5 Keys for a Healthy Business (and Body!)
I’ve managed long-term health challenges for the life of my business and in a weird way, this has been a blessing. So many entrepreneurs allow their businesses to run their lives, eventually driving them into burnout or worse. Until your body is screaming at you for a change, it can be tempting to overwork it in the pursuit of your goals. Unless you don’t have that option. When your body is already talking to you very loudly, you have to listen and honor what it needs.
My health struggles inspired me to start my business in the first place and throughout my entrepreneurial journey, they’ve motivated me to become a better leader. They’ve forced me to work smarter, not harder, making my company more sustainable and scalable.
Back in 2007, when I was just 26 years old, I took a medical leave from my investigative journalism job. I had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C about a year earlier, something I probably contracted from blood transfusions when I was a baby. I was so fatigued from the stress on my liver, I knew I couldn’t continue working full-time in a deadline-heavy job.
This wake-up call pushed me outside my comfort zone, which is where I needed to be to consider new career options.
Key #1 – Let go of what’s no longer serving you.
Whether that’s a job, a form of your business, or another responsibility, if it’s costing your health, it’s too expensive. When I let go of my attachment to being a journalist, I discovered the freedom of starting my own business. I could work from home and make great money with part-time hours. I could design the lifestyle that nurtured my body and heart. I could even transcend the dollars-for-hours paradigm by selling my own educational programs.
So began my virtual training company, Irresistible Online Marketing. I planted the seeds for it in 2007 when I created my first course. At that time, I promised myself that I would be just as committed to my health as I was to growing my business. It was the only way I could move forward. In 2008, I officially launched my business and the year after that, crossed the 6-figure revenue mark. It felt so great to make a big positive difference in my clients’ lives while sharing gifts that were truly in my genius.
Key #2 – Focus on working in your genius.
When you’re working in your genius, it enlivens you and gives you more energy. When you’re spending a lot of time working in your zone of excellence or competence, you will get more drained and unfulfilled. I love these distinctions by author Gay Hendricks (check out his Big Leap book). Following my new career path, along with regularly receiving acupuncture and Chinese medicine, I saw big improvements in my overall health and energy.
My creative spark awakened and I felt empowered to pursue my goals. Fast forward to 2012 when I started earning over 7-figures annually. I had to majorly strengthen my boundaries to channel my energy in the most effective ways. With all of the demands on me as a leader and creator at this level, it was harder to stay in balance for my well-being.
Key #3 – Make your self-care religious!
If I’m religious about anything, it’s been my self-care practice. In my early thirties I would take a couple of months off every year to travel for fun and recharge my batteries.
I regularly get massages, acupuncture and other forms of wellness support to improve my health, which is directly related to my performance in my business. I keep fit with yoga, belly dance, strength training and hiking. My healing path took a dip in my mid-thirties when I discovered that I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) – likely from my liver stress and, although I didn’t know it at the time, parasites I had contracted from my international travels.
Traveling for business and leading in-person seminars became extremely challenging with this condition. I remember in 2015, I had to cut short a beautiful client retreat at a resort because I was too sick to continue.
That year I also got very serious about manifesting my daughter, who had been visiting me in spirit form, wanting to be born.
So I prioritized my health even more and began learning how to manage my MCS. I also got a newly released medication to eradicate my Hepatitis C in 2016. Being free of that virus was one victory on my path, but the heavy medication seemed to worsen my chemical sensitivities. It has taken me years to understand where the toxic chemicals were in my life, how to avoid them and find nontoxic replacements. Having MCS has radically changed my lifestyle.
Travel requiring a plane ride is no longer possible for me. This is one of the most difficult restrictions. Leading in-person seminars with groups of people wearing all kinds of chemicals – well, they’re not possible anymore either. I realized this in 2017 when I was pregnant with my daughter. I was leading a 3-day seminar in a hotel and had a headache the entire time.
Not to mention I was still nauseous from the pregnancy and almost vomited while speaking on stage! That seminar was another wake-up call – telling me that my current business model was no longer sustainable.
Key #4 – Pivot to keep your business sustainable.
I knew what I had to do. At that point, I began to phase out my educational programs and gradually bring my business into hibernation mode in preparation for a long maternity leave. I needed a break! I was creating a new life inside me. While I feel blessed to be a mother, the pregnancy, birth and first few years of raising my baby were extremely challenging on my body. Probably ten times more so than the average woman because of my health issues.
I’m fortunate that I built wealth with my business and I was able to provide for myself and my daughter without working for a few years. I could also afford childcare to help me rest and receive wellness treatments. They say money can’t buy you happiness – but it certainly makes a mama joyful when she can get a massage, cuddle with her baby, eat well and cover all the expenses with peace of mind. Frankly, without my special needs, I may have gone back to work much sooner.
I’m a driven person, and I like to make a big impact with my business. It wasn’t easy for me to go from a high-performer in my career to the much slower pace of being a mom at home with a baby. But I’m grateful I took that time to be with my daughter and enjoy the precious moments of her early development. I’m so glad I had the choice to slow down and heal my body.
Key #5 – Take time to slow down when you need to recharge.
I came back to my business in 2020 right when the pandemic started. I felt so strongly called back into service, I couldn’t ignore it. I had to help more entrepreneurs grow their businesses online – so many were flailing when in-person options went away suddenly.
That year I launched a new business model. It was messy and beautiful at the same time. I was very stressed out going through one of the nastiest phases of my divorce, which made my health challenges worse… But somehow, I found the commitment to keep going.
Even when I doubted myself or felt afraid that my body wouldn’t let me show up like I needed to, I somehow always made it happen. In 2021, I found a better balance, grew the business to a healthier place and I’ve continued that through 2022.
I’m happy to say we’re in a stable place with the new model. I feel fulfilled by the success my clients are having. I still have MCS but thanks to some new healing discoveries this year, I’m making more improvements now than I have in the past decade.
I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel…
…that I may, one day, be free of MCS and enjoy more freedom of movement in the world. As I get stronger, I can also see the possibility of bringing another child into this world. The circumstances would need to be right, and I’m not there yet, but just maybe. Emily has been asking me for a baby brother or sister, and I can feel the tug on my heart.
Going into 2023, I’m focusing even more on working in my genius and growing my team to take things off my plate. This makes me more excited and creatively inspired. This healing path has taught me to love myself, even when my body is causing me sleep problems, headaches or countless allergies.
When I listen to my body like it’s my sacred business partner, my life evolves for the better.
And my health keeps getting better. Thank the Goddess for that! If you’d like to grow a sustainable, profitable online business, check out my Scale with Ease Crash Course here.
