Tip For Disabled Business Owners: Use Accommodative Strategy To Build Your Remote Work Opportunity

On my journey pivoting a business to accommodate a newly diagnosed disability, I found one tip to help no matter what the situation I'm facing. It's pretty simple, but if it were easy we all would be brilliantly successful by now. I hope this helps.

There is a point every single day, often every hour, where I have to decide if I'm going to do a task the traditional way because that's what I'm being told to do to succeed at business, or if I'm going to find an alternative that doesn't make me sick due to an invisible connective tissue disorder that affects every body system in different challenging ways. The answer to all these challenges? Find a different way not to do that task but to reach the same goal ONLY using tools and supports that keep you healthy.

It Has To Work FOR You and WITH You

This is what I'm calling accommodative strategy: whatever you build it has to work for you and with your disability challenge rather than pushing you to your limit. Trust me, I've tried it the other way, and it only leads back to burnout, usually while I'm not being paid for my time like I would be in a normal job that pushes me too hard.

I first came across this idea in Chinese medicine where it is understood that humans have a natural reserve of energy at birth they spend through their lives, and to add to that it's necessary to cultivate more through various health maintenance practices. I was reminded of the same idea by my husband when we talked about how to align some recent business decisions with this healthy mindset.

If you had more money going out than coming in, your business would eventually go under. What we forget is that the same is true of our energy.

It didn't even occur to me early in my work life that life and work weren't supposed to be a zero sum game because the daily grind was punishing me to my limit even in my twenties. But even in my challenging situation, there are activities I can put my energy into that energize me and motivate me rather than exhaust me, such as writing, social media management, publishing, community building, and brand strategy working from home on my own schedule. If I can build a business around doing those things and getting help with what I can't do such as keeping up with customer service, paperwork, or networking in person, I am on the right trajectory.

Think of what those energizing and motivating activities are for you that you are able to do. Maybe it's product design, systems architecture, or even nurturing children or pets. Then make a list of all the other roles your business needs filled to run and grow, and look for help for those tasks whether it's service professionals or AI tools.

Is there something you keep trying to do that you know you can't? Drop it. Find a completely different way to build that part of your business.

For me this is what that process looks like: I keep putting off pitching in-person book signings and networking events or in-person interviews because of health risks like anaphylaxis and crushing fatigue from constant joint dislocations. Instead of finding another way to plan that event like I was thinking (remote events are sometimes a good compromise, for example), I decided I would just stop pitching these events and build my remote social media platform so people come to me naturally rather than me going outside to them. That's what I always needed anyway.

So I'm not looking for help booking in-person interviews or author signings, you see. I'm looking at alternative sales funnels that are exclusively remote and automated. If you buy merch or books from me, it will be drop-shipped by Amazon. If someone rents Silversides House in Muskegon, I have property managers who make a commission on every customer they attract through advertising and they handle all the paperwork and maintenance. It's the same tradeoff you put into any business support/service hiring decision, but we're focusing your work on your strengths, and the support on where you really need it to maximize your chances of success.

When I feel overwhelmed or stuck, it's usually because I'm trying to do too much in an area that feels critical to the business growth, such as sales calls or getting out and meeting people in person to get some traction and collaboration. But I CAN'T do that, or I would have a normal job and not be putting myself through the challenges of building everything myself. You have these areas of vulnerability as well. And it honestly can be turned into a strength or a non factor, but no one talks about this in business so it's easy to get back on the treadmill thinking that building a remote business isn't any better than working a 9-5 job. No one tells you how to build differently and where to pivot those changes. I'm telling you now that I've discovered the place to look for innovation in your business as a business owner with a disability challenge is going to be custom tailored to your support needs.

I was recently stuck on list building and systems building for communicating remotely with my customers/audience. Today I finally knocked those to-dos off the list entirely when my husband/co-founder suggested I work on content that is in a setting/climate that works for me, while talking about what works for me: i.e. at the beach talking about how to have a pleasant day at the beach with a disability, with dogs, while working remotely, etc. I even took a deep breath and realized I had been holding my breath worrying I would end up in the hospital again trying to keep up with this next layer of tasks I don't have the stamina to keep up with. I don't have to. I'm not just building a remote business that pretends to be like other businesses. I'm building an entirely different funnel and process. A remote job or business as a digital nomad is a business built around you, not the other way around. It's always going to be hard work, but please don't torture yourself or punish your body for having needs.

The Accommodative Strategy Involves Visualization and Reverse Engineering

Let me show you what this process looks like. Try this with me:

• (don't list all the ways you think you have to make income first, that's what we're changing here)
• first list your strengths and the tasks that bring in income that energize you, we're starting with competitive advantage to hone in on what you CAN do so you don't waste time and effort
• list all the other essential business processes you need help with and what you still need to figure out (bookkeeping, growth hacking strategy, customer discovery, etc.)
• look up new ways to get support with those tasks. maybe AI can generate images or content for your presentation and save you time? maybe an attorney needs to give you advice on something before making a decision, but you need to ask them to text with you or Zoom rather than driving to their office like they're used to. This is the part where you think outside the box and give yourself permission to advocate for your needs. If the normal ways of doing business worked for you, you would already be doing them. And bonus: when you do speak up, you either discover that service provider doesn't understand their own internalized ableism and competitiveness so you need someone else or some other tool to help that works with your abilities, or you discover to your relief and delight that most people actually do want to help and support you, they just never thought to ask how since what you need might not be as obvious as a wheelchair.
• now we're going to reverse engineer the solution to cross that chasm of problem solving to the unclear destination. Imagine yourself in the ideal situation that would solve this problem. What does it look like and feel like? When is it in the future? Why is it working for you so well? Why do you feel so good? Why is everything working out for your highest good? Write all that down in as much detail as you can. This is where you are aiming but for some reason felt you couldn't get there.
• now write out steps to get to that ideal situation. What would have to work better or faster? What kind of support would you need that you just assumed you can't get? Maybe you can get it another way. Are you just hesitating to ask for help because you can't articulate the question? Find a patient business advisor or accountant/attorney/etc. who will work with you where you're at. Do you need a team to make that business work? Look into how to bridge the gap with tools and make a plan for when you need to start hiring. If the issue is budget, look at offering other incentives or swapping professional services with another business owner who is getting started. If it's struggling to get through paperwork, maybe you need a different software that makes some system easier to organize or navigate. Once you know where you're trying to go and you don't criticize your brain on the way to that goal by sabotaging yourself with "but I can't do that because..." or "I have to do it the traditional way because..." you might see new ways to get there, or realize your goal isn't even in the direction you thought it was.

Thoughts? Suggestions on improvements to this process? I think this is the slower way to run a business than the optimized advice out there, but you need to make it to the finish line along with your business. You're doing this for you and your family or to empower your life goals, remember? The business is the tool, not you.