Italian entrepreneurs: one in three feels isolated and at risk of burnout

More than one in three Italian entrepreneurs feels alone in their role and at risk of burnout , and more than four in ten have considered closing their business due to the stress and emotional burden of running a business. From bureaucracy to finances, the daily challenges facing business owners are linked to the economic and regulatory environment (41.9%), operational and administrative workload (33.6%), and financial pressures , such as cash flow and profitability. There are also difficulties related to customer relations, the need to keep up with new trends and technologies, and staff management. This is the snapshot captured by fintech company SumUp , which interviewed merchants, restaurateurs, and small business owners in Italy to delve deeper into the difficulties they encounter on a daily basis and the strategies for overcoming them.

Personal well-being is also not overlooked: nearly 12% of respondents report feeling pressured by loneliness or mental health issues. In this scenario, a support network becomes crucial to maintaining a sustainable work-life balance. Colleagues, business partners, friends, and family play a key role in this network, but the presence of artificial intelligence also emerges: for 7% of small business owners, tools like ChatGPT represent a real source of support. Specifically, nearly half of the sample schedules rest and recovery time, while 19% adopts personal practices to manage stress, including mindfulness and awareness techniques. 18% rely on teams and collaboration, seeking support from colleagues , and 10.5% resort to external support, such as professional coaching or therapy.

To celebrate and strengthen the role of the informal support networks that support small businesses every day, SumUp is launching “Together, it's easier,” a communications campaign that emphasizes that every business is the sum of the people who make it possible and promotes the value of collaboration and mutual support. “Loneliness and daily pressures have become increasingly concrete challenges for small business owners, who must deal not only with the operational and financial management of the business, but also with the emotional burden of decisions that fall solely on them,” says Umberto Zola , Head of Online Sales EU at SumUp. “With the 'Together, it's easier' campaign, we want to remind entrepreneurs that they are not alone.” The campaign was conceived by the Mother agency in Germany and developed in Italy according to the local slogan “Every small business has a great team behind it.”