What Life Is Like As an Entrepreneur with Endometriosis

I write a lot about endometriosis. I talk about it a lot too. But, there’s something I want to share with the world, almost as much as I share about endometriosis – and that’s business.

I’ve not talked about my love for entrepreneurship because I worry that it won’t connect with the community I share my endo stories with. But I’m both an entrepreneur and an endometriosis warrior. If I exist, others do too.

The dangers of the hustle mindset

One of the struggles I find as a self-employed business owner is that despite the incredible business resources out there, I often don’t feel like those business leaders are talking to me. Whilst I’ve witnessed a shift lately and I’ve found more of the big influencers talking about taking care of our health as entrepreneurs, for years we have been haunted by a ‘hustle more’ mentality, which often leads the workaholic in me to burn out. When you’re listening to podcast telling you to ‘just get up earlier’ or reading books that tell you working three jobs is the only way you can make it in the beginning, it can be easy to fall into that hustle mindset, and feel like a failure when you can’t keep up.

Working smarter

Personally, I don’t think the ‘hustle more’ mentality is the best way to go about business. We’re less efficient, effective, motivated and inspired when we’re tired, worn-out, and ignoring our basic needs for rest and nourishment. I prefer the ‘work smarter’ camp and that’s definitely emerging right now (or maybe, I’m just discovering it late), but I still find myself having to tweak most of the things I’m learning on my entrepreneurial journey.

As I listen to podcasts, I find myself having to make mental changes to advice given, so that the tips take into consideration my fatigue, or perhaps my brain fog, or my cycle. When I read books, I stop and reflect on ways I could make the tools and resources shared applicable to the lifestyle I lead as someone with a chronic disease.

When I’ve asked questions in business community groups I’m part of, I don’t go into the whole back story as to why I’m asking this question and as a result, find I’m confronted with over-simplified answers with an underlying tone of “It’s that easy!”, often accompanied with a patronizing winking face emoji. I don’t want to have to explain what my cycle is like, or why I can’t wake up at 5am every day, or why I can’t afford to pay for Lead Pages yet; While I wish we all had this awareness, I have to appreciate that some people don’t always consider that other people have different circumstances.

We are stronger together

That’s why I’m grateful for every single chronic illness warrior who’s honest about their journey as a blogger, podcaster, freelancer, or even 9-5 employee. It makes me feel less alone. We need more people sharing their journey and what’s worked for them, so that others feel inspired, motivated and heard. Having a disease doesn’t take away our ambition, our desire to create, our want to lead a better life, or our need to pay the bills.

So please, share your story, step into your power, and claim your place as both a person with endometriosis and big dreams. You can be both.