Business With Chronic Illness: Women Entrepreneurs Navigating Burnout & Autoimmune Conditions
Business & Economics Podcasts
Building a business as a woman entrepreneur with chronic illness comes with realities that most business advice never addresses — burnout, unpredictable energy, and the need to put health first while still wanting meaningful growth. Business With Chronic Illness is a globally ranked podcast featuring honest conversations with chronic illness entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs navigating business growth while living with chronic illness and autoimmune conditions. Through real stories and practical insight, the show explores how people build businesses that are sustainable, simple, and aligned with their health, not at the expense of it. Each episode centers on conversations rooted in real experience, covering: - Health-First Business Growth: growing at a pace that honors your body - Burnout & Capacity: navigating energy, flare-ups, and rest without guilt - Simple & Sustainable Business: stripping away unnecessary complexity - Success Stories: real people redefining what success looks like with chronic illness This podcast is for entrepreneurs and founders who are: - Living with chronic illness or autoimmune disease - Burned out from hustle culture or one-size-fits-all business advice - Building, growing, or reimagining a business that must work with real life - Looking for stories and strategies that feel honest, grounding, and possible Expect thoughtful, grounded conversations, not hype. This is a space for nuance in strategies and execution, for reflection and learning through real stories, not for pressure or performative success. About the Host Hosted by Nikita Williams, a globally ranked podcast host, award-winning business coach, and speaker who has built a six-figure business while navigating endometriosis, Hashimoto's, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain. Nikita brings lived experience, deep listening, and a health-first perspective to conversations that are often missing from the business world. The show has featured respected founders and thought leaders such as Jasmine Star, Danielle Bayard Jackson, Nitika Chopra, Courtney Elmer, Natasha Samuel, and Kinsey Soderberg, alongside entrepreneurs navigating business with chronic illness in real time. This podcast doesn't offer one-size-fits-all strategies or hustle narratives. Instead, it creates space for lived experience and multiple ways of defining success when the priority is to put your health first now, not later. - Listen & Connect: Follow Business With Chronic Illness to hear new conversations each month, and join the extended community through reflections and discussions connected to the show, at Built to Breathe on Substack.
Location:
United States
Description:
Building a business as a woman entrepreneur with chronic illness comes with realities that most business advice never addresses — burnout, unpredictable energy, and the need to put health first while still wanting meaningful growth. Business With Chronic Illness is a globally ranked podcast featuring honest conversations with chronic illness entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs navigating business growth while living with chronic illness and autoimmune conditions. Through real stories and practical insight, the show explores how people build businesses that are sustainable, simple, and aligned with their health, not at the expense of it. Each episode centers on conversations rooted in real experience, covering: - Health-First Business Growth: growing at a pace that honors your body - Burnout & Capacity: navigating energy, flare-ups, and rest without guilt - Simple & Sustainable Business: stripping away unnecessary complexity - Success Stories: real people redefining what success looks like with chronic illness This podcast is for entrepreneurs and founders who are: - Living with chronic illness or autoimmune disease - Burned out from hustle culture or one-size-fits-all business advice - Building, growing, or reimagining a business that must work with real life - Looking for stories and strategies that feel honest, grounding, and possible Expect thoughtful, grounded conversations, not hype. This is a space for nuance in strategies and execution, for reflection and learning through real stories, not for pressure or performative success. About the Host Hosted by Nikita Williams, a globally ranked podcast host, award-winning business coach, and speaker who has built a six-figure business while navigating endometriosis, Hashimoto's, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain. Nikita brings lived experience, deep listening, and a health-first perspective to conversations that are often missing from the business world. The show has featured respected founders and thought leaders such as Jasmine Star, Danielle Bayard Jackson, Nitika Chopra, Courtney Elmer, Natasha Samuel, and Kinsey Soderberg, alongside entrepreneurs navigating business with chronic illness in real time. This podcast doesn't offer one-size-fits-all strategies or hustle narratives. Instead, it creates space for lived experience and multiple ways of defining success when the priority is to put your health first now, not later. - Listen & Connect: Follow Business With Chronic Illness to hear new conversations each month, and join the extended community through reflections and discussions connected to the show, at Built to Breathe on Substack.
Language:
English
Contact:
6784319978
Website:
http://www.shescrafted.com/
Email:
info@craftedtothrive.com
Episodes
Why Short-Form Content Is Burning You Out (And What to Do Instead) | Isabella Sanchez Castañeda
2/6/2026
You've been posting daily. You're showing up in stories. You're creating reels that disappear into the void. And yet—it's taking more and more content just to be seen, let alone convert followers into paying clients.
