Passion. Tenacity. Self-motivating. These are just some of the personality traits successful entrepreneurs detail as indispensable along their journeys – and as journeys go, this can be an exhausting one.

The expectation of failing

As an entrepreneur, the responsibility of success or failure lands squarely on your shoulders, and the unpleasant reality is that those odds are against you: According to Forbes magazine, the majority of startup businesses fail, particularly if common pitfalls are ignored.

For the self-motivated and driven entrepreneurial personality, that reality check can provide the necessary impetus for relentless toil in the pursuit of success. That dogged determination, however, coupled with the anxieties that typically accompany risk, can ironically lead to your undoing.

Practice kindness – to yourself

An advantage in your plus column – and one that likely weighed heavily in your decision to “go it alone” – is flexibility. Put that flexibility to work for you by heeding your physical and mental health.

Being kind to yourself is crucial to combating the apprehension that frequently accompanies entrepreneurship. This doesn’t entail largesse acts like treating yourself to expensive gourmet dinners or vacations; rather, it’s the small measures you take, like getting a massage, giving yourself permission to take a break outdoors, or 15 minutes of meditation, that can effectively beat back the anxiety demons.

Consider any level of physical activity as an important asset to your business efforts. Not only does it help stave off depression and anxiety, but mental health experts tell us it can improve your memory and your focus, which are important business competencies.

Beneficial business angles

One bit of advice from experts is that entrepreneurs need to approach their venture with an open mind, whether it’s about your initial idea, or the strategies you developed to execute on that idea.

In that vein, consider the intrinsic rewards you felt were missing from your career – those reasons you had for seeking out self-employment. The work we choose should reflect our ethics; steering your business model toward something that has a meaningful impact on society may not just be rewarding to you personally, it may also be appealing to investors.

Another business adjustment to consider is your business structure. While a sole proprietorship seems easy, putting you personally in charge and responsible for your business, keep in mind that if you don’t beat the odds, and your business fails, you are personally liable for the debts your business incurred – a worry that fights against self-care.

Instead, consider the Limited Liability Company, or LLC, structure. It offers you many of the protections of a C corporation but typically with lower taxes and less cost to create and maintain. In fact, you can easily find a service that helps you handle the filing yourself.

Finally, entrepreneurs just starting out often can’t limit their duties to just those of a CEO; rather, they work as the janitor, typist, delivery person and tech support. All this juggling can leave you feeling as though you’ve accomplished little by day’s end, fueling your anxiety and sapping your energy and passion. Before this happens, devote some of your resources to a freelance service or individual that can remove some of those duties – and worries – from your daily life.

Self-care allows you to embrace the journey

Footwear designer Christian Louboutin is credited with this quote: “If you do what you love, it is the best way to relax.”

Of course, entrepreneurs know that this is not as easy as a soundbite suggests. However, if you add “self-indulgence” to that list of personality traits so commonly touted as vital to the successful entrepreneur, and apply it to being attentive to your mental and physical health, you’ll find this journey less emotionally taxing, and that your self-care efforts can facilitate your business success.

When you need more than a few minutes to yourself, consider booking a day at DESUAR Spa in Los Angeles. Here, you can relax through massage, body treatments, a facial or a bath soak. In the meantime, bookmark the Deisy Suarez blog for insight into beauty and wellness.