Running a Business When You’re Battling Depression
Practical ways to manage mental health and still keep your company moving forward.
– 2 min read
Running a business is hard. Running a business while battling depression? That can feel impossible. For women of color entrepreneurs, the weight is doubled — not just because entrepreneurship itself is grueling, but because the systems around us make the climb steeper.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, women are nearly twice as likely as men to experience depression, and for women of color, this risk is compounded by systemic racism, financial inequity, and lack of culturally competent care.
And the economic backdrop is brutal. According to the Women’s Business Collaborative, more than 106,000 Black women lost jobs in April 2025 alone, driving unemployment for Black women up to 6.1%. For many, that paycheck was the safety net funding their business. Hispanic, Asian, and Indigenous women face similar risks — but their numbers are harder to track. Reports from advocacy groups like the National Women’s Law Center emphasize that these groups are often erased in labor data, despite facing unique challenges such as language barriers, immigration status, or discrimination in industries where they are concentrated.
So if you’re trying to build a company while dealing with depression — and while the economy is actively pushing women like you out — your exhaustion isn’t a weakness. It’s the reality of fighting on two fronts.
Practical Strategies for Entrepreneurs Facing Depression
| Challenge | Why It Matters | What You Can Do |
|---|---|---|
| Getting professional help | Depression is medical, not weakness. Left untreated, it worsens business performance and health. | Book a licensed therapist or psychiatrist. Medication like Zoloft or Prozac, paired with therapy, is highly effective. |
| Redefining entrepreneurship | Carrying dead weight (toxic people, overcommitments, draining clients) worsens mental load. | Audit your commitments. Cut what doesn’t serve you. Protect energy as fiercely as profit. |
| Running the business you can | Trying to scale too fast while unwell leads to burnout and collapse. | Focus on what you can consistently manage: fewer clients, smaller launches, steady revenue. |
| Buying back your time | Depression drains focus; busywork eats the little energy you have left. | Outsource to Fiverr/Upwork for admin, design, or marketing tasks. Invest in relief. |
| Creating micro-systems | Depression makes consistency hard; businesses need consistency. | Automate invoices, batch social posts, set reminders so work continues even when you pause. |
| Leaning on community | Isolation worsens depression, especially for women of color carrying cultural pressures to “be strong.” | Join peer groups, therapy circles, or communities like Ovidia where you can admit “I’m not okay.” |
Final Word
Depression doesn’t disqualify you from being an entrepreneur. It makes you human. And while the stats show the deck is stacked against women of color — from job loss to mental health stigma — your story doesn’t end there. You don’t have to do everything. You just have to keep going.
Because surviving while building? That’s still building.
Written by
Khila James is the founder of Ovidia, empowering women of color in business through funding, tools, and community. A seasoned entrepreneur, she blends vision with strategy to help founders turn bold ideas into thriving, lasting ventures.
