Tips for Running a Small Business: Chronic Illness Edition

When you live with chronic illness it can be hard to balance health management, energy and a job. Many disabled people find working for themselves a more flexible option that allows them to go at their pace, and design systems that work for their body. However it is not without it’s challenges, it’s likely, at least in the beginning, as a small business owner you will have to take on a diverse range of roles. From marketing, to packing and customer service, depending on the nature of your business. Yet there are many ways to make running a business more accessible, a few of which will be covered here. Feel free to drop your tips below!

🍃 Getting started:

• When launching your business consider your interests, energy levels, demand for products or services and your budget. It’s important you focus on building something that will be sustainable in the long term.

• Support is also vital, there are many communities for chronically ill entrepreneurs. Take some time to explore communities online and in-person, building relationships with others in a similar position helps to reduce isolation and you can learn from each other too.

• Check out any financial assistance such as grants to help make work accessible (e.g. Access to Work in the UK).

🍃 Building a sustainable business:

• Focus on energy levels, and not just hours in a week. Think carefully about what you can manage, consider a schedule for better days as well as ones for when you are flaring. I aim to schedule half of what I feel capable of on a good day, this gives me flexibility and allows me to get ahead when I have more energy.

• Don’t forget to ensure you have enough energy for down time too. It is important to look after your mental health, and remember that rest is essential, not something you need to earn.

• Consider setting up an automated response for incoming queries, setting out your response times. This can help others know when to expect a response and what to do if their query is urgent.

🍃 Systematise and automate:

• Think about the tasks you do often, can you schedule these in your calendar in intervals? For example I have a fortnightly task to draft and then edit this newsletter, this repeats each week automatically appearing in my calendar. This helps reduce the cognitive load of remembering, and means I always have time carved out for writing.

• Use a scheduler to set up your social media posts in advance, rather than having to remember to post each day.

• Set up email templates to allow you to quickly draft responses, and consider adding a FAQ to your website of the most commonly asked questions.

These are just a few tips that can help making running a business a smoother more sustainable experience. As always what works for one won’t work for all, so feel free to adapt and change these as needed, and let us know what works for you and what doesn’t in the comments!

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