Economy. Entrepreneurs, how to deal with manager loneliness?

The life of an entrepreneur is not a long, quiet river, especially during the first years following the creation of his organization. The business creator is particularly confronted with a strong feeling of isolation, generated by the uncertainty and complexity of the environment, the fear of failure, the weight of responsibilities, prejudices against bosses. of business and the difficulty in reconciling personal and professional life. Indeed, a study shows that 45% of leaders of small and medium enterprises (SME) or mid-sized company (ETI) report feeling isolated for these reasons.

In the literature, the feeling of isolation is described as a harmful emotion that affects the well-being of the individual. In psychology, loneliness is perceived as a set of complex feelings felt when an individual’s needs are not met. This loneliness may be inherent to the entrepreneur’s personality, such as shyness, low self-esteem, or result from personal or professional factors.

“I needed support”

Loneliness can be both objective and/or subjective. Objective loneliness manifests itself as a deprivation of human companionship, while subjective loneliness is an emotionally felt state of mind. Our studies on marginalized and/or precarious entrepreneurs have notably highlighted the vulnerability of these individuals, particularly women or young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods. Whatever its form, the loneliness felt by entrepreneurs and business leaders can and must be contained or minimized.

To combat the isolation of entrepreneurs, a first approach consists of reducing objective loneliness through entrepreneurial solidarity. Thus, the spaces of coworkingchambers of commerce and other professional networks promote better integration of entrepreneurs and can help overcome isolation.

An entrepreneur we met as part of our research testifies to this:

The second piece of advice to combat subjective loneliness is to favor collective entrepreneurship. Support structures, such as activity cooperatives and umbrella companies, reduce legal risk and offer an employee entrepreneur contract, reconciling entrepreneur autonomy and social protection.

Our research with a cooperative and participatory society (SCOP) reveals that, of the 100 new project leaders joining the cooperative, 30 registered mainly to break isolation and build partnerships. An entrepreneur details his choice:

The model of this SCOP illustrates the success of collective entrepreneurship in reducing isolation. While bankruptcies are worrying among very small businesses (VSE), the 5-year sustainability rate of SCOPs is increasing, reaching 76% in 2023 compared to 61% for all French companies.

Better accept failure

This success can be explained in particular by better support, a solid network and effective support for entrepreneurs. The mode of entrepreneurship collective advocated by these cooperatives shows real success in accompaniment, networking and support for entrepreneurs thereby fighting against the isolation of entrepreneurs.

Beyond the fight against isolation, it also remains essential to rely on other levers to strengthen entrepreneurial activity.

In the short or medium term, this involves in particular a change in mentalities and better acceptance of failure. Reducing the gap between those who aspire to be entrepreneurs and those who take the plunge requires increased risk assessment and better protection of entrepreneurs.