06/14/2026
Written by Becky,. Owner of Chanterelle Bistro Bowmanville
Owning your own business is like...In the first hour of being awake today, I already dealt with texts from two employees, responded to a wine rep, answered a couple emails (and mentally filed away the rest), reviewed online banking, and transferred money around so we can do our Costco Business Centre shop later. If this was a regular job, I'd probably be complaining about how ridiculous it is to expect someone to handle all of that before they've even had a proper morning.
The funny part is that nobody is standing over me demanding it. But at the same time, everyone kind of is. Employees need answers. Suppliers need responses. Bills need to be paid. Customers send messages. Emails keep coming. The expectation now is that everyone is reachable all the time, and nobody really cares whether it's 9am, your day off, or you haven't had breakfast yet. Things don't stop moving just because you're not technically "at work" yet.
The pressure isn't coming from one person. It's coming from twenty different people, all needing something small, all at the same time, all assuming you'll be available. Each request on its own is reasonable. It's the constant accumulation of them that becomes exhausting.What makes it harder is that the world doesn't really care how hard you're trying. Customers don't see the hours or the background tasks. Suppliers don't see the stress of their delivery drivers not listening to when they can deliver. Most people don't see the late nights staring at the ceiling questioning how you can keep going - the mental load! The fact that you're carrying the responsibility for an entire business around in your head all the time. You can work harder than you ever thought possible and still find yourself worrying about finances, cash flow, payroll, rising costs, and whether you're making the right decisions.The stress can feel unbelievably heavy.And yes, I chose this. I chose to own a business. But I don't think I truly understood what that meant when I started. I didn't understand that it would follow me home every night, wake up with me every morning, and occupy a corner of my brain every minute in between.I guess the reason I'm sharing this is because small businesses need support in ways people don't always realize. Of course spending money locally matters alot, but there are so many other things that help too. Sharing a post, leaving a review, commenting on social media, recommending a business to a friend, engaging with their content. Those things are free, take only a few seconds, and can make a bigger difference than most people know.There are a lot of small business owners out there carrying a weight you never see. If there's a local business you love, find a small way to support them today. It matters more than you think.Some days being your own boss feels a lot like being the world's most demanding employee and manager at the same time. But it's the support from our community that makes the hard days worth it.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far 🙏🙏🙏
