Growing a business isn’t easy. Neither is managing chronic conditions. But they can be done together. You just have to keep your Business Designed Around Your Chronic Conditions so you’re in alignment instead of working against your health.
Systems, automations, and templates will help you get more done with less time and energy output in the long run…which makes running a business despite chronic conditions so much more possible.
But there’s a little bit of foundation set up that goes with systems, automations and templates. These 8 Steps will help you do it!
1. START WITH END SUSTAINABILITY IN MIND
Where are you headed? If your business was completely set up today, what model would it look like?
I don’t mean what niche, products, ideal audience, blah blah blah.
I mean business model. Really brainstorm some processes. Here are a few questions to ask yourself…feel free to keep goin, it’s not an exhaustive list by any means:
– Can your health sustain 1:1 coaching or is group coaching a better solution?
– Can your health sustain handmade products or is ecommerce a better solution?
– Can your health sustain a store/office front or is online a better solution?
– Can your health sustain public speaking engagements and traveling or is YouTube/Podcast speaking opportunities a better solution?
As you ask yourself all of the questions seeking this area out, also take into consideration your health journey. Obviously, our health can be unpredictable, especially with chronic conditions, but keep in mind the direction your health is going AND your health goals to make sure your business stays in alignment with your health instead of working against your health. There’s no sense in building a business that’s just as contrary to your health as the 8-5 life.
2. KNOW YOUR’S AND YOUR CHRONIC CONDITION’S LINES
Boy howdy, I can’t stress this one enough! You gotta know where your lines in the sand are…but you also gotta know your condition’s lines in the sand too!
Let me explain.
To find Your People and maybe even your niche/topic, you need to ask yourself a few questions. You need to know your own opinions and point of views, and I’m not talking about the “I love coffee” opinion. I’m talking about the things we would stand up and lecture someone over, hunt for resources to help another/or teach them (maybe even prove them wrong), the things we would draw a line in the sand and dare someone to step across because we’re not backing down…okay maybe that one was a little dramatic but maybe not!
I’m talking about the things that piss you off and break your heart…(thanks to Mike Kim’s “You Are the Brand” book for that specific, to the point, terminology that I couldn’t agree more with lol)
This process is where I found my voice. Through watching/facing injustice, drawing my line in the sand, and throwing my sucker in the dirt! I just didn’t whine about it, I’m DOING something about it, so should you!
BUT you also need to know the lines your health draws in the sand too.
For instance, I’m a deep vein thrombosis (DVT a.k.a. blood clot) survivor. I literally cannot sit for longer than an hour at a time without my legs elevated. I also cannot stand for longer than an hour at a time due to the extensive vascular damage in my legs. That’s a line my health has drawn in the sand and definitely throws its sucker in the dirt when I don’t listen lol.
On a professional level here are my examples:
What pisses you off?
ex: just because traditional workplaces don’t fit our health needs doesn’t mean we’re incapable of doing great things, earning an income, and making an impact.
What breaks your heart?
ex: watching some of the chronically ill community believe the lies that society tries to conform us to and feeling lost, not valuable, or hopeless when ‘normal’ doesn’t work for us.
3. FIND YOUR VOICE OUTSIDE OF CHRONIC CONDITIONS
We kind of started this one on Step 2 but this is where we really see the usefulness and application of the fire ignited in the previous step!
This is where your opinions come in. (and I have to give credit to Dana Malstaff of Boss Mom LLC to how simplistic she lays this out to include Industry, Life, and Tools)
Your opinions and points of view on your industry, on life, and on tools/tactics in both of those areas will help you see how you can stand out in even saturated markets. The best part is it shows you the psychographics of the ideal audience you will naturally attract and embrace…
Quick Tip: You’re going to be a magnet. Let me explain though. You will attract people who think like you and agree with your position or stance on matters. They’ll agree with you on Step 2 and Step 3. They’ll rally behind you, become your biggest fans, and invest in themselves by investing in you. This is the how to “be you” or “be authentic” in marketing that people don’t talk about enough. You will also repel people who do not think the same way, who disagree with you, and don’t like your personality. That’s ok too. You’re not here to please everyone, you’re here to serve the ones who’s light you energize and their light energizes you.
Here are my personal examples for you:
LIFE – ex: balance doesn’t actually exist but we can create a business and life that is well-blended, while protecting our health.
INDUSTRY – ex: we can make a difference as chronically ill business owners in the marketplace by changing the way business is done.
