An honest evening for business owners about the pressure of running a business, and how we can learn to perform with it rather than avoid.

Running a business can be very rewarding.

But there’s another side to it we don’t talk about enough.

Lying awake at 3am thinking about cash flow.

Second-guessing a decision you've already made.

Wondering whether you've got the right people around you, or whether you're a good enough leader.

Having a difficult month and feeling the weight of everyone who relies on you.

Sitting with your family while your head is still somewhere in the business.

Checking your phone when you promised yourself you wouldn't.

Feeling guilty when you're not working and guilty that you're working when you should be somewhere else.

Losing time for training, hobbies, friends or simply doing absolutely nothing.

And sometimes wondering:

How long can I keep doing this?

Yet we tell ourselves:

When we hit that number...

When this problem is solved...

When I've got the right team...

When things calm down...

Then I'll feel better.

But there will always be another decision, another problem and another period of uncertainty.

So what if waiting for the challenge to disappear is the trap?

The pressure isn't just affecting how you feel.

It affects how you think, the decisions you make, how you lead, how you perform, your relationships, and who gets the version of you that comes home at the end of the day.

And just trying to suppress it, avoid it, distract ourselves from it or simply work harder doesn't make it disappear.

BUSINESS IS HARD EVENT, is about understanding how to work differently with the pressure, thoughts and emotions that come with running a business, so you can continue to think clearly, make good decisions, lead effectively and move forward when things aren't going your way.

Without needing everything to feel okay first.

And without allowing the business to consume everything else that matters.

Why attend?

Through honest conversation, shared experience and practical performance psychology, you'll:

Understand what happens to you under pressure and how it may be influencing your decisions, behaviour and performance.

Explore why some of the ways we naturally cope, avoidance, suppression, distraction and simply pushing harder don't always help.

Learn practical ways to work with difficult thoughts, emotions and uncertainty rather than constantly fighting against them.

Hear from other business owners who understand what it's like to carry the responsibility.

Leave with multipule meaningful insight or mindset shifts you can take back into your business and life.

What to expect

Around 10–15 business owners, founders and CEOs in a relaxed setting.

Grab a beer or a soft drink. Have some food. Meet some good people.

We'll talk, share experiences and learn from each other, and I'll bring my work in mental performance and psychology into the conversation.

No hype. No pretending. And no sitting around complaining about how hard business is.

Success doesn't remove pressure and the goal isn't to make business easy.

It's to give you greater freedom in how you respond when it isn't.

Description supplied by the event organiser.