If you're exhausted by social media and wondering why it's getting harder to turn all that effort into actual business growth, you're not alone. The game has changed in 2026.
In this episode (originally recorded during Super Bowl weekend 2024 and more relevant than ever), I sit down with Isabella Sanchez Castañeda—podcast strategist and host of the top 5% podcast On East Media, Inc.—to talk about why short-form content is no longer king, and why long-form content like podcasting is the strategy that will save your sanity and grow your business.
Isabella breaks down exactly what's happening with "short-form fatigue," why our nervous systems are craving something deeper, and how to make the shift to long-form content that actually converts—without burning yourself out in the process.
What You'll Walk Away With:
Leave us a Review and share this episode with a friend.
🎧 Want to learn more about today’s guest?
Visit CraftedToThrive.com for guest details, key takeaways, and extra links mentioned in this episode.
Share Your QA's or Thoughts
Join The 5-Day Audio Series - Rooted Sales
Products We Love + Special Guest Gifts → Want to support the show and treat yourself? We’ve created a quick-access list of products I personally use and love, exclusive savings from podcast guests, and other gems that can help you live well and do business with chronic illness. Explore our faves + savings here!
Join our Community Channel on Substack, our Built to Breathe Community
Subscribe HERE to Chronically Profitable, A free, exclusive email series that shows you how to sell with self-trust, create content that converts, and use long-form strategies, especially podcasting, to attract dream clients consistently, even during the ups and downs of business and life. You'll learn how to build a rhythm that helps you sell even while you rest.
Duration:00:46:44
How Women Entrepreneurs Can Hold Grief and Growth at the Same Time | Amanda Guin
1/23/2026
Not everyone started this year with "new year, new you" energy. If you're a woman entrepreneur navigating grief—from a loss, a diagnosis, a relationship, or a version of yourself you had to let go—you're probably wondering: can I grieve this AND still show up for my business? Can I hold both grief and growth while building a sustainable business?
In this replay of one of 2025's most downloaded episodes, I sit down with Amanda Guin, an emotional intelligence coach, traumatology expert, and widow who lost her infant daughter to a congenital heart condition, navigated endometriosis and infertility, and became a solo parent after her husband's suicide. We talk about why "coping" keeps women entrepreneurs stuck, what it means to explore healing instead, and how to hold the duality of grief and growth while creating a business that adapts to your capacity.
Inside this episode, you'll learn:
This episode is for you if you're:
A woman entrepreneur is currently grieving while trying to run your business. You're feeling stuck in "coping mode" instead of actually healing and moving forward. You find yourself ranking your trauma or grief and not giving yourself permission to feel it fully. Or you're navigating loss, burnout, or a major life transition while managing chronic illness.
Connect with Amanda Guin: At growwithpurposecoach.com
Follow Business With Chronic Illness for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship, burnout recovery, and building a business with autoimmune conditions and chronic illness.
Leave us a Review and share this episode with a friend.
Share Your QA's or Thoughts
Join The 5-Day Audio Series - Rooted Sales
Products We Love + Special Guest Gifts → Want to support the show and treat yourself? We’ve created a quick-access list of products I personally use and love, exclusive savings from podcast guests, and other gems that can help you live well and do business with chronic illness. Explore our faves + savings here!
Join our Community Channel on Substack, our Built to Breathe...
Duration:00:52:49
Adapting Business Strategies for Chronic Health Challenges- What's new in 2026
1/9/2026
This year, expect empowering conversations with business owners navigating chronic illness and autoimmune disorders. Learn from their experiences, strategies, and lessons, with a focus on sustainability and health. Episodes will feature guests discussing new diagnoses, caregiving, and adapting business practices. Join the community on Substack for exclusive content and stay connected. Tune in for inspiration, support, and practical advice on building a profitable business while prioritizing your health.
Takeaways:
Leave us a Review and share this episode with a friend.
Share Your QA's or Thoughts
Join The 5-Day Audio Series - Rooted Sales
Products We Love + Special Guest Gifts → Want to support the show and treat yourself? We’ve created a quick-access list of products I personally use and love, exclusive savings from podcast guests, and other gems that can help you live well and do business with chronic illness. Explore our faves + savings here!
Join our Community Channel on Substack, our Built to Breathe Community
Subscribe HERE to Chronically Profitable, A free, exclusive email series that shows you how to sell with self-trust, create content that converts, and use long-form strategies, especially podcasting, to attract dream clients consistently, even during the ups and downs of business and life. You'll learn how to build a rhythm that helps you sell even while you rest.
