[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-174743-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":81,"doc-detail-174743-en":127},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","a-small-business-owners-guide-to-creating-a-mental-health-plan","A Small Business Owner’s Guide to Creating a Mental Health Plan","","A practical guide for small business owners explains why creating a mental health plan matters for day-to-day wellbeing and for long-term business continuity and resilience. It provides step-by-step support on identifying business and personal stressors, linking stress to mental health red flags, and including clear signals and example warning signs. The guide also outlines actions to reduce stress, resources and people to contact, and ways to support other owners while staying connected and informed.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/","Letters",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/a-small-business-owners-guide-to-creating-a-mental-health-plan/174743/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/a-small-business-owners-guide-to-creating-a-mental-health-plan/174743.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"River Wang","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document","2026-10-18","2026-09-02",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why should small business owners create a mental health plan?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It helps ensure wellbeing strategies are in place and supports business continuity and resilience. Managing mental health also improves preparedness for challenges affecting the business and staff.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What are business and personal stressors in the guide?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Stressors are areas of the business that are affected now or have been in the past, plus any personal stressors you may include. The guide encourages revisiting your business plan and identifying potential future barriers.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the guide help identify mental health red flags?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It asks you to consider how stressors affect mental health and wellbeing. It emphasizes recognizing signals over long periods and includes example physical, social, emotional, and psychological changes.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},174743,1788316242,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,89,94,99,104,109,114,118,123],{"id":85,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":86,"show_sort_weight":87,"slug":88},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":90,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":91,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":93},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":95,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":100,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":105,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":110,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":115,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},18,30,"letters",{"id":119,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":124,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":126},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":128},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":129,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":130,"doc_module":22,"category_id":115,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":131,"file_id":132,"file_url":133,"file_type":134,"file_size":135,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":33,"language":136,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":80,"read_time":26},1099514067438,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/100002539ee87300030?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1780474512215547542","A small business owner’s guide to creating a mental health plan\nThe \u0013 HYPERLINK \"https://www.vsbc.vic.gov.au/\" \u0014Victorian Small Business Commission\u0015 has developed this guide in consultation with \u0013 HYPERLINK \"https://www.beyondblue.org.au/\" \u0014Beyond Blue\u0015, drawing on insights shared by Victorian small business owners with lived experience of overcoming mental health challenges.\nWhy develop a mental health plan?\nWhen you’re focused on running or growing a small business, managing staff and dealing with challenges that emerge, you might not think to prioritise your own mental health.\nCreating a mental health plan is one way to make sure you have strategies in place for looking after your wellbeing. It’s also an important part of planning for business continuity and resilience.\nHow to use this guide\nWhether you’re a sole trader or an employer, you can use this guide to support the wellness of you and your staff.\nTo create your plan, you can use the mental health plan template (accessible at \u0013 HYPERLINK \"http://www.vsbc.vic.gov.au\" \u0014www.vsbc.vic.gov.au\u0015) or take your own approach. Once developed, it’s a good idea to keep a copy on the devices you use the most (be it your laptop, tablet or phone) and consider walking your business advisor through your plan.\nSection 01\nIdentifying business and personal stressors\nThink about areas of your business that are affected at the moment or have been in the past – these are your stressors. It can help to:\nrevisit your business plan\nthink about potential barriers you’re coming up against or could face in the future\ncontact your local business network or other small business owners to talk about issues – they might raise similar issues and share ideas about how they’re addressing them.\nThis is your personal plan, so feel free to include any possible stressors – both business and personal. These stressors might not happen, but it helps to identify them and be prepared.\nChallenging areas could include:\nknowing what licenses, registrations and permits you need to run your business\nestablishing your brand and building your customer base\nunderstanding your legal obligations when it comes to staff\nknowing the government supports available for businesses, whether you’re eligible and how to access them\nmaintaining your customer base, managing cashflow and trying to pay rent when you’ve had disruptions to trade\ndealing with external pressures, such as online reviews or watching a competitor expand their products and services\nmeeting the financial needs of your partner and/or family\nhaving enough time for family and friends\nknowing where to source reliable and up-to-date information, including on legislative change.\nStressors can change, so it’s important to review and update your list regularly.\nSection 02\nIdentifying mental health red flags\nThink about how your stressors affect your mental health and wellbeing. It’s normal to have feelings of anxiety, distress and concern and to feel overwhelmed at times. However, experiencing these feelings over long periods can have negative impacts on your physical and mental health.\nLearning the signals of stress in yourself makes you better prepared to seek support quickly. These changes are your mental health red flags and can include physical, social, emotional and psychological changes. It’s important to include your mental health red flags in your plan.\nExamples include:\npersonal signs e.g. feeling irritable, nervous, angry, anxious, depressed or low in energy, having trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, increasing alcohol consumption, withdrawing from friends and family, having panic attacks, aggressive outbursts or destructive behaviour\nwork-related signs e.g. having trouble concentrating, meeting deadlines or carrying out duties to the standard you’re used to, withdrawing from staff, feeling less engaged than usual, feeling negative and being absent from work.\nActions I can take\nIt’s helpful to develop a range of strategies or actions you’re willing and abl","cbCaigtMJk3K8tu8","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigtMJk3K8tu8","docx",833443,"English","# Why develop a mental health plan?\n# How to use this guide\n# Section 01: Identifying business and personal stressors\n# Section 02: Identifying mental health red flags\n# Actions I can take\n# Supporting other small business owners\n# Section 03: People and resources to call on","[{\"question\":\"Why should small business owners create a mental health plan?\",\"answer\":\"It helps ensure wellbeing strategies are in place and supports business continuity and resilience. Managing mental health also improves preparedness for challenges affecting the business and staff.\"},{\"question\":\"What are business and personal stressors in the guide?\",\"answer\":\"Stressors are areas of the business that are affected now or have been in the past, plus any personal stressors you may include. The guide encourages revisiting your business plan and identifying potential future barriers.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the guide help identify mental health red flags?\",\"answer\":\"It asks you to consider how stressors affect mental health and wellbeing. It emphasizes recognizing signals over long periods and includes example physical, social, emotional, and psychological changes.\"}]","A Small Business Owner’s Guide to Creating a Mental Health Plan | DOCX"]