If you’ve ever experienced a flare-up or diagnosed a chronic illness while running your own business, you understand how overwhelming it can be to navigate your business’s health and interests. It can be difficult to focus on rest and recovery when you’re concerned about the longevity of your business and the cash flow you need to live.
I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2020, and I experienced a particularly nasty 3-month flare-up that left me severely fatigued and unable to move beyond the sofa or bed. Thankfully, I’m in remission now, but I wanted to share the tactics I used, and still use, to navigate this time in the hopes it’s helpful to those who are having a hard time running their businesses. and manage long-term health conditions.
The spoon theory
An essential part of overcoming any chronic illness is the spoon theory. How many “spoons” do you have to use today? On some days it might be like taking a shower and cooking lunch, but on other days you might have more spoons to spend than that. Increasing awareness of your energy and your limits for that particular day is an important part of chronic illness treatment. Learning to settle on a reduced schedule and cheering yourself up for the small wins – something that in your pre-disease life wouldn’t even be considered, such as showering – is really important. to keep your spirits up.
Authority
Part of running a business with a chronic condition is learning to let go of the need to do everything yourself. In what areas of your business can you get help to remove some of the day-to-day burdens? If outsourcing the help of a professional is not an option, who in your network of family and friends can support you? This isn’t about taxes or tweaking, it could be the kind support of a friend who cleans your office every week, or a family member who brings in a hot meal. Rely on help and things might just get a little easier.
Diversify your income stream
If you can’t stand for 8 hours or so when your condition flares up, think of ways to diversify your income streams that don’t require you to be physically active. Ideally, these would be streams you can do from your sofa or bed. You can consider:
- Photography advisor
- Selling e-books
- Online classes
- Editing or retouching services for other photographers
- Social media contracts for other photographers
Cultivating several different sources of income based on your strengths and any other skill sets you have, will give you a more stable foundation. Not only that, you’re laying a lasting foundation and building relationships that you may need to restore in the future if your condition flares up again.
Automation
I recently wrote an article about templates to speed up your workflow. Along with implementing templates and built-in emails to help you manage your workflow, investigate what systems you can use to automate processes. This could be anything from social media scheduling to using things like Concept or FreeAgent to process contracts and invoicing.
Adapt to your needs
If you can and you’ve kept some footage on your calendar, think about how you can manage those shots as much as you can. That could be like reducing the number of hours you commit to filming, bringing in an assistant to set up, clean up, and do the heavy lifting of the day for you. If you need to, reduce your storage and commit to less photography until you’ve settled back down and schedule occasional short breaks where you can sit down for a moment on set.
Start an open dialogue with the client and let them know where you are with your situation. You’ll be surprised how pleasant a client can be if you let them know what’s going on, and you may need to adjust the date to make it right for you. If clients love your portfolio and have a great relationship with you, they will understand and be willing to be flexible.
Go slow and take care of yourself
The reality is that living with a chronic condition often means you can’t move at full speed anymore. Learning to accept that is part of the process. For many chronic diseases, stress is a likely cause of worsening of symptoms. Keeping up-to-date with blood tests, medication runs, medication deliveries, CT scans, and outpatient procedures is important, and all part of the new normal. Yes, it’s lengthy and tiring, but it’s essential to stay healthy. After all, what is your business without you at its center? Take time to recharge in ways that keep you energized and don’t feel guilty on days when you don’t get much done.
Inference
If you’re also navigating a new diagnosis, a recent flare-up, or have been managing a chronic condition for years, you’re not alone. I’d love to know how you approach running your creative business in a way that’s sustainable for your health.
