After a difficult experience with a staff dealing with a mental health crisis, she decided to learn & study psychology. Now a mental health educator, helping hospitality leaders on how to create a mentally healthy workplace. (Bianca Welsh)

Grow A Small Business Podcast

In this episode, I interview Bianca Welsh, the Co-owner of Stillwater Restaurant, and Founder of From Experience, a mental health service based in Launceston, Tasmania. Bianca Welsh is a Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor who aims to equip business owners with the tools they need to help identify mental illness in the workplace, understand it from a psychological perspective, and guide how to offer the right support.

At just 21, she has over a decade’s experience in professional building and development. She spent 7 years studying part-time and graduated with a Bachelor of Behavioral Science in 2018. There she found it helpful in building a restaurant culture that strives for mental illness. Now she is heavily involved in her community as a mental health advocate.

Bianca has a piece of advice for those starting a small business. She says, “Prioritize yourself and your relationships. Don't make it about making money. Make genuine connections and the business may work on those relationships.”

This Cast Covers:

• Helping hospitality workers identify mental health warning signs.
• Emphasizing the impact of changes in the environment that contribute to anxiety and mental illness.
• Due to fear of losing workers from her workplace, initiated a project to help aid mental health challenges.
• Passionate and driven restaurateur and mental health advocate who is heavily involved in her community.
• Spent years studying psychology and found it helpful in building a restaurant culture that strives for mental health.
• The importance of every small business owner to take mental health a real thing and must be count significant to make the workplace safer and more efficient.
• Stating the rapid growth of suicide rate and severe depression each year.
• How mental health professionals can help those mentally challenged individuals through designed interventions for character improvement and efficiency.
• How powerful mental health in the workplace can be for business.
• The ultimate goal of improving mental health is to make people better and happier in life despite facing challenges.

Additional Resources:

• Stillwater
• From Experience
• The Resilience Project By Hugh van Cuylenburg
• The Body Keeps the Score By Bessel van der Kolk M.D
• Lost Connections By Johann Hari
• The Happiness Trap By Russ Harris

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Quotes:

“It can be toxic when mental health is not recognized as being a real issue.” —Bianca Welsh

“By implementing a mentally healthy workplace truly an attribute to success.” —Bianca Welsh

“Support system is very needed to help you get through.” —Bianca Welsh

“Leaders should know when their cup is full and know what their support networks are.” —Bianca Welsh

“Once you educate yourself, you can empathize rather than sympathize.” —Bianca Welsh

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Music from https://filmmusic.io “Cold Funk” by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com. License: CC by http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0