Duration:00:06:11
What Capacity Actually Means And Why It Matters Living with Chronic Illness
12/26/2025
The journey of entrepreneurship can often feel at odds with the realities of living with chronic illness, particularly when it comes to the concept of capacity. In this episode, we tackle the often-misunderstood idea of capacity, shifting the narrative from a relentless push for more to a compassionate understanding of what we can realistically manage. Capacity isn't just about productivity; it's about how much our bodies and minds can handle at any given moment, especially when faced with the unpredictable nature of chronic health issues. We explore the three primary forms of capacity that influence our entrepreneurial experience: emotional, cognitive, and energetic. Emotional capacity is crucial for handling the stress of marketing and visibility, particularly for those of us who may struggle with the expectations of always being “on.” Cognitive capacity reflects our ability to think and make decisions, which can be severely impacted by the demands of content creation and the fast-paced nature of social media. Lastly, energetic capacity speaks to the physical and sensory energy we can muster, which is often the most variable due to chronic health conditions. This episode emphasizes the importance of creating business systems that align with our current capacity rather than pushing us to meet unrealistic expectations. By focusing on long-form content, such as podcasting, we can share our stories and connect with our audience without the stress of constant output. The key takeaway is that our capacity is not the enemy; instead, it’s our perceptions and business practices that need to adapt to honor our humanity. This understanding fosters a more sustainable approach to entrepreneurship, allowing us to thrive not despite our chronic illnesses but alongside them.
Takeaways:
✨ Thank you for listening.
Here's how to connect with Nikita, your host:
→ Book A Sales Call Here
→ Grab your Free Curated Podcast for Business Growth Playlist
→ Grab the Podcast Planner + App to start and grow your podcast with ease.
→ Grab Your Free 5-Day Private Podcast Series to Help You Make Sales with Ease with Long-Form Content and Nervous-System-Friendly Marketing Strategies for Women with Chronic Illness & Burnt-Out Entrepreneurs.
⭐ Loved this episode? Leave a review and share it with a friend who’s ready to grow their business without burnout or sacrificing their well-being.
📱 Stay connected: Follow me on
Duration:00:23:42
Why Most Businesses Break When You Need a Break (And How to Build One That Doesn’t)
12/19/2025
What if your business didn’t fall apart every time your life asked you to slow down?
In this episode of Business with Chronic Illness, we’re naming a hard truth many entrepreneurs live with quietly: most businesses are built to work only on your best days.
When you rest, everything stops.
When life gets real, momentum disappears.
And you’re left feeling like you’re starting over again.
That’s not a you problem.
It’s a systems problem.
In This Episode, We Cover:
• Why most businesses are actually self-powered machines
• How hustle culture normalized over-functioning
• Why consistency always requires capacity (and capacity isn’t constant)
• The nervous system cost of tying income to daily output
• Why businesses collapse during hard seasons
• What it means to build a business that supports you
• How long-form content (like podcasting) creates stability during low-capacity seasons
• Why evergreen content keeps working even when you’re offline
✨ Thank you for listening.
Here's how to connect with Nikita, your host:
→ Book A Sales Call Here
→ Grab your Free Curated Podcast for Business Growth Playlist
→ Grab the Podcast Planner + App to start and grow your podcast with ease.
→ Grab Your Free 5-Day Private Podcast Series to Help You Make Sales with Ease with Long-Form Content and Nervous-System-Friendly Marketing Strategies for Women with Chronic Illness & Burnt-Out Entrepreneurs.
⭐ Loved this episode? Leave a review and share it with a friend who’s ready to grow their business without burnout or sacrificing their well-being.
📱 Stay connected: Follow me on Instagram.
Duration:00:21:13
Why Your Marketing Collapses When Your Capacity Changes And How To Fix It
12/12/2025
Does your marketing disappear every time you take a break? You're not alone, and it's not a consistency problem. It's a systems problem disguised as a marketing problem.
In this solo episode of Business with Chronic Illness, I'm sharing why so many women entrepreneurs with chronic illness, burnout, or unpredictable capacity feel like they're constantly restarting their marketing from scratch. The truth? You don't have a marketing strategy; you have a performance schedule. And when you stop performing, your business stops breathing.
In this episode, you'll discover:
If you're tired of feeling like you're rebuilding your marketing every three months, or you're scared to rest because your visibility will disappear, this episode will show you a different way. A way where your voice does the heavy lifting even when your body cannot.
