Can You Run A Successful Business With a Chronic Illness? Here’s What I Learned One Year Into My Business (As Someone With Endometriosis)
I’m a ghostwriter and editor writing content for businesses. I run my own business. And I have a chronic illness.
This past month (May 2022 for those of you reading this in the future), I struggled with a bout of symptoms one after another. As someone with endometriosis, sometimes I get flare-ups of pain and nausea. On top of that, I’m spluttering with a cold as I write this.
But this little hiccup in my routine got me thinking about the different challenges people with chronic illnesses face. Having a chronic illness is debilitating. When I was diagnosed with endometriosis in January 2021, it was the end of a long and painful struggle to deal with my chronic pelvic pain. I had the answers I sought, but the cost was my career.
You see, by the time I was diagnosed, I’d fallen out of love with my fledgling teaching career and my traumatic experience ruined it for me. I wanted a clean break and to pursue something different. I wanted to start a writing business.
So that’s what I did. It wasn’t easy — there was a lot of trial and error, mistakes, tears, and sweat. Being a successful freelancer or business owner doesn’t magically happen overnight. It’s not a quick-rich scheme (sorry to burst that particular bubble).
But I want to share five things I learned from my first year in business. Importantly, it is possible to run a business while dealing with a chronic illness. It’s actually incredibly liberating.
5 Lessons I Learned From My First Year in Business (as Someone With a Chronic Illness)
1. You are your own boss
You’ve probably heard this repeatedly, the whole “be your own boss” spiel. But when you start a business, you must understand that it is the truth, and this is especially important for people with chronic illnesses.
You are your own boss. You make the rules. You set your boundaries. You decide when you want to work and when you want to rest.
Once you understand this, your mindset changes. When I finally understood that I am a business owner, it changed my whole mindset on how I work. I stopped working ad-hoc and started scheduling my hours. I take off days when I am due to have a bleed, and I ensure I don’t overwork myself.
So yes, you are your own boss. Own it.
2. Take your time
Managing anything while dealing with a chronic illness is taxing. Being chronically ill can make you tired, irritable, and slow to process things. In that sense, sometimes we need a little more time to get things done.
There’s no rush in business. Take your time, plan carefully, and take the necessary steps towards progress when you are ready.
However, don’t put off your progress. You need to put in the work to get the results you want. This leads nicely to my next point.
3. Don’t punish yourself
This is so easy to do when you have a chronic illness. I get it, I do. I still find that I punish myself for not completing a task on a day when I don’t feel right. But what is the point of forcing yourself to work on something if you aren’t focused?
A mistake I made early on was forcing myself to work on a task even though I felt truly awful. The result? A complete mess. I took one look at what I wrote a few days later and decided to start from scratch. I wasted time by punishing myself and making myself continue to work.
So, if you’re having a bad day and you don’t feel up to it, don’t punish yourself for those feelings. Accept them, take a raincheck, and come back to work another day.
4. You and your business work together
Once you’ve been in business for a little while, even if it’s just freelancing, you start to find that your business starts to take on an independent persona. What I mean is that you start to see the business as separate from yourself.
This is important — as a result, you begin to separate your finances from your business ones, and your personal time from your business. This is the case for anyone in business, but it’s not always possible for people with chronic illnesses.
Why?
Because you are inevitably going to have flare-ups. This is why I integrated my chronic illness into my business plan and model. I decided instead of fighting to keep my illness separate, I’d much rather work with the business and find ways around it. I chose to be open and honest about my condition with leads and clients.
You might find that working with your business rather than seeing it as a separate entity from yourself helps you overcome certain challenges that your chronic illness presents. The choice is up to you, however. Regardless of what you do, you and your business can work together.
5. Don’t give up
There have been times over the last year when I thought about giving up and trying something else because I am just so tired. But, honestly, this is my dream and I didn’t want to let go of it. I knew if I gave in to those feelings and stopped what I was doing I would never forgive myself.
The important thing to realise is that you are stronger than you believe yourself to be. Chronic illnesses like endometriosis harm our mental health, leading to depression and anxiety among other mental health difficulties. It’s hard to look past those negative thoughts and hang onto good ones.
But an important lesson I learned over the past year is to never give up. It is possible to achieve your dreams, even with a debilitating chronic illness. And now here I am a year later with a writing business that is steadily growing and going from strength to strength.
Lessons Learned
When I started working on my business about a year ago, I had no idea the amount of progress I would make in that time. More importantly, I had no idea how on earth I was going to manage running a full-time business while coping with a chronic illness.
But as time has gone on, I’ve found that the business is the reason I can cope with my endometriosis. I learned five important lessons that I wanted to share with you:
- You are your own boss
- Sometimes you need to take your time
- Do not punish yourself because of a lapse
- You and your business work together
- Never give up
The important thing to remember is that it is possible to run a business while having a chronic illness. Every success story is different, and I hope this gives you the positive boost you need to pursue your dreams.
P.S: Maybe I’ll do another post like this one in another year’s time, and see what other lessons I’ve learned along the way.
