I have to be honest – I’m frazzled. It’s the holidays, and like most small-business owners, December is typically one of the most stressful and challenging times of the year. I not only have all my regular work to do, but I’ve got a number of business-oriented end-of-year tasks, a lot of personal demands on my time, and because the office is closed for a number of days during December, I have fewer days in which to accomplish everything. And I’m not even an owner of a retail or hospitality business – where the holidays can be a small-business owner’s “make or break” season.

Let’s face it – the holidays are tough if you’re an entrepreneur. How can you make stress work for you instead of against you during this critical season?

Fifty-four percent of entrepreneurs feel stressed during the holidays, according to the Bank of America Business Advantage Fall 2019 Small Business Owner Snapshot, released Wednesday, Dec. 4.  Sixty-six percent expect to face challenges this holiday season, including balancing work and personal commitments (42%), creating customer demand (37%) and keeping prices competitive (36%). 

“You cannot avoid stress,” said Raphaela O’Day, senior performance coach and innovation catalyst at Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute. “There are several types of stress, not all of which are ‘bad.’ It’s up to you to take advantage of the moment and learn from your stress, instead of letting it get the best of you.”