This episode is for you if:
✨ Thank you for listening.
Here's how to connect with Nikita, your host:
→ Book A Sales Call Here
→ Grab your Free Curated Podcast for Business Growth Playlist
→ Grab the Podcast Planner + App to start and grow your podcast with ease.
→ Grab Your Free 5-Day Private Podcast Series to Help You Make Sales with Ease with Long-Form Content and Nervous-System-Friendly Marketing Strategies for Women with Chronic Illness & Burnt-Out Entrepreneurs.
⭐ Loved this episode? Leave a review and share it with a friend who’s ready to grow their business without burnout or sacrificing their well-being.
📱 Stay connected: Follow me on Instagram.
Duration:00:32:32
Late Bloomers in Business: Eldest Daughters, Chronic Illness, and the Four Skills That Protect Your Capacity | Nikkei Lamodi
12/5/2025
In this replay episode, I’m sitting down with certified coach and first-gen eldest daughter Nikkei Lamodi, to talk about what it really looks like to be an eldest daughter or late bloomer living with chronic illness and running a business.
We get into the invisible pressure of being the “strong one,” why eldest daughters are so prone to people-pleasing, perfectionism, and over-responsibility, and how all of that bleeds into your business, your boundaries, and your body.
Nikkei shares her story of caregiving, grief, chronic illness diagnosis, and the moment she realized she was sacrificing her time, money, and desires for everyone else. From there, she walks us through her four “eldest daughter skills” that help you protect your capacity instead of burning it out:
Direct communication with graceBoundary careTalking to yourself like a best friendAsking “What else is true? What else is possible?”
If you’re an eldest daughter or late bloomer navigating chronic illness, family expectations, and the pressure to hold everyone together while growing a business… this conversation will make you feel so seen.
🎧 Want to learn more about today’s guest?
Visit CraftedToThrive.com for guest details, key takeaways, and extra links mentioned in this episode.
🌿 If you’re navigating entrepreneurship and chronic illness, or simply craving a more sustainable way to grow your business without sacrificing your health, energy, or self-care priorities, explore Chronically You & Profitable (CYAP).
CYAP is my voice-first business system designed for women entrepreneurs, creatives, and women with chronic illness who want sustainable growth and burnout support while keeping life and wellness first.
It helps you use your voice and story to build a business with systems and strategies that run smoothly, so your work supports your life, not the other way around.
⭐ Enjoyed this conversation? Leave a review and share it with another CEO woman or creative entrepreneur growing a health-first, sustainable business.
📱 Stay connected: Follow me on Instagram.
Duration:00:52:03
Planning 2026? Here’s Why Your ‘Small’ Audience Is More Powerful Than You Think
11/28/2025
If you’ve been looking at your audience lately — your email list, your downloads, your Instagram following — and thinking, “It’s just not big enough,” this episode is your gentle reset.
Today, I’m sharing an archived audio I originally recorded for my private client podcast. It’s a quiet reminder that the size of your audience has never been the thing that determines your success… the root system of your business does.
Inside, I share a story about repotting one of my new plants (yes, your girl is officially a plant mama 🌿) and what it taught me about sustainable business growth, especially for creative CEOs living with chronic illness or navigating burnout.
Whether you’re planning for 2026, feeling behind on your goals, or questioning whether your tiny audience can actually support a profitable, ease-filled business — this episode will remind you that small can be mighty, and depth can be more powerful than size.
Because sustainable businesses don’t grow by getting louder… they grow by getting rooted.
In this episode, we explore:
not
Key Takeaways
deeper.
Who This Episode Is For
✨ Thank you for listening. Your Next Step:
→ Grab the Podcast Planner to start and grow your podcast with ease.
→ Or, learn my Voice-First System — Chronically You & Profitable (CYAP): the signature method featured and practiced on Business With Chronic Illness Podcast: CEO Women for Sustainable Growth and Burnout Support.
This system is designed for a woman entrepreneur, creative, a chronic boss, or a woman with an autoimmune illness who want simple business growth, sustainable sales, and burnout support, without sacrificing their health, energy, or self-care priorities.
💛 Inside CYAP, You’ll Learn How To:
health-first businesswellness, creativity, and income.sustainable systems
⭐ Loved this episode? Leave a review and share it...
Duration:00:08:47
How to Start a Creative Business Imperfectly and Evolve Without Burnout | Margo Tantau
11/21/2025
Tired of waiting for the perfect moment to start your creative business? Struggling with burnout from trying to follow cookie-cutter business advice that doesn't fit your life?
