Saint John Entrepreneurs Can Discuss Mental Health Issues At Peer Support Night
SAINT JOHN — Two Saint John entrepreneurs are starting a monthly event that they hope will help members of the local businesses community get support from their peers.
Johanna Killen and Corey Dugas, co-founders of Momentum Canada, are starting an Entrepreneur Peer Support Night. The first event takes place on Wednesday at The Wheelhouse in uptown Saint John.
Killen says the idea to start the event came from a couple of events she and Dugas took part in over the last year regarding mental health, including a panel on the topic at Startupfest in Montreal and a one-time event at the Wheelhouse regarding self-care for entrepreneurs.
“It had a really good turn-out and we had a great discussion and we were like, ‘We need to do this more. What could we possibly do in our community to address this as business owners?’ ” says Killen.
“In our years in business, this topic seems to come up all the time with entrepreneurs,” add Dugas.
The free event is open to any entrepreneur and business owner, at any phase of their businesses, whether they are in the earliest stages of starting out, or have been in business for years.
“Just come and be open as you want to be and hopefully we can find some way to support each other as we continue to have these discussions,” says Killen.
There will be some comfort food provided by Sankara Cuisine. Killen and Dugas don’t claim to be experts but hope that by them and others sharing their experiences, everyone can learn from each other.
“We excited to facilitate that discussion and really open up some lines of communication to people that may not even know each other, which will be really cool as well to build this community from this perspective and through this lense of vulnerability, honesty, and support,” says Killen.
Though you don’t need to be an entrepreneur to face real challenges with your mental health, there are struggles that they perhaps face a bit more than others.
“There’s a huge pressure just because of the way that you see entrepreneurship represented in media and society as a whole,” says Killen. “There’s this pressure to be a success, whether you feel like you’re succeeding or not. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors – a lot of denying the hard truth of where they may lack in certain ways.”
It can also be particularly challenging for entrepreneurs just starting out.
“There’s a lot of pressure, there’s a lot of imposter syndrome, and it’s something with our clients as they’re growing their businesses especially because they want to make everything seem like it’s perfect and shiny and great, when there are some real things that could be addressed that could make you [a] success if you just went to the core of who you are and how you deal with things,” says Killen.
“It’s isolating, so we’re trying to make sure everyone knows that they’re not alone in feeling like that.”
The first Entrepreneur Peer Support night takes place Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Wheelhouse. Those wanting to attend can RSVP through The Wheelhouse.