Addressing Client Well-being: Techniques for Handling Business Challenges

In today’s fast-paced business environment, entrepreneurs and professionals face not only financial and operational hurdles but also emotional ones. Stress, burnout, and self-doubt often accompany ambitious goals, yet these aspects are rarely addressed in traditional business coaching. Supporting clients holistically—beyond strategy and performance—can make the difference between short-term gains and sustainable success.

Addressing the emotional and mental well-being of clients means recognizing that business challenges are often deeply tied to mindset, resilience, and clarity. Without this foundation, even the best strategies fail to gain traction. One effective way to integrate well-being into business coaching is through techniques that build self-awareness and reduce overwhelm. By helping clients reconnect with themselves, coaches empower them to make better decisions, manage stress, and sustain motivation.

One technique I use consistently is guided reflection at the start of each session. Instead of jumping straight into KPIs or sales targets, I ask clients to pause, identify their current emotional state, and articulate what’s weighing most heavily on their mind. This quick but intentional check-in not only eases pressure but also reveals the underlying factors influencing their performance. For instance, a client might realize that a “sales slump” isn’t about lack of skill, but rather the anxiety of managing a growing team without support.

Research supports this approach. A 2023 Harvard Business Review study found that leaders who practiced reflective pauses and mindfulness-based techniques reported a 30% improvement in stress management and a measurable increase in team engagement. Similarly, Gallup data shows that employees and business owners who feel emotionally supported are more resilient and 23% more productive. These findings highlight the tangible business benefits of focusing on mental well-being.

By prioritizing the emotional and mental well-being of clients, coaches and business leaders can foster not just healthier individuals but stronger businesses. Simple techniques, like guided reflection, can uncover hidden barriers, reduce stress, and improve decision-making. In the long run, addressing both the business and the human side of challenges ensures more sustainable growth and lasting success.

I’ve coached hundreds of high-achieving entrepreneurs, and the biggest breakthrough comes when we stop treating emotional overwhelm as a character flaw and start seeing it as nervous system data.

My signature technique is the “Question Reframe Protocol.” When clients are stuck in anxiety loops, I have them write down the exact question spinning in their head, then we examine whether that question opens them up or shuts them down. Instead of “Why is this happening to me?” we reframe to “What can I learn from this?” Instead of “What if I fail?” we ask “What would success require from me today?”

I had a client who was paralyzed about scaling her business because she kept asking “Can I afford this expansion?” Her body was tight, her sleep was terrible, and she couldn’t think clearly. We reframed it to “How can I fund this expansion?” Within two weeks, she’d identified three funding sources she hadn’t even considered before.

This works because your brain’s reticular activating system (RAS) literally filters reality based on the questions you’re asking it. Change the question, change what your brain notices, change the actions you take. The emotional relief is immediate because your nervous system stops fighting against itself.

It has been demonstrated that when leaders engage in crisis mode, their nervous systems frequently impede the decision-making process. My work involves providing support to clients through a method I have termed “presence-pausing.” This method involves a 90-second reset, which is always and everywhere feasible. During this reset, clients are able to disengage from their current situation or “theater” and engage in deep breathing and the identification of one physical sensation without judgment. This straightforward technique helps break the cycle of overthinking and reestablish a sense of control.

Studies have shown that when the body is included in business conversations, it can quickly restore clarity and resilience. Here is a more concrete example: in the event of a pressure spike, I instruct my clients to pause, release their shoulders, and identify one physical sensation, such as “tightness in my chest.” This simple awareness has been shown to alleviate mental fatigue, reduce cortisol levels, and restore balance to the nervous system.

I always pair it with one forward-focus question: “What is the next best step, not the perfect one?” This method is efficient, practical, and effective in converting panic into clarity.

A lot of clients come in feeling weighed down by thoughts like, “I’m not good enough for this,” or, “I’m just faking it and someone will notice.” From my coaching experience, imposter syndrome and harsh self-talk tend to show up when business gets tough or something doesn’t go as planned. One approach I use is to pause whenever these thoughts come up and actually write them down. We look at each statement together and ask, “Is this a proven fact, or just an opinion I’m repeating to myself?”

For example, if someone failed to land a deal, instead of saying, “I’m a failure,” we reframe it as, “This deal didn’t work out, but that doesn’t define me or my abilities.” Seeing the difference on paper makes those negative thoughts lose some of their power. Over time, my clients start recognizing these patterns and learn to separate facts from emotional noise, which helps them move forward with more self-assurance and less stress.

I help clients by focusing on building their awareness—how they show up emotionally and mentally as the best version of themselves, especially when facing business challenges. It’s not about dwelling on what’s wrong but about recognizing what’s happening inside and choosing how to respond with clarity and strength.

One technique I use is simple reflection paired with shifting perspectives. Leaders take a moment to notice their thoughts and feelings without judgment—just awareness. Then, they consciously decide to frame challenges as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles. This mindset shift helps them stay grounded, make better decisions, and lead with confidence under pressure.

I also emphasize leading by example. When leaders model emotional awareness and thoughtful responses, it sets the tone for the whole team. It shows that it’s okay to be human but important to stay focused and resilient.