In this episode, I talk with Margo Tantau: creative director, licensing agent, and host of Windowsill Chats Podcast, about building a sustainable creative business by following your gut instead of formulas. Margo shares her non-linear path from corporate to running her own licensing agency, and why starting imperfectly is actually the key to long-term success.
We talk about why perfectionism keeps women entrepreneurs stuck, how to create a business that adapts to your capacity (not the other way around), and why vulnerability and connection beat marketing funnels every time. If you've been holding back because you're afraid of starting over or don't have it all figured out, this conversation gives you permission to begin—and evolve without burnout.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
Why you're stuck waiting for "perfect" to start your creative businessHow to recognize when you're actually evolving, not starting overWhy your gut knows more than cookie-cutter formulasWhat burnout is really telling you about your business approachHow to reframe "I'm starting all over again" into "I'm recalibrating"Where your creativity already shows upHow to build connections and relationships instead of relying on perfect marketing
🎧 Want to learn more about today’s guest?
Visit CraftedToThrive.com for guest details, key takeaways, and extra links mentioned in this episode.
🌿 If you’re navigating entrepreneurship and chronic illness, or simply craving a more sustainable way to grow your business without sacrificing your health, energy, or self-care priorities, explore Chronically You & Profitable (CYAP).
CYAP is my voice-first business system designed for women entrepreneurs, creatives, and women with chronic illness who want sustainable growth and burnout support while keeping life and wellness first.
It helps you use your voice and story to build a business with systems and strategies that run smoothly, so your work supports your life, not the other way around.
⭐ Enjoyed this conversation? Leave a review and share it with another CEO woman or...
Duration:00:59:20
The Silent Stress That's Sabotaging Your Business (Even When Life Looks Fine) | Jen Yundt Coles
11/14/2025
I feel like I'm doing everything right. I meditate. I have boundaries. My life is actually pretty good. So why do I still feel burnt out? Why can't I keep up with my business the way I want to? Why does it feel like something's still off?
If that sounds like you, this episode is going to connect some dots you didn't even know needed connecting.
Jen Yundt Coles is a functional medicine health coach, SIBO specialist, and someone who literally had a heart attack from stress she didn't even realize was stress. In this conversation, we talk about the hidden stressors that are quietly sabotaging your business with chronic illness—and what to do about it.
We talk about:
This episode is for you if:
Listen for:
The truth: You're not broken. You're not lazy. Your body is trying to tell you something—and when you finally listen, building your business gets so much easier.
🎧 Want to learn more about today’s guest?
Visit CraftedToThrive.com for guest details, key takeaways, and extra links mentioned in this episode.
🌿 If you’re navigating entrepreneurship and chronic illness, or simply craving a more sustainable way to grow your business without sacrificing your health, energy, or self-care priorities, explore Chronically You & Profitable (CYAP).
CYAP is my voice-first business system designed for women entrepreneurs, creatives, and women with chronic illness who want sustainable growth and burnout support while keeping life and wellness first.
It helps you use your voice and story to build a business with systems and strategies that run smoothly, so your work supports your life, not the other way around.
⭐ Enjoyed this conversation? Leave a review and share it with another CEO woman or creative entrepreneur growing a health-first, sustainable business.
📱 Stay connected: Follow me on Instagram.
Duration:00:58:35
How to Grow a Business When Your Health Changes (Living with Type 1.5 Diabetes) | Jemi Crookes
11/7/2025
What do you do when your health changes and the business you've built can't keep up?
In this episode of Business with Chronic Illness, I sit down with Jemi Crookes, founder of The Think Lab, to talk about what happens when a diagnosis forces you to redefine leadership, business, and success itself.
After a misdiagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, Jemi discovered she was actually living with Type 1.5 (LADA)—a rare form of autoimmune diabetes that upended everything she knew about her body, her energy, and the way she worked. She left her corporate executive role and rebuilt her business from the ground up, using AI, authentic leadership positioning, and personal branding to create more freedom and less burnout.
In This Episode You'll Learn:
✅ How Jemi turned a life-changing diagnosis into a business that supports her health
✅ The difference between corporate leadership and capacity-honoring leadership
✅ Why "your job title is rented, but your leadership is forever"
✅ How to use AI as a tool (not a replacement) for your positioning and time
✅ What it really takes to build a brand rooted in your values and lived experience
✅ The mindset shifts that allow you to keep growing—even when your energy fluctuates
✅ Why you can't position yourself (even if you're a strategist) and who can help
✅ How advocating for your health teaches you to advocate in business
You'll hear how Jemi learned to trust her intuition when doctors got it wrong, design business models that flex with her energy, and help other women leaders build brands that can thrive, no matter what life brings next.