TOOLS – ex: tools and tactics should provide a good R.O.E. (Return on Energy) in addition to R.O.I.
4. MAXIMUM IMPACT & MINIMUM ENERGY EXPENSE GROWTH TRACK DESIGN
Short and sweet for this one.
Simply put, don’t put yourself everywhere, doing all the things, and burning yourself out.
“But how do I know how to do this or what’s right Caitlin?”
This is the first ‘tactical’ step in designing your business around chronic illness. If you are thorough with this step, that is where the ‘ease’ comes in! SO take your time, revisit this step throughout your business journey, go deep in your questions.
Let me show you…
Ask yourself these following questions when evaluating your heading:
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will this task just keep me busy or will it progress my business plan forward?
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will this platform, experience, etc. develop a skill I need to further my business or will it give exposure of my business in the right rooms?
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is this a repeating task?
– If yes, write down the exact steps you do so it can be referred to next time (saves you time and energy relearning or remembering how to do things you don’t do daily).
– If no, ask yourself if it’s necessary at this point to progress your business further, can it be delegated, or can it wait?
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Can this process be simplified or minimalized and still produce the desired results?
- will this particular thing matter or contribute to my business’s or personal growth in 6 months from now? in 1 year from now? in 5 years from now?
5. SYSTEMS TO SAVE YOU ENERGY & PREP FOR A TEAM
If ya’ll don’t know by now….I’m kind of a systems junkie. And I’m more than excited to create the same addiction in each of you lol
Guess what….
– When I ended up in the hospital last, the bills stayed paid and didn’t add stress to my husband’s shoulders.
– When I took time to rest and recoup after a massive event, my backend business needs were still being tended to.
– BUT – When I didn’t get my social media system finalized prior to an abrupt recouping week after massive migraines and complications….I had no presence on social media.
It stopped.
Why?
Beacuse I didn’t have my system in place so when I was removed from that area focus, so was my business’s progress.
I’m an advocate for doing things in a system. At the time of writing this blog post, I’m a solopreneur BUT I DO have SOPs in place and systems/programs set up and more in the works that help me run my business and grow my business(s).
Brain fog is legit one of my hardest rollercoasters of symptoms with daily changes.
There are days I will not drive because efficient comprehension of colors (like traffic lights) are just not present…there’s no way I would remember how to fix a security problem on my website, plan my social media content, or just log into Bluehost for goodness sake. On days like those,it pays off to have everything in SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) that I can follow without thinking about it.
The plus to this is that AS SOON as my business is in a place to add a team member, I won’t waste time training them on all the things I do or coming to me for every little things (where is something located, how do you want this laid out, etc.), instead I’ll be able to plug them into the system and spend time answering specific questions, approving things, and vision building vs. energy spent on teaching them all the little things I do that “no one else can do” because no one knows how or where to go.
6. PRODUCTS VS. SERVICES EVALUATION
– OKAY – here we go. Here’s where we start looking at the biz itself side of things.
Go back to Step 1 and let’s make sure what you choose to do here aligns with your End Sustainability Goal.
Take note of the answers to those questions…it should already give you an idea of your heading and “water testing”.
Understand that ‘products’ and ‘services’ have many different shapes and sizes to the tangible item iteslf. You’re not married to your decision and can make adjustments and changes along the way. Here are the formats or things to keep in mind when comparing the actual tangible items:
PRODUCTS:
- physical vs. digital
- handmade vs. outsourced
- low price with high sales volume needed vs. higher price with lower sales volume needed
- for businesses vs for consumers
- yours vs someone else’s
- subscription vs one off sales
SERVICES:
- 1:1 vs group
- phsyical delivery vs. digital delivery
- for businesses vs for consumers
- subscription vs one off sales
- done for you vs teaching diy
- coaching vs consulting
- ongoing vs program/timeframe
7. PICK THE RIGHT AUTHORITY & SECONDARY PLATFORMS
Do NOT try to be everywhere at once. The people we tend to look to for inspiration and as the ‘end’ goal we have for our businesses tend to have teams in place by the time we are aware of them and their success.
That’s why they intrigue us and we desire to follow their lead to create a similar result instead of trying to recreate the wheel.
BUT BE CAREFUL! If you don’t have a team, you can’t do the things they’re doing and you shouldn’t expect yourself to either!
