All entrepreneurs know that starting your own business is certainly not an easy journey, nor is it a sure one. There are days when it feels like you are a circus performer, juggling while on a tricycle with your hair on fire. But there are also times when everything comes together beautifully, and if you plan it out carefully, you can have more of those experiences.

I recently listened to Paul Redmond's new podcast, Crunch My Numbers, where he spoke about the three-legged stool of running a business. In Paul's words, the three legs are health, wealth, and relationships. After listening to the podcast and considering the many conversations we've had on the Beyond Insights podcast, not to mention the many articles I've written over the years, I noticed that these three legs - or pillars, as I'll call them - are consistent across all the business success stories I've heard. So, I think it's time to delve into why this is the case and how you can use this knowledge to your advantage as a business owner.

In this article, I'll discuss the three pillars and how they relate to your personal and business life as an entrepreneur, sprinkling in useful tips, tricks, and research on how to use these to your advantage. Let's get started.

The COVID-19 pandemic shone a spotlight on health in the workplace, not only in terms of contracting a dangerous virus but also in terms of ideas of burnout, mental health, and the impacts of poor health on productivity and even employee retention. One report based on data from Britain's Healthiest Company Competition found that employees who attend work in poor health pose a significant risk to overall productivity - not to mention the potential spreading their sickness to colleagues. However, as a business owner, you should consider not only your employees' health but also your own.

As an entrepreneur, thinking about your health is probably low down on your list of daily considerations. You have the whole business to consider, after all. However, as its founder, it's worth considering that you are the business's most powerful asset. As Jia Rizvi writes for Forbes:

"Because their business's success rests on their shoulders, having a focus on entrepreneurial health and supporting the people working for them is important. It’s suitable for people, good for the economy, and good for business."

If you become bed-bound thanks to illness, that's a serious loss of productivity for the business. So, it might be worth your while to consider both your physical and mental health, if not for your own sake, for the sake of your company.

According to independent research from Founder Reports, more than 87% of entrepreneurs deal with at least one mental health issue. Similarly, the "Health and Performance of High-Impact Entrepreneurs Report" found that 75% of tech entrepreneurs interviewed felt pressured by other people's expectations, and 54% considered discussions around mental health to be taboo.

These statistics aren't surprising if you consider the immense strain of running a business. However, just because the statistics are prevalent doesn't mean you need to join them. Chronic stress can lead to all sorts of physical and psychological repercussions, but the best way to avoid these is to recognize the signs early on and act to alleviate them before they get worse.

There are several tell-tale signs to be on the lookout for, including physical signs such as:

And more subtle signs, such as:

If you notice that you frequently deal with multiple of these issues, it may be time to consider how to address them.

Although we've fought hard against the stigma around mental health, for many, it's still firmly in place. Perhaps this applies to you, too. If it helps, consider that mental health and physical health are really one and the same, as your brain is part of your body, and many symptoms of mental health are located in the body.

Another important thing you can do is to set boundaries so that you have the time and space to disconnect from your work. Setting boundaries can be difficult, especially if you feel personally responsible for the success of your business. However, you cannot possibly say yes to everything, as there is always some kind of trade-off. As life coach, Sahar Andrade, says:

"Saying no assertively to a new commitment means you are honoring your existing ones."

Similarly, it's important to take time for self-care. Take regular breaks throughout the day, go for a quick walk, practice deep breathing, and think about things other than work. As I noted in my article on work-life balance, to find a sense of harmony even in stressful times, it's important to find ways to:

As Paul Redmond says in his podcast, a good place to start when assessing your physical health is by visiting your doctor for a checkup. From there, you can see if you have any health concerns and start acting to improve them. Again, the idea is to be proactive - to find issues before they become too severe - so that you don't reach burnout or serious illness and see your health and your business suffer for it.

On a personal level, it's important to consider your own financial health. As a business owner, are you giving yourself a salary, and is it the right salary? QuickBooks' blog considers two main options for paying yourself as a business owner:

A salary is, as it sounds, a set amount of money that you pay yourself every pay period. Meanwhile, an owner's draw is when you take funds out of the business for personal use as and when you need it. There are a few different reasons you may choose each option, such as the type of business you are running, your equity, and tax implications.

An owner's draw can be risky because it reduces the business's equity, which reduces the funds available for future spending. However, it allows for greater flexibility as your compensation can fluctuate alongside the business's ups and downs, which can be especially helpful when you're starting out.

On the other hand, a salary requires less admin work and is far easier to track. That said, a consistent salary can lead to cash flow issues if your business has a down month. And then there's also the consideration of what figure you should be paying yourself.