A gift from Jemi, our guest - Custom GPT tool: SO FUN!!!! https://chatgpt.com/g/g-67d37e2edbf48191b062e108c6bb1994-tf-leadership-intro-ida
🎧 Want to learn more about today’s guest?
Visit CraftedToThrive.com for guest details, key takeaways, and extra links mentioned in this episode.
🌿 If you’re navigating entrepreneurship and chronic illness, or simply craving a more sustainable way to grow your business without sacrificing your health, energy, or self-care priorities, explore Chronically You & Profitable (CYAP).
CYAP is my voice-first business system designed for women entrepreneurs, creatives, and women with chronic illness who want sustainable growth and burnout support while keeping life and wellness first.
It helps you use your voice and story to build a business with systems and strategies that run smoothly, so your work supports your life, not the other way around.
⭐ Enjoyed this conversation? Leave a review and share it with another CEO woman or creative entrepreneur growing a health-first, sustainable business.
📱 Stay connected: Follow me on Instagram.
Duration:00:57:23
How to Build Community and a Business When You're Far From Home | Dr. Analia Gomez Vidal
10/31/2025
Ever had one of those moments where you're building your business and you get a text from family, someone's sick, someone needs you, and you instantly think: "I should be there. What kind of person am I for not dropping everything?"
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Analía Gómez Vidal career coach who built her business while being thousands of miles away from her family in Argentina. We get honest about what to do when family needs you and your business needs you at the same time.
Analia shares how she navigated family health emergencies from another continent, rebuilt community from scratch, and why you don't need everything figured out to move forward.
What You'll Learn:
✨ How to make decisions when family needs you and your business needs you at the same time
✨ The two-layer approach to building community from scratch (local connections + people who understand your journey)
✨ Why "having it all figured out" is keeping you stuck—and what to do instead
✨ The honest conversation about privilege: the financial preparation and resources that make big transitions possible
✨ How to stop feeling like you're betraying your family by choosing your business🎧
Stay in touch with Dr. Analía and receive her career coaching prompts, resources, and updates by signing up to her newsletter here.
My free Multi-Year Planner is a tool I developed and use for my own business. It helps you organize your short, medium, and long-term goals in one snapshot and track your work as you make progress. It is a versatile tool that helps you whether you are building a business, job searching, or working on a long-term project with multiple milestones.
Want to learn more about today’s guest?
Visit CraftedToThrive.com for guest details, key takeaways, and extra links mentioned in this episode.
🌿 If you’re navigating entrepreneurship and chronic illness, or simply craving a more sustainable way to grow your business without sacrificing your health, energy, or self-care priorities, explore Chronically You & Profitable (CYAP).
CYAP is my voice-first business system designed for women entrepreneurs, creatives, and women with chronic illness who want sustainable growth and burnout support while keeping life and wellness first.
It helps you use your voice and story to build a business with systems and strategies that run smoothly, so your work supports your life, not the other way around.
⭐ Enjoyed this conversation? Leave a review and share it with another CEO woman or creative entrepreneur growing a health-first, sustainable business.
📱 Stay connected: Follow me on Instagram.
Duration:00:50:15
Why Food Shame Is Keeping You Burned Out in Business | Jessica Setnick
10/24/2025
🌿 If you’re navigating entrepreneurship and chronic illness, or simply craving a more sustainable way to grow your business without sacrificing your health, energy, or self-care priorities, explore Chronically You & Profitable (CYAP).
About this Episode:
In this episode of Business with Chronic Illness, I'm joined by Jessica Setnick, RD, CSSD, LD—a registered dietitian, eating disorder specialist, and founder of a nonprofit making eating disorder care accessible—to talk about the invisible energy drain keeping entrepreneurs burned out: food shame.
Jessica opens up about her own journey of having to go to therapy just to learn how to charge for her services, what she calls the "Mother Teresa trap" that keeps service-based entrepreneurs undervaluing their work. She shares how shame around food, eating, and body image is completely invisible (you can't look at someone and know what they're eating), and why this hidden struggle is stealing the energy women entrepreneurs need to recover from burnout.
We dive into why stress changes your brain chemistry and turns food into mood-altering medication, the critical difference between shame and regret (and why one keeps you stuck while the other moves you forward), and Jessica walks through practical ways to spot shame-based patterns that are draining your business capacity.
