Do you run a business with a chronic illness and / or ADHD?

[toomanycushionshere]

Just that really - I’m looking for some inspiration that it’s possible!

I have CFS which means that I’m exhausted some days and more capable on others. I also have ADHD, which means that I can either focus incredibly well on something that has my attention or struggle to focus on anything at all.

Because of all of the above, as well as having a young child, I feel like traditional employment is not an option. I’ve always wanted my own business and I have had fairly senior professional communications / marketing roles in the past. I’m also pretty creative and paint and draw fairly well. I don’t really mind which of my skills I use, I just want a business that helps me contribute to my family financially and gives me a bit of pride.

Any inspiration Mumsnet could give me would be amazing!

Not me, but have a look at this website, I find this woman really inspiring
https://www.autisticjoyologist.co.uk/

@EventuallyDecluttered Thanks! I’ll have a good read of that.

Bump!

I'm physically disabled (wheelchair, more than one condition) and a self employed creative. Generally just refer to myself as a maker here.

My living's designing and creating all sorts, including very large items, from a large range of materials for different purposes and different types of clients. It sounds better than it is I'm afraid. All the money is made by the middlemen who commission my work for the end client and market it. It's basically their brand image on my skills.

IME creative industries aren't a great place for physical disability or exhaustion. You're selling what you can do, and the deadline is the deadline.

I would think that professional communications / marketing and the world around them might both pay considerably better and be more forgiving?

I have inattentive ADHD and work as a performer and band leader. The admin side of my work is done at home during the week in my dressing gown. I have a problem with getting going in the morning, so this suits me well. My day to day tasks include:

Organising & booking the musicians in my band
Contacting clients to discuss the details of upcoming shows
Cleaning, repairing and preparing costumes and equipment (detangling wigs takes ages!)
Technical tasks/prep involved in running the show
Paying the band/team from the previous week
Maintaining my vocal health

I then go out and gig over the weekend, although I sometimes have weekday gigs too. This part of my job involves lots of driving, physical work (lifting and packing speakers and equipment) and managing my team/band on site. I am also in charge of sound checking the band.

Then there’s the small matter of putting on a show for our paying client and audience!

Apart from having had formal vocal tuition at a music college, every other skill I have is self taught.

I spent most of my twenties miserable in badly paid office or sales jobs and only retrained in my 30s. I have spent the last 15 years doing what I do now and couldn’t be happier. Now aged 45 I’m aware that I can probably only eke this out until I’m about 50 (it seems to be when most women in my industry step off the stage). I’m currently planning my next career but am worried about not doing something I love…I will certainly try to remain self employed though.

As long as it's not an "on demand" business like a hands on shop, cafe, garage, hairdressers, etc., I think it's quite possible, and common, for people with chronic conditions to be self employed.

So, basically, all kinds of "consultancy" or professional businesses, or cottage industries (art, crafts, pottery making, etc)., where things need to be done, but not necessarily immediately, and could be planned in within a few days or a week or two.

One of my clients is a potter with a wheel/kiln etc in a garden workshop and she's got treatable (by long term chemo), but incurable cancer, so just makes her pottery around the days when she's not having chemo and feeling well enough to do it. During chemo sessions or otherwise when she's not well due to the chemo and it's side effects, she doesn't go into the workshop, so it's often a pattern of 3 weeks working and 1 week off, or 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off.

Another client runs a virtual office business, doing website domains, email hosting, mail forwarding, registered office addresses, etc., which is basically all contracted out to other firms - he just does the marketing and administration via websites, social media, etc., and takes commissions and affiliate commissions from his web sites, website directory entries, tik-tok/facebook/youtube ads/links, etc. So, again, he just "works" when he's feeling up to it, but 99% of his business is automatic, so he can just ignore it when he's not up to it. He's in a wheelchair and has very restricted bodily movement/functions, but his brain is 100%, so he uses his brain rather than his body, hence the writing of websites etc and moving into social media influencing.

So it does depend on the type of business and the effects of the medical condition. I think people with chronic conditions are probably better being self employed so at least they have control over their work, clients, etc., whereas it must be a lot harder when employed by someone else.