A few other things you may wish to consider are:

These are questions you may want to consult your accountant about to consider the best course of action.

Beyond your personal, there are other financial health considerations, such as:

These are all critical decisions that will impact you, your stress levels, and your ability to thrive as a leader in your organization.

So far, I've focused a lot on your personal health (physically, mentally, and financially). However, as an entrepreneur, I know that your main concern is likely your business health, and you must certainly not neglect this. The two should ideally work symbiotically. So, let's take a look at how you can ensure your business is healthy.

There's no foolproof way to determine your business's financial health or sustainability. However, four critical areas of financial well-being may indicate signs of strength or vulnerability. Investopedia outlines these as the following:

To ensure the health of your business, it's essential to track these four metrics and find ways to improve them so that your business can survive in both the short and long term and reach its full potential.

What does wealth mean, and how can you approach it? Simply put, wealth measures the value of all the assets you own. To determine your monetary wealth or net worth, you can take the market value of all your tangible and intangible assets and subtract the value of your debts.

As a quick aside, the difference between tangible and intangible assets is as follows:

On a personal level, improving your wealth starts with a proper financial plan for your future until you retire and another plan for after retirement. To build wealth, you must allocate a portion of your income to savings and investments over time.

A good place to start is by setting financial goals and implementing systems to support these, such as:

As a business owner, you may consider this in terms of your business's scalability and trajectory from startup to thriving business. This means a lot of proactive thinking or planning for the future. Another useful tip is to benchmark your business against others in the industry to see areas where you may be lagging behind and consider what your competitors are doing differently.

Historically, wealth has been measured in many different ways, not only in terms of money. For instance, herding cultures have often used livestock as a measure of wealth.

On a more philosophical level, wealth can be measured in terms of your level of life satisfaction, your flexibility and freedom, the quality of your relationships with others, and the ways in which you spend your time... Which leads us to the third pillar of business success: relationships.

People are intrinsically social animals. If you want to argue that you are an introvert and prefer to be hauled up in your room with a book rather than speaking to people, I get you. But even introverts need other people in their lives. And as much as this is true in personal situations, the same can be said for businesses.

Your business isn't just about the products or services you sell; it's also about the people. It's about the people who create the products or provide the services, the people coming up with new ideas for innovation, the suppliers who provide you with the ingredients to make those products, and, of course, the customers who buy from you. It's a whole ecosystem of people supporting your business. These human resources are vital to the success of your organization and should be treated as such.

As Paul argues in his podcast, you need a sound methodology for building relationships in your business. This starts with understanding your core values and your organization's culture. Culture is a word that's thrown around a lot, but what it really is about is the atmosphere of your organization and the way in which employees interact with each other, suppliers, and customers.

If your company is built on respect, trust, and transparency, then relationships are likely to flow much more easily. As one article by Forbes Advisor puts it:

"In a positive company culture, employees feel safe, heard and appreciated. It’s where they’re engaged and motivated to do their best work, because the culture empowers them to grow and find meaning and purpose in their roles."

It's, therefore, patently clear that having a good environment that nurtures positive relationships is key to running your business successfully. As we saw with the so-called "Great Resignation" following the pandemic, the highest predictor of leaving a job wasn't the nature of the work but a "toxic corporate culture."

In terms of your customers, building a good relationship with them makes them far more likely to be sticky. A recent study found that 86% of customers find their experiences just as important as the actual product or service they purchase. This means that the key to a successful business doesn't just lie in a great product or service but in building lasting relationships with customers.

By the same token, if you have a bad relationship with suppliers, have a habit of paying them late, etc., they're not likely to want to continue doing business with you.

So, where do you start with the relationship aspect of your business? Here are a few suggestions:

There are many ideas about what it takes to be a good leader. Perhaps one of the most important is that a leader can guide the engagement of their followers. Effective leaders help align their followers so that the whole team shares one goal or purpose. However, a leader is so much more than this. Ideally, a leader should be able to build strong relationships with their followers, help their staff to develop and grow, lead change, inspire others, think critically, communicate clearly, and create accountability.

As an entrepreneur, your personal life can impact your business in a myriad of ways - from your health and relationships to your financial position. And, of course, the reverse is also true. So, the best way to build a sustainable business is by tapping into these three key pillars - health, wealth, and relationships - and finding ways to improve them on all fronts.

If I've learned anything from all my research here and my years of speaking to accountants and business owners, it's that the best way to improve the pillars of your business is by acting proactively to preempt and protect against future problems rather than reacting to issues as they occur. And, just as you hope to be an impactful leader of your organization, you must remember to take yourself into consideration. As the founder of your business, you remain a critical asset.