By the end of this episode, you'll walk away with:
A framework for recognizing food shameUnderstanding the stress-food-shame cyclePermission to recover imperfectly
Jessica's story reminds us that you cannot fix burnout by pushing harder when shame is stealing your energy; sustainable business growth starts with compassionate, practical tools that help you nourish yourself and reclaim the capacity you need to show up.
🎧 Want to learn more about today’s guest?
Visit CraftedToThrive.com for guest details, key takeaways, and extra links mentioned in this episode.
CYAP is my voice-first business system designed for women entrepreneurs, creatives, and women with chronic illness who want sustainable growth and burnout support while keeping life and wellness first.
It helps you use your voice and story to build a business with systems and strategies that run smoothly, so your work supports your life, not the other way around.
⭐ Enjoyed this conversation? Leave a review and share it with another CEO woman or creative entrepreneur growing a health-first, sustainable business.
📱 Stay connected: Follow me on
Duration:00:57:22
What to Do When You Feel Like You're Doing Too Much in Your Business with Chronic Illness | Andrea Nakayama
10/17/2025
Ever look at everything on your business plate and think "there's no way I can do all of this"?
This episode is for entrepreneurs with chronic illness who feel overwhelmed trying to grow their business while managing fluctuating capacity. Functional Medicine Nutritionist Andrea Nakayama shares how she built Functional Nutrition Alliance while managing Hashimoto's, grief, and single parenthood—without burning out.
We're diving into business strategies for chronic illness entrepreneurs, including the "base camp method" for sustainable business growth, why persistence beats consistency when your capacity changes, and how to pivot your expectations when chronic illness impacts your business.
What You'll Walk Away With:
✅ The Base Camp Method - A practical framework for breaking down overwhelming business goals into manageable steps when your capacity fluctuates with chronic illness
✅ Persistence vs. Consistency Mindset Shift - Understanding why showing up YOUR way matters more than rigid consistency, and what sustainable growth actually looks like for entrepreneurs managing chronic illness
✅ The Five P's Framework - The exact formula (Passion, Permission, Purpose, Persistence, Perseverance) that kept Andrea going through grief, Hashimoto's, and single parenthood while building a thriving business
✅ How to Recalibrate Your Capacity - Practical ways to pivot your expectations and tune into your nervous system so you know when you're actually doing too much versus just feeling overwhelmed
Resources for Entrepreneurs with Chronic Illness:
The Five P's for Sustainable Business Growth:Base Camp Method:Functional Nutrition Alliance:
🎧 Want to learn more about today’s guest?
Visit CraftedToThrive.com for guest details, key takeaways, and extra links mentioned in this episode.
🌿 If you’re navigating entrepreneurship and chronic illness, or simply craving a more sustainable way to grow your business without sacrificing your health, energy, or self-care priorities, explore Chronically You & Profitable (CYAP).
CYAP is my voice-first business system designed for women entrepreneurs, creatives, and women with chronic illness who want sustainable growth and burnout support while keeping life and wellness first.
It helps you use your voice and story to build a business with systems and strategies that run smoothly, so your work supports your life, not the other way around.
⭐ Enjoyed this conversation? Leave a review and share it with another CEO woman or creative entrepreneur growing a health-first, sustainable business.
📱 Stay connected: Follow me on Instagram.
Duration:00:56:46
Setting Health-First Boundaries to Grow a Sustainable Business with Chronic Illness | Brenda Snow
10/10/2025
What if the key to building a sustainable business with chronic illness isn't working harder, but setting better boundaries? In this episode, Brenda Snow, an Amazon Best Selling Author, shares how she built a 420-person company over 30 years while managing MS (Multiple Sclerosis) - without sacrificing her health or burning out.
If you're living with chronic illness and running a business, you know the struggle:
You feel like you need to be extraordinary just to keep up. You're constantly starting over after flare-ups. You can't keep up with the pace everyone else says you should be moving at. And you're terrified that setting boundaries will mean losing clients, revenue, or credibility.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why you don't need to be extraordinaryThe predictable emotional phasesHow to set health-first boundariesThe "hire to your weaknesses" strategyWhy transparency about your healthHow to give yourself more timeThe power of storytelling
Building a sustainable business with chronic illness doesn't require you to be superhuman. It requires health-first boundaries, strategic delegation, and the permission to work at a pace that honors your body. Brenda's 30-year journey proves that long-term success is possible when you stop trying to keep up and start building a business that works WITH your chronic illness, not against it.
