Entrepreneurs are driven,
while quietly struggling.
Behind the ambition are real pressures that often go unseen.
The 2024 Mindset Project surveyed 352 Nova Scotia entrepreneurs and revealed a significant disconnect between business ambition and personal well-being. These are the findings that stood out, grouped into five themes.
- Respondents
- 352 entrepreneurs
- Where
- Nova Scotia
- Fielded
- Late summer 2024
Ambition
Growth matters to nearly everyone. Whether the business gives back what owners hoped for is far less certain.
90%
Rate growth as highly important.
Growth isn’t just a priority. It is the most important factor for entrepreneurs, with an average importance score of 86% across all business owners.
Is your business giving you what you wanted from it?
On average, entrepreneurs gave their business a “working for me” score of 66%.
66.2%
Find substantial meaning in their work.
Purpose often acts as a safeguard against burnout. For many owners, growth is about proving they can build something meaningful, not only about profit.
Average rating 8.8646%
Are confident in their skills to lead effectively.
Confidence is essential for resilience. Relied on without openness to support or collaboration, it can also lead to burnout.
Average rating 8.1Identity
For most owners there is no line between the person and the business. That fusion fuels drive and creates vulnerability.
76%
Feel their business reflects who they are.
It’s tied to their self-worth and sense of value. When things go well, self-esteem soars. When the business falters, it strikes at the entrepreneur’s core.
Stronger tie,
more stress
The more owners tie identity to outcomes, the more intense their stress.
One standout correlation in the data is between the belief that business success reflects personal worth and higher levels of stress.
Revenue fluctuations aren’t just numbers. They’re my livelihood.2024 survey respondent
Personal wellbeing
Owners rate their own stress-coping ability at 74%. The rest of the data tells a harder story.
69%
Say their mental health has worsened since starting their business.
And 70% report a decline in physical health. Nearly 70% indicated higher-than-expected levels of stress in recent months.
Diagnosed conditions reported
62% of entrepreneurs report having a mental health condition. Share of respondents reporting each diagnosis.
Where stress, depression, or anxiety interferes
The personal and professional overlap almost completely.
57.7%
Took no sick days in the past three months.
27.6% took no vacation days in the past six months, and 39.5% took only one to five. The belief that the business can’t function without them keeps owners from stepping away.
56%
Worry their stress will last longer than it has in the past.
48% believe their stress is more harmful now than ever. Even so, over half (52.7%) reported no days of being completely unable to work, which raises the question of whether that resilience is sustainable.
Barriers to growth
It isn’t a lack of ambition. It’s finding the right strategy to reach the right customers, and the capital to act on it.
2 in 3+
Cite marketing as the main obstacle.
More than two-thirds of entrepreneurs named the need for better marketing, a healthier pipeline of prospects, and more consistent recurring revenue as the main barriers to their growth goals.
76.5%
Rate access to growth capital as low.
Capital constraints limit strategic opportunities and intensify the daily pressure to keep the business afloat. They slow growth and amplify burnout risk.
Average score 4.565%
Have not yet integrated AI into their business.
The tools that could ease operational strain are sitting unused. 39% find their employees receptive to new technology, while 26.7% rate their team’s openness lower.
50.9%
Feel their workload is too heavy to manage.
Purpose can strengthen resilience, and it can also lead to overcommitment when boundaries aren’t set.
Average score 6.16Annual productivity gap per person between Atlantic Canadian companies and U.S. counterparts.
Faster employee turnover in entrepreneurial firms than in other sectors.
Of potential financial and operational capacity these businesses are operating at.
Support & connection
Owners lean on people close to home. Few feel able to talk openly at work or with peers.
Where entrepreneurs turn, and how they cope
Share of respondents. Switch views to compare.
10.1%
Have no one to confide in about their mental health.
Isolation and loneliness recur throughout the open-text responses. As one owner put it, “Sometimes, I just want someone who understands.”
28.7%
See significant mental health stigma among their peers.
Stigma makes owners less likely to seek help and feeds a culture of enduring stress alone. 22% emphasize community as critical to resilience.
Overall sentiment: moderately positive
Estimated from open-text responses, driven by themes of freedom, independence, passion, and purpose. 31.1% would still encourage others to start a business.
It’s not just about making a living; it’s about building a life worth living.2024 survey respondent
Six things entrepreneurs can do now
01Redefine success beyond growth
02Separate identity from business outcomes
03Make mental health a strategic priority
04Equip your team for digital readiness
05Build a support network
06Set realistic, regular checkpoints
The 2026 survey
Help write the next set of findings.
The 2026 Mindset Project survey is open to business owners across Nova Scotia. Your answers show what has changed since 2024 and what support is still missing.
About the data. A customized survey was conducted with 352 entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia in late summer 2024, an update of a similar 2016 survey with 437 respondents. Some percentages are rounded. Atlantic Canada productivity, turnover, and capacity figures were cited alongside the 2024 findings.