The pros and cons of running a business with MS

There are many pros and cons to running a business with MS. When I left teaching in 2017, I set up my own business as a freelance social media manager. Since then I have developed my skills and now offer full digital marketing services including digital marketing strategy, social media management, social media paid-for advertising, as well as blog writing and copy editing services too.  I am still freelance, but have developed close working relationships with other agencies and freelancers who I work with on a regular basis. I am even branching into the Chinese markets to support Chinese businesses to reach an international audience! I’m really excited about this as it means that I can put my Chinese degree to good use and my understanding of the different cultural nuances gives me an edge. Alongside the digital marketing business, my fiancé and I also launched a Destination Management Company (DMC) for South-West England called Velius Travel. Velius Travel delivers private, bespoke, luxury travel for visitors to the UK in multiple languages. Having welcomed our first Russian group to Bristol in January 2020, everything was looking very promising. However, the minor issue of a global pandemic put somewhat of a spanner in the works!  In the meantime, we are in the process of pivoting and setting up an online shop instead, so I’ll keep you updated on how all that goes! As you can see, I am generally pretty busy and spin lots of different plates and I do love it! However, it isn’t always sunshine and rainbows running a business for anyone, let alone someone who is living with MS. So I want to share with you what I think are the pros and cons of running a business (or businesses!) while living with MS.

I love running my own business as it gives me the freedom to pursue and create the life that I want. I know how much money I want to earn and I know how many hours a week I want to work. So, I have created a business plan that enables me to do that.  Very early on in setting up my business, I understood that working full-time was not going to work for me. Working full-time hours doesn’t give me the flexibility to work when I feel good and take breaks or a day off when my symptoms are flaring. It ultimately doesn’t give me the time to take care of myself which is essential to managing my MS. So, my working day routine looks something like this: 6:50 am Wake up 7:20am Go for a walk (aiming for approx. 10,000 steps) with a flask of coffee 9am Shower and breakfast 10am Start work 1pm Lunch break (this can range from anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on my tiredness and concentration levels) 3pm - 6pm Work Obviously, this varies, but it gives you a pretty good idea of what a working day looks like for me. The important thing to know is that this isn’t what all of my Monday to Fridays look like. Some days I don’t work and other days I work for a few hours. It's my choice.  Obviously I have deadlines and tasks to complete for clients, but by communicating clearly and managing deadline expectations, I continue to maintain excellent working relationships with them and give my body the rest that it needs.

Reacting to how your body is feeling is so important. When I was teaching, my MS symptoms were the worst they’ve ever been and that was because I couldn’t listen to my body. There were non-negotiable deadlines and responsibilities that I had to meet which meant that I couldn’t have a nap, or sleep longer, or just not go to work and so my MS symptoms persisted.  Now, running my own business, I have created a flexible work environment that allows for rest. I have learned how to manage my workload to minimise stress. All of this means that, not only do I generally have much less severe MS symptoms than when I was teaching, but also when my symptoms do get worse, I can listen to my body and give it the rest that it needs.

Now this is a big one and for me and can be both a pro and a con of running a business with MS, or not! In terms of managing my MS it is definitely a pro as it means that I can negotiate deadlines with clients and that I am fully responsible for creating a project timetable that works for both parties. Obviously, if I fail to meet deadlines that would be a problem (I don’t!), but what it does allow is for me to be the mistress of my own destiny. Once the timetable has been agreed, I then get to decide when I complete the work- on which days and at which time.  On a professional level, not having anyone telling you what to do can be a con if you let it, as it means that responsibility for completing any task lies solely with you. There is (probably!) nobody shouting at you to do something, particularly if it is to do with your own business development. So learning how to be self-motivated and have integrity to myself was a sharp learning curve when starting my businesses. 

When you run your own business, YOU decide how much your skill set and time is worth and which clients or customers will be right for you and vice versa. It requires you to be confident in the value that you bring to a client and being ok with a client saying ,”No,” if your fee is too high for them. It takes really believing in what you are worth to understand that while they might be saying, “No,” that doesn’t mean that you aren’t good or that they don’t value what you can bring to them; it is just that they don’t have the right budget to afford you and that means that they also weren’t the right client for you.  It does take time to work this out and internalise it, but when you do, magic happens. I now earn 50% more than when I was a teacher and probably work 50% less hours. I intend to increase the amount that I am earning over the next few years with the development of the online shop and (hopefully!) the return of the travel business too. However, I don’t intend to hugely increase the amount of hours that I work. Again, I’ll keep you posted on how it goes, but that is the possibility that I am creating for my life!

These cons apply to anyone running a business, but are particularly relevant for anyone running a business with MS.

Not having sick pay is a daunting prospect when facing a relapse. Struggling to get out of bed, struggling to concentrate and knowing that you have work to complete is not a great situation to be in. I know that this is one of the biggest reasons for staying in employment and I completely understand why. Equally, I have experienced a huge reduction in the severity of my symptoms since leaving employment. To be honest, I had no time off when I was teaching due to MS, it was always the odd day here and there with the flu! So not having sick pay never really factored into my decision of setting up my own business. Moreover, planning for it and putting contingency plans in place can minimise the risk to your business if you do have a relapse or your symptoms flare.

Not having a team is something that I am very aware of and is one of my business goals for the next year. Like I’ve mentioned, I already have systems in place to ensure that not having a team doesn't affect the work that I deliver for any clients. However, not having a team not only means that you are the weakest link, but it also puts a cap on your business growth potential as there is only so much work that one person can do. As Allen F. Morgenstern said, “work smarter, not harder.”  Personally, I don’t just want to build a team because of having MS. I want to build a team so that I can focus on developing a business that can grow. By not having me at the centre of the business I am creating the possibility of growth, being financially independent and starting a family while still being a contribution to my clients and future customers and suppliers. This  is something that I’m really passionate and  excited about and I can't wait to make it happen in 2021!

I’d love to know how you find working or running a business with MS. Are you looking to make a change in your career or start a new one?  Let me know by leaving a comment below!