Neil and Therese Playford had a thriving travel business with four agencies and more than 30 staff before COVID-19 hit.
The Caloundra business has shut two stores in the past year, cutting back its workforce to just 11 travel agents as it tries to stay afloat.
Mr Playford said it had been an extremely difficult time for him and his wife Therese, who started the business 15 years ago.
"We have long-term commitments on leases and shop fit-out repayments, and things like that, that don't go away."
The couple took part in a University of the Sunshine Coast study on the mental health impacts of the pandemic on business owners and operators.
Mr Playford said he was "completely honest" when he answered the questions about the mental health burden and financial impacts.
"The whole purpose of it was to find out how bad things are for business owners," he said.
'Impending mental health crisis'
The survey found one-third of business owners and operators on the southern end of the Sunshine Coast frequently felt depressed, down, or hopeless.
Caloundra Chamber of Commerce CEO Brady Sullivan said the group initiated the research with USC's School of Business and Creative Industries after hearing anecdotal information that business owners were struggling.
"COVID-19 has caused businesses to have vulnerability around their financial risk and this financial risk is causing them to have mental wellbeing concerns," Mr Sullivan said.
The research team surveyed 120 businesses and found 30 per cent had little interest or pleasure in doing things several days each week.
Forty-four per cent felt their business was financially vulnerable as a result of the pandemic.
"We think it's a sign of an impending mental health crisis off the back of the COVID pandemic," Mr Sullivan said.
Some businesses thriving
The research found the hardest hit sectors were retail, tourism, and hospitality.
Mr Sullivan said more than 30 per cent of businesses in those industries had laid off staff in the past 12 months, compared to 17 per cent of other businesses.
"A lot of those other business sectors are having record sales and doing extremely well," he said.
"Sixty-eight per cent of businesses think that businesses are performing financially well."
USC's Rory Mulcahy said the survey was aimed at better understanding COVID's impacts on local businesses and the mental health of owners.
Dr Mulcahy believed the survey results were likely to be an indication of a wider problem across the state.
"Even with this sample size we are seeing significant impacts on business health and wellbeing," he said.
Keeping check of mental health
Mr Playford said he and his wife had made a conscious effort to take time away from the business to support their mental health.
"[We would] try to make sure we spend time outside of work and … try not to affect family life and our kids," he said.
"But that's incredibly difficult to not take your work home, especially when it's your own business.
"We are glued to the news at 10 o'clock every morning waiting to find out if we're going to have to cancel more people's holidays. You can't book anything with any degree of certainty at the moment."
The Caloundra Chamber of Commerce said it wanted to use the data to create better outcomes for business owners.
Mr Sullivan said businesses could expected an announcement this week on a plan going forward.
"Not only their security around running a business and their financial wellbeing, but help them with their mental wellbeing as well."
