Podcast Recap 🎙️: Running a Business with Chronic illness | Christina Lucille.

In our most recent podcast we were joined by Chronic Pop Shop owner, Christina Lucille, for a unfiltered account of what it’s like to run a business when you are chronically ill. She talks about the realities of profit margins, fatigue, and social media algorithms. Christina spoke about the inspiration behind her business, how she originally created the open top to-do lists as a tool for herself, and then realised she could help others by selling them.

Christina lives with endometriosis, MS and ADHD. As she points out chronic illnesses don’t always come solo, they often like to bring their besties along too. She manages the intricacies of her conditions on a daily basis, whilst running her business. Impressively, she markets, she creates, she packs and manages orders. She is always open about the toll this can take on you, and how important it is to research the realities of running a business before diving in.

[Image description: The image has a light beige background with a pink and black design. On the left is a pink packing box with "Ready to Ship" written on the front in white. To the right, bold black text reads: “Running a Business with Chronic Illness" and below it in pink: “Christina Lucille". Underneath is a pink play button and a soundwave graphic representing audio playback. At the bottom, there’s a circular logo showing a sky and tree image with the words “Alive with Chronic Illness” around the edge.]

Whilst there are a lot of upsides to running your own business, and for some it is the only accessible work option. Christina openly shared the challenges of managing social media, the pressure of posting daily and how this can and has lead to burnout. When you live with unpredictable conditions, it can be hard to stick to your marketing plan, and although some social media always you to schedule in advance, batch creating content is energy and time consuming.

🍃 Our key takeaways:

• Be bold, and don’t be afraid to take risks. Whilst it’s always important to take cautious risks, Christina shared the realities of running a business, and the confidence it takes to invest both finances and time in your products. There is always a risk in business things won’t work out, but you will never know if you don’t take the chance.

  
  

• Don’t be swayed by other people’s journeys or business plans, stick to your own timeline and plan. Have courage in your ideas and focus on what you want to achieve, at your own pace.

  
  

• Research the realities of running a business before you get started. Look at how much time each element might take, consider any skills you need to improve or develop before starting. Explore any support available for disabled business owners, for example Access to Work in the UK, or Social Firms Wales in Wales.

Christina’s business is fueled by her passion for accessibility and advocacy. If you run or are thinking of running a business, what is the passion that fuels you?

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Please note this newsletter is shared for general information purposes only, and is not medical advice.