Last updated 4 November 2026. Statistic market: United States.

It's the end of a long week, and the thought that shows up isn't "how do I grow this." It's "can I actually keep doing this." If you've had that thought recently, you're far from alone — 40% of US small business owners say they've considered giving up their business entirely (Xero Emotional Tax Return 2026, via CPA Practice Advisor).

That thought isn't proof you're failing. Most of the time, it's proof you've been carrying something heavy entirely on your own for longer than anyone should.

If this is more than business stress and you are struggling or feeling unsafe, please talk to someone today. In the US, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). In New Zealand, call or text 1737 (free, 24/7). Outside those, contact your local emergency or crisis service or your doctor. A coach is not a substitute for that support.

There's a quiet idea that asking for help is something owners do once everything's already gone wrong — a last resort, an admission. It's the opposite. Asking for help, early and honestly, is what owners do to stay in the game long enough to actually build the thing they set out to build. The owners who wait until it's a crisis are the ones who run out of options.

The warning signs are usually boringly practical, not dramatic: you stop opening the P&L until the accountant chases you, you say yes to a client you'd normally turn down because you're tired of deciding, or you catch yourself hoping a problem resolves itself rather than picking up the phone. None of that means you're failing. It means you've been making every call solo for too long, and the fix is smaller than it feels from inside the week.

I've founded or co-founded nine companies. Some have been very successful. Some have been failures — real ones, the kind where you genuinely don't know if you'll keep going. My own way of putting it is: sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. My job as a coach isn't just to help you grow. It's also to help you avoid the mistakes that nearly took me out, because I've been scared about a Friday wage bill too, more than once, and I remember exactly how small the world feels when you think you're the only one who's ever felt that way.

You don't need a coach booked by tomorrow to start somewhere honest. Ask yourself this week:

"One of the highlight presentations during OMP. Really enjoyed your wisdom and insight — thanks Kevin!"

— Liz Wotherspoon, Director, The Icehouse

This isn't a pitch dressed up as empathy, and it isn't a diagnosis of what's wrong with you — exhaustion like this is common, not a character flaw, and it's worth taking seriously rather than pushing through on autopilot. It also isn't a sign you picked the wrong business or the wrong life. Plenty of owners who went on to build something they're proud of felt exactly this tired at exactly this point. If you've already got a genuine peer, co-founder or board you lean on honestly, you may not need this right now. If the honest answer to "who did I last disagree with productively" is "I can't remember," that's the gap worth closing.

You can do this. Not because it'll be easy from here — because the version of you that's been doing it entirely alone was always carrying more than it should have had to. That doesn't change overnight, but it starts changing the moment one other person is properly in the picture with you.

Be the owner who stops carrying the hard calls alone and has someone properly in the picture with you.

Kevin works personally with SME owners to build the clarity and support that make carrying this alone unnecessary — not a guarantee, just a far better way to do it.