🎧 Want to learn more about today’s guest?
Visit CraftedToThrive.com for guest details, key takeaways, and extra links mentioned in this episode.
🌿 If you’re navigating entrepreneurship and chronic illness, or simply craving a more sustainable way to grow your business without sacrificing your health, energy, or self-care priorities, explore Chronically You & Profitable (CYAP).
CYAP is my voice-first business system designed for women entrepreneurs, creatives, and women with chronic illness who want sustainable growth and burnout support while keeping life and wellness first.
It helps you use your voice and story to build a business with systems and strategies that run smoothly, so your work supports your life, not the other way around.
⭐ Enjoyed this conversation? Leave a review and share it with another CEO woman or creative entrepreneur growing a health-first, sustainable business.
📱 Stay connected: Follow me on Instagram.
Duration:00:59:05
How My Podcast Signed Clients While I Was Healing: Why Downloads Don’t Pay Your Bills (Decisions Do)
10/7/2025
Can you really grow your business when you’re living with chronic illness, burnout, or limited capacity? Absolutely, if your content helps people make informed decisions, you don't have to focus on or obsess about downloads.
In this episode of Business with Chronic Illness, with host Nikita Williams. I’m sharing how I signed clients from my podcast while I was healing from endometriosis and recovering from surgery, and how I turned a small but mighty audience into consistent revenue using sustainable business strategies that honor my health first and prevent burnout.
This is part of The Business Safety Net with a Podcast Series, where we explore how long-form content can create sustainable growth, marketing, and sales systems for women entrepreneurs and CEOs managing chronic illness or looking for burnout support.
You’ll hear how I use my CGS Framework: Connect, Give, Serve — to create content that converts, even when I can’t be “on.” Because your business should support your wellness, not sacrifice it.
What You’ll Learn:
downloads and likes don’t pay your bills... decisions dofour clients in the first 10 episodesdecision-driven contentCGS Framework (Connect → Give → Serve)business safety net
Inside The Business Safety Net Series:
This episode is part of The Business Safety Net with a Podcast Series on the Business with Chronic Illness podcast, created for women entrepreneurs with chronic illness, creatives, and CEOs who crave sustainable business strategies, burnout recovery, and health-conscious growth that works even in low-capacity seasons.
Catch up on the series:
1️⃣ Ep 1: The 30-Minute Connection Strategy That Built My Business With Chronic Illness
2️⃣ Ep 2: How My Podcast Signed Clients While I Was Healing (this episode)
3️⃣ Next: How to Take a Break Without Losing Clients or Momentum as a CEO With Chronic Illness
✨ Thank you for listening. Your Next Step:
→ Grab the Podcast Planner + App (coming soon) to start and grow your podcast with ease.
→ Or, learn my Voice-First System — Chronically You & Profitable (CYAP): the signature method featured and practiced on Business With Chronic Illness Podcast: CEO Women for Sustainable Growth and Burnout Support.
This system is designed for a woman entrepreneur, creative, a chronic boss, or a woman with an autoimmune illness who wants simple business growth, sustainable sales, and burnout support, without sacrificing their health, energy, or self-care priorities.
💛 Inside CYAP, You’ll Learn How To:
health-first businesswellness, creativity, and income.sustainable systems
Duration:00:20:29
How Freelance Writers with Chronic Illness Can Make Full-Time Income on Part-Time Hours
10/3/2025
Think you need to work 60-hour weeks to build a successful freelance business? Amanda Bourbonais proves otherwise. After a severe chronic Lyme disease crisis forced her to leave corporate life, she built a six-figure copywriting business working just 20-25 hours per week, and she's maintained that rhythm for five years.
In this episode, Amanda shares how she turned rock bottom into a business foundation, why "I started my business so I could take naps" became her guiding principle, and how she prices projects based on deliverables (not hours) to create sustainable income. If you've been told you need to hustle harder or wait until you're "healthy enough" to start your business, this conversation will change how you think about capacity, pricing, and what's actually possible.
What you'll learn:
Perfect for: Freelance writers, consultants, and creatives with chronic illness who want to build sustainable businesses without sacrificing their health.
Send Me A Text & Share Your QA's or Thoughts
Join The 5-Day Audio Series - Rooted Sales
Loved this episode? Leave a review: https://www.craftedtothrive.com/reviews/new/
Products We Love + Special Guest Gifts → Want to support the show and treat yourself? We’ve created a quick-access list of products I personally use and love, exclusive savings from podcast guests, and other gems that can help you live well and do business with chronic illness. Explore our faