DISCLAIMER
This page contains affiliate links. This means that at no additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission if you click through one of these links and make a purchase. Souloving LLC dba Nicole Starbuck is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
If you’d told me 10 years ago that I’d be creating my own online empire, I probably would have laughed in disbelief. How can an invalid in their 20’s start a business?
Is starting a business crazy? Maybe. Impossible? Not at all.
Keep reading to discover what you need to know to start a successful business.
The Perceived Perils of Starting a Business
Starting your own business may seem radical because the American school system programs us to be employees. We’re taught to value having a safe, secure job with great pay and excellent benefits.
If that sounds like an oxymoron, that’s because it is. Anyone earning an income today knows that there’s no such thing as a job that’s going to take care of you for the rest of your life. And let’s be honest, most jobs aren’t even taking care of us right now. It’s no wonder that as of this writing, the average American household carries $137,063 in debt.
Resistance about starting a business would have also stemmed from the fact that life happens. It’s easy to use circumstances as an excuse to fail financially. It can feel safer stewing in our own toxic soup than trying a new recipe for success.
Why I Wanted to Start a Business
I’ve dealt with anxiety, depression, and other mental health and chronic health issues, which I discuss in more detail on my Chronically Conscious podcast. I could’ve just thrown in the towel, gone on government assistance and/or worked a menial job for the rest of my life. But I’m a passionate person with an insatiable dream of helping people like you think positive, find your purpose, and live the life you’ve always imagined.
Having dealt with various chronic conditions for most of my life, I’ve met a lot of people dealing with the same or similar problems. And what I’ve seen is that health issues aren’t just physical—they’re mental and emotional too. What starts off as a physical ailment can often lead to self-doubt, lack of self-confidence, and denial of our dreams.
To help break that cycle, I’d like to offer some advice to those wanting to start a business, regardless of their situation. Here are five steps to starting a business, even when you have health issues.
NOTE: if you’re looking for technical/logistical advice, or insights specific to your unique situation, apply for private coaching here.
How to Start a Business
1. Create a Budget
Budgeting is important for managing three major areas of life:
- Time
- Money
- Mindset
Managing your time, money, and mindset is especially important for spoonies such as myself, who have to manage every thought, word, and action to keep themselves healthy and financially solvent. One wrong move and you could end up in the hospital, or worse! (or at the very least, with a really bad tummy ache).
But budgeting isn’t just about setting limits and exercising restraint. Budgeting is also about freedom. It’s about knowing that you can (and should!) invest in yourself and your business. In order to make this investment, you have to be willing to plan and allocate resources. And with budgeting, it’s also important to know that it’s okay to start off small. Heck, I started off with a bare-bones budget! (seriously, what’s smaller than a shoestring?)
“You don’t have to be great to get started, but you do have to get started to be great.”
– Les Brown
Budgeting isn’t a big scary thing, but it is necessary. Do yourself the favor and do what you need to do to appropriately manage your time, money, and mindset. Your future business will thank you. And if you need help managing your mindset, check out my Etsy shop for personal growth tools, apply for private coaching, or contact me.
2. Focus on Growth
I don’t just mean business growth, but your personal growth, too. After all, personal growth precedes business growth. Having a goal or dream can push you to stretch your comfort zone. This can be helpful in speeding up the healing process of your physical and emotional wounds by giving you something positive to focus on. What you focus on grows, so it follows that if you focus on your business, your business will grow, too.
“Purpose spurs passion, which fans the sparks that light the fires that fuel change.”
– Richard Branson
Focusing on growth sometimes means jumping into things before you think you’re ready. When I started my business, I didn’t think I was ready to turn my personal blog into a legitimate business and writing career, yet here I am. If I’d waited until I was “ready,” I’d still be deciding between 50 shades of teal.
As a recovering perfectionist, I can sometimes be paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes or failing, but when it comes right down to it, I just need to dive in.
Mistakes are proof that you’re trying.
– Jennifer Lim
If I’ve learned anything by starting my own business, it’s that action cures fear. Stop being afraid of the thing and just do the thing.
3. Be Patient with Yourself
This might seem counterintuitive when the previous step is to focus on growth, but as with any endeavor (especially if you’re a spoonie), it’s important to be patient, both with yourself and the results you’re expecting from your efforts. After all, you can’t run at full speed nonstop.
In my post about how to set boundaries, discussed the importance of setting boundaries. This isn’t to limit or inhibit you, but to liberate you from expectations, both real and imagined. These boundaries apply not only to other people (I’m talking to you, people-pleasers!), but to yourself as well. It can be easy to get so wrapped up in a project, then you forget to take care of yourself. Boundaries can empower you to know when to stop so you can make the most of your precious energy and maximize your productivity without burning yourself out.
Spoonies and non-spoonies alike need to prioritize their health at all times, especially when starting a new venture. Continue to pace yourself and practice self-care as you start your business. For more self-care tips, check out what you need to know about self-care, or get your self-care checklist here.
In addition to pacing, slowing can also refer to business growth. This can be especially true for seasonal businesses. There will be ups and downs, but overall, the trend should be positive. There is a season for everything, so don’t worry about your speed. Just go with the flow. Progress is progress no matter how slow you go.
4. Track Your Progress
That brings us to the next step, which is monitoring your progress, both professionally and personally.
On the business side, you’ll want to track your stats. Don’t worry—analytics aren’t scary. Or if you’re a nerd like me, you’ll enjoy looking at the backends of websites and social media. It’s fun seeing things grow! But beware of the micromanaging trap. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your business won’t be either. So don’t check your stats every minute, every hour, or even once a day.
On the other hand, don’t just “set it and forget it.” This isn’t a crockpot, after all. Take a peek at least once a month (I check my stats once a week), so you can find out what’s working and what’s not, and adjust accordingly
As a team, we like to ask ourselves the following questions when evaluating our performance:
- What’s working?
- What’s not working?
- What are we excited about / proud of?
- How can we do better?
- What did we learn from this experience / mistake?
You can also apply this approach to your personal growth and development. Taking time to reflect, whether in your business or in your own life, can be invaluable in making informed decisions.
“There is no such thing as failure. There are only results.”
– Tony Robbins
5. Escape the 9-to-5
Why do you want to start a business in the first place?
If you’re anything like me, you probably want to escape the rat race. There’s nothing particularly appealing about waking up at the crack of dawn, spending the best hours and best days of your life performing physical and/or mental labor, and being too tired to do much of anything else. In fact, I believe jobs are bad for your mental health and can cause or worsen anxiety, depression, and other health issues.
Starting your own business can help provide freedom, independence, and a sense of purpose. And if you’re successful at your side-hustle, you might even be able to leave your full-time gig entirely.
Conclusion
I hope that these tips on how to start a business have been useful and inspirational. If sick woman like me can create a successful business, why not you? Dream big and don’t ever let anything stop you from achieving your goals!
Be sure to check out these essential tools to build your business. You can also learn how to use social media and promote your blog. For more inspiration and to get feedback on your work, apply for private coaching here.
Leave a Comment