As a solopreneur, you’re juggling growing a business, administrative work, executing for clients/customers, marketing, bookkeeping (mabe even taxes), public relations, planning future products/services/events/etc., scheduling, correspondence, cleaning the office, running errands, like literally all the things (on top of chronic conditions). No wonder you’re tired lol
SO, pick a platform to build your authority that fits your energy and personality style. Then, pick a secondary platform you can use the content from the authority platform to create relationship presence…IF you have enough energy, time, and ability.
AUTHORITY PLATFORMS:
- Blog
- YouTube
- Podcast
SECONDARY PLATFORMS:
- TikTok (maybe, I don’t know much about this one)
While picking out your platforms, remember that the Secondary should be supportive of the Primary but not cause more energy to be expelled but instead facilitate relationships. (it’ll help build authority as well but your focus is relationships and awareness which means the people who identify with your Steps 2 & 3 + are in your Step 6 need to be on this secondary platform or you’re wasting your time and energy)
How you work this is by creating meaty content for the Primary/Authority Platform and then breaking out pieces to share in the secondary platform.
For instance, I can take this blog post and turn it into quick tip carousels, a couple of different Reels, polls in my stories, and so much more…all while linking back to this blog post. Driving traffic to my own website.
Which is what I do because it’s easy lol.
I’m naturally a public speaker, I draw energy from a crowd, literally did it today. But online it’s another ball game. YouTube would not fit me currently in my business because it would simply drain my energy and I still ‘feel’ like I have to show up a certain way even though it’s totally just an insecurity on my part that I’m overcoming lol. What if I don’t feel like putting on makeup for ‘recording day’ lol.
And a podcast, well I just don’t know enough yet about how to start or run one nor do I have the services or tech to do it. PLUS, again, there’s no one to help me pull energy from to bring to the podcast what listeners would need. I do best off of interactive communication or at least ‘working the crowd’.
BUT I can type out full thoughts despite the movie playing in the background or on days I don’t feel like putting on makeup or bringing energy to the front of a room, so I chose a blog.
These 3 platforms are also evergreen. The more traffic I drive to my website, the more authority Google credits to it and my posts slowly rank higher and higher in the search results evermore, not just the day they’re posted.
Whereas with the secondaries, there are algorithms so unless someone goes directly to your feed and digs deeper intentionally, you may not show up in front of people if you take time off the platform or whatever.
I REALLY suggest focusing on establishing your Primary/Authority platform well first before getting carried away on a secondary ‘shiny object’ platform like I did. If I had finished loading my blog with the 75-100 pieces of content I had outlined prior to establishing Instagram presence (reserve the handle but wait to focus on it) I would have had a small income coming from my Authority platform quicker just from sheer traffic volume and then I would’ve felt like I could have a more relaxed posting schedule than I currently do…which has me doing more all at once than I would like…or ever suggest…but I have a goal I’m determined to hit by the end of this year lol.
oh, one more thing. PLAN AHEAD AND SCHEDULE EVERYTHING YOU CAN!!
I plan Instagram 4 weeks at a time, I have posts for the blog planned out for the next 4 months at least, and I will pre-write blog posts and schedule the posting in WordPress, and the Pinterest Pins for the blog post in Tailwind. Instagram I usually schedule in Business Suite but lately I’ve been housing everything in Trello and just copy and pasting when my phone alarm goes off. (I’m trying to get better about developing the engagement habit because I’m an introvert…I don’t like initiating lol)
8. EDUCATE YOURSELF ON SPECIFICS VS. BROAD EDUCATION PLANS
I’m gonna get a lot of flack on this one but it’s an opinion I have in this industry that I will draw a line in the sand over lol.
Nothing against college…but…there’s a time and place for it. I personally believe getting a general 2 year degree for the sake of having a 2 year degree is one of the biggest lies our generation has been sold. And we buy it and resale it every day.
But I degress.
Take the time and energy to learn specific areas or needs in your business. Take specific courses, classes, and such from professionals specializing in what you need to learn.
For example, I’ve taken courses from graphic designers, copywriters, marketing managers, web designers, content creators, professional analysts, and a few others for my husband’s business. All of which have helped us exponentially in business and in life. I’ve used those skills to build our businesses and serve our community very well…all without finishing a college degree.
So there you have it! I hope these 8 steps help you Design Your Business Around Chronic Conditions with Ease.
Save this post to return to later on your Pinterest and send me a DM on Instagram and let me know what helped you most!
God bless and chat soon hun!