consider meditation or mindfulness techniques as a way to remain calm and reduce stress.  

If you have employees, encourage the sharing of ideas and worries as part of an open and transparent culture with strong communication channels.  

If something goes wrong, rather than focusing on the negativity, try and reflect on why it went wrong and what you can learn to prevent it happening again.  

Time management and daily routines  

Tackling business challenges can feel overwhelming. Planning your day and breaking tasks into more manageable chunks can help.  

Set yourself small tasks to complete each day so you end each one with a sense of achievement. Breaking big goals into smaller ones will make it more likely that you’ll achieve them. Read tips on setting effective goals here. 

You should do the most time consuming or complicated activities at times of the day when you are most productive. Time management apps like Asana and Monday.com allow you to organise your tasks and tick them off as you go. Completing a task and recording that you have completed it can be personally motivating. 

Go networking 

Networking isn’t just about making useful business contacts and finding new customers; it can also help you to cope with tough times.  

Chatting through your situation with other small business owners often provides new perspectives, advice and encouragement.  

Loneliness can be a problem for entrepreneurs and impact your personal resilience. Attending networking events to meet like-minded founders can also help to tackle that.  

Seek support and mentorship  

You shouldn’t be afraid of asking for more formal help. Professionals such as accountants, lawyers and technology experts can boost your knowledge, share tips and increase your resilience.  

Many business groups provide advice and training, while finding a mentor who has faced similar challenges to you can help you navigate challenging times. 

Deal with stress and manage mental health  

Mental resilience is crucial for entrepreneurs. The uncertainties and risks involved in running a business, particularly during tough times, can lead to anxiety and stress.  

Practicising self-care is important for building your personal resilience. Taking regular breaks, drinking water, exercising regularly, getting plenty of sleep and eating healthy food can all help to manage your mental health. Try to maintain a good work/life balance where work is clearly separated from your home life.  

Using mindfulness and meditation techniques can be beneficial too. There are many apps you can use, such as Calm, Headspace and Gro. 

Don’t be afraid to talk to someone about how you’re feeling. It could be a friend, family member or another business owner, as well as professionals such as a psychologist or GP. 

For more tips, read our guide to how business owners can deal with mental health challenges. 

Manage your costs 

You should watch your cash flow like a hawk to ensure your costs don’t get out of control and negatively impact on your business. 

Many factors can affect your cash flow, such as seasonal fluctuations, reduced demand for your products or services and late payments from customers.   

Preventing and overcoming these challenges is crucial, because if you lack the money to pay your employees or other expenses, your business will struggle to stay afloat.   

Create a cash flow forecast to plan how much money you expect to receive, and how much you expect to pay out. 

If costs are too high, look for ways to reduce them. Actions you could take include cutting office costs by moving to hybrid working, cancelling subscriptions and using technology to make efficiencies.  

Have a cash reserve 

Creating a cash reserve to cover shortfalls during tough times is recommended.  

You should have at least months in working capital in case your income is reduced or stops completely. 

Be prepared to adapt 

Smaller businesses have the advantage over big companies of being much more flexible and able to adapt at short notice. 

If things aren’t going well, think about how you can pivot to something new. That could be taking steps such as launching new products and services or adopting a different marketing and sales strategy.  

Partnering with complementary businesses could be another way to adapt during challenging times.  

 

Last updated 11 Aug 2025 | First published 11 Aug 2025

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