Taking care of one’s physical health is part of this, too—because energy and mental clarity go hand in hand. And knowing when to reach out for coaching or support helps leaders maintain this balance long-term.

In short, building self-awareness and choosing how to show up, every day, is key. Leaders who do this lead stronger, inspire their teams, and navigate challenges with purpose and presence.

I’ve found that the best way to support a client’s emotional and mental well-being is to treat every interaction as a human conversation, not just a business discussion. One simple yet powerful technique I use is empathetic check-ins – intentionally creating space to ask how they are doing, listen to stories from their day-to-day, and share my own experiences.

This two-way exchange builds trust, normalizes vulnerability, and reminds them they are not alone in navigating challenges. It also opens the door to ask: ‘What more can we do differently to support you?’ Internally, I extend this approach to my team, encouraging them to recognize unsaid needs and offer support proactively. Empathy in action through listening, relating, and reflecting becomes the bridge that sustains both business outcomes and human well-being.

On the one hand, business owners tend to face very unique struggles when it comes to mental health, fear, stress, and anxiety. Running a business requires taking risks (emotional and financial) that aren’t found on other career paths. Investing in your business and standing out in front of the world proclaiming ‘this is who I am and this is what I have to offer’ takes a lot of courage and inner-work to do successfully and confidently.

On the other hand, at its core, the root of this stress and anxiety is exactly the same as it is for the non-entrepreneurs. At the end of the day, it’s just fear. It’s a resistance to unresolved emotional energy from times in the past when we didn’t feel safe. That’s it.

Here’s the truth: In a lot of ways, what you see as being your ‘business problems’ are actually just emotional problems in disguise. And when you try to fix the external problems while ignoring the internal problems, you’re trying to solve the symptom without dealing with the cause. And that only ever has short-term benefits (at best). The root problem is still there.

So, here’s one way you can start working on the root problem:

The “How Do I Feel?” Check-In Technique:

Throughout your day, pause and ask yourself: “How do I feel right now?” Not emotionally (for now). But physically. Notice and go through this quick checklist: Breathing, posture, heart rate, and muscle tension.

Before a meeting. Before an important sales call. Before chatting with your employees.

AND in moments when you find yourself completely relaxed.

Go through this checklist.

Calm your breathing. Release the tension in your muscles. Relax your posture. And notice your heart rate.

What you’ll notice is that – 99% of the time – you’re holding on to more tension than you’re realizing. And that tension is your body’s way of redirecting uncomfortable emotional energy that you’re trying to avoid feeling.

By relaxing your body, you’ll be forced to feel the real emotions that are underneath this tension.

It will be uncomfortable at first… but once you work through it, purge it, process it and start training your body to recognize that it’s actually safe, a new you will start finding its way to the surface, and you’ll approach every task in your business with more certainty, confidence, passion, and joy.

The way I look at it, people have pains and businesses have problems. A client might show up with burnout, distraction, or a lack of passion. Those are pains. But pains almost always trace back to deeper business problems — things like unclear strategy, broken communication, or misaligned operations across sales, marketing, finance, or even legal.

One technique I use is simple but powerful: I ask clients to reframe every pain as a signal. What problem is this pain pointing to? When we solve the problem — not just the surface pain — multiple pains vanish at once. Energy shifts, focus returns, and leaders feel lighter.

I’ve lived this myself. I built and sold a 3X INC 5000 company, and I now coach growth-stage entrepreneurs through my Return On Energy framework. I know firsthand that solving problems is the fastest way to heal pains, and when leaders stop leaking energy, they not only protect their emotional well-being, they multiply it across their teams.

I support clients’ emotional and mental well-being by helping them work directly with their nervous system. One technique is using neurotools—simple practices that calm the body in real time—so they can step out of stress reactivity and into a state of steadiness. From there, we do the deeper parts work to address the root patterns driving their stress. The goal isn’t to rely forever on quick resets, but to build the capacity to operate from a calm, grounded place as the new normal.

They already know the answer, but often are blocked from seeing or implementing it. And we are often hardest on ourselves, particularly as business leaders – needing to be buttoned up at all times.

In a coaching context, I ask my clients what advice they would give to a close friend or family member they care deeply about who came to them and told them they were having emotional or mental health challenges. They respond easily when asked what advice they would give others: Get rest. Seek out professional help. Balance is critical. It’s a job, not your life. Take a vacation. Realize that perfect is the enemy of good.

And then I ask why they wouldn’t extend the same kindness to themselves. It usually at least opens up their perspective to considering why they haven’t prioritized their own health first.

When working with clients on business challenges, it’s essential to focus on the person behind the business challenge. Many individuals who are leaders in the business world carry the weight of unaddressed patterns, such as people-pleasing, perfectionism, and a fear of failure. When traced back, these patterns often also appear in their personal lives and are attached to other life experiences or wounds.

One technique that I use in therapy and encourage clients to apply to their daily lives is “slowing it down.” It’s essential for individuals to pause and reflect so they can identify the patterns, understand what need the pattern is trying to meet, and how this might be connected to a reaction to a past trauma or difficult experience that still resides within them.

Identifying these links can help create clarity, leading to choices that are more sustainable for themselves, others, and ultimately, their well-being.

Hi there,

I’m Lachlan Brown, a mindfulness practitioner and co-founder of The Considered Man, a platform on men’s mental resilience and mindful living. I also founded Hack Spirit, which has grown into one of the largest mindfulness and relationships blogs online and the author of the book ‘Hidden Secrets of Buddhism’ which explores how mindfulness can help us live more fulfilling lives.

My work focuses on helping people apply mindfulness not just to personal life, but also to the very real challenges of leadership, entrepreneurship, and decision-making.

Here are my insights for Grit Daily:

When it comes to supporting clients’ emotional and mental well-being in business contexts, I focus on helping them create psychological space between the stressor and their response. Business challenges often trigger reactivity — defensiveness in a negotiation, panic when cash flow dips, or frustration with a team. My role is to help them build a “pause button” so they act from clarity rather than urgency.

One technique I use daily myself and teach to clients is what I call the 60-second reset ritual. In practice it looks like this: when you notice tension rising (e.g., before replying to an email, before walking into a meeting), you pause for sixty seconds, feel your feet on the ground, and exhale longer than you inhale. On the exhale, name the situation in seven words or fewer: “Pitch delayed, still salvageable, options open.”

This combines nervous system down-regulation with cognitive reframing. The result is that you shrink overwhelm into something you can handle and you re-enter the task with focus rather than fight-or-flight energy.

As a founder, I’ve relied on this reset countless times when facing challenges like scaling content operations or negotiating partnerships. And I’ve seen clients adopt it to turn high-stakes moments into opportunities for presence and poise.

Thanks for considering my pitch!

Cheers,

Lachlan Brown

Co-founder, https://theconsideredman.org/

A practical way I support the emotional and mental well-being of clients facing business challenges is through cognitive reframing. Stress can quickly push individuals into reactive thinking, where anxiety overshadows judgment and limits problem-solving.

In my experience, stress is often the first barrier that appears when clients face a difficult situation. It narrows focus and makes obstacles feel larger than they are. Guided reframing helps break this cycle. Examining thought patterns tied to challenges such as financial setbacks, growth uncertainty, or conflicts within a team helps clients recognize how much of their response is shaped by fear or self-doubt rather than facts.

For example, I’ve worked with business owners who interpret a drop in revenue as proof of failure or personal inadequacy. Through reframing, the automatic meaning attached to the situation is questioned. Instead of reinforcing the belief that the business is collapsing, the narrative shifts toward a more balanced interpretation, such as recognizing market trends or identifying areas for strategic improvement. This change in perspective reduces emotional distress and opens the door to practical solutions.

The real power of reframing is how it reshapes the client’s relationship to challenges. What once felt overwhelming becomes manageable. Clients learn to separate emotion from fact and view situations with greater clarity. Over time, this practice strengthens resilience. Each time they use reframing, it becomes easier to interrupt cycles of stress and approach new obstacles with perspective instead of panic. Clients will build the capacity to pause, question assumptions, and respond in ways aligned with their long-term goals. In business, that clarity often translates into more thoughtful leadership, stronger communication with teams, and decisions guided by composure rather than pressure.

For me, cognitive reframing is more than a stress management tool. It’s a skill to use for reshaping how clients see themselves in relation to their challenges. When they consistently question unhelpful beliefs and replace them with balanced interpretations, they cultivate confidence and balance. This combination makes it possible not only to withstand difficulties but also to grow through them with a stronger sense of control and purpose.

Hello, my name is Amanda Ferrara, LMFT. I am a Program Therapist at Ocean Recovery in California. We would like to contribute to your article! Here are the links to our website, staff page and my LinkedIn.

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Here are our answers and responses to your query:

A helpful technique is guided reframing. Guided reframing helps clients shift their feelings and interpretations regarding stressful business challenges. This technique interrupts negative self-talk and teaches the brain to look at the same situation from a different, more empowering angle. For example, rather than seeing situations as harsh failures, clients begin to re-evaluate challenges as temporary, solvable, and instructive, which reduces stress and builds confidence. This practice also builds resilience, where setbacks no longer feel like failures, but are viewed as a natural learning and growth process. This shift in perspective can transform how clients view businesses, relationships and their overall emotional well-being. Generally, when a client feels overwhelmed by something at work, like a failed launch or a tough negotiation, I ask them to identify the story they’re telling themselves, mostly sounding like “I’m not cut out for this” or “This setback defines me”. Then, together we reframe the concern into a personal growth perspective and address feedback, lessons learned, and future strategies to try next. This technique reduces shame, lowers stress, and fosters resilience, allowing clients to approach problems with clearer thinking and renewed confidence without a defeatist attitude. This both supports emotional stability and decision-making in their business.

Business challenges affect both performance and peace of mind. I focus on supporting my clients’ mental well-being as much as their strategy. One question I always ask is, “How are things at home?” Personal life and business execution are deeply connected. Spouses, children, and aging parents all influence energy and focus. By taking these realities into account, clients can create business plans that are both realistic and resilient. Understanding the full scope of their constraints helps them prepare for unexpected challenges with greater clarity.