Caring for someone with a critical illness who is also a business owner is a difficult task.

To help, Business Victoria has developed online resources for small business owners diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and those who are their carers.

Business Victoria says that when a business owner is diagnosed with a critical illness, it’s not just the patient who suffers. The carer has the double anxiety of fearing they might actually lose someone they’re close to, while also trying to stop the patient worrying about their business.

Carers often try to protect their patients by internalising these thoughts. It is critical they get ongoing counselling so they don’t feel they are carrying the full emotional load by themselves.

The resource kit shows how little practical things can make a big difference. For example, a common cause of stress is the phone constantly ringing as people are genuinely concerned about the patient.

A carer can relieve this stress by signing up to a messaging service which can be regularly updated. An ‘out of office’ reply on their email address will also automate written answers to people wanting news.

Preparing yourself for change is crucial, too. It’s common for patients recovering from an illness to have a changed outlook on life simply because they have been so close to death. This is often expressed in a feeling of wanting to do everything they ever wanted to achieve as soon as possible. It’s a normal reaction to a serious illness and carers need to be understanding, especially if the patient wants to make radical changes to their business direction.

Ways to look after the business:

Use the WorkWelfareWills website http://www.chronicillness.org.au/workwelfarewills/index.htm as a guide to wills, power of attorney, superannuation, insurance and Centrelink entitlements. This is a website for patients, families and carers and although designed specifically for Victorian residents, a lot of the information is applicable to people living anywhere in Australia.

The patient will need an accountant or lawyer to clarify their business requirements while they’re in your care. Locate an accountant or lawyer in your area who you feel comfortable with.

Go to the Small Business Mentoring Service website http://www.sbms.org.au/ to investigate working with a mentor who can help you with your roles in the patient’s business and as the patient’s carer.

If the person you are caring for is your spouse or life partner, make sure that both of you have updated your wills, if necessary, to make allowance for this changed relationship.

If you’ve agreed to do some managing as well as caring, organise meetings with people who will be affected by this e.g. business partners, bank managers, and customers or clients.

Ways to care for the business owner and yourself:

Seek out care support services in your state via Carers Australia http://www.carersaustralia.com.au/ or phone them on 1800 242 636 to find out about their range of training programs, downloads and other supports.

Get some ongoing, professional grief counselling. Ask your doctor about a local counsellor or phone service. For situations of extreme stress, anxiety or depression, go to the beyondblue website at http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?

Or ring their Infoline on 1300 22 4636. For urgent crisis counselling, ring Lifeline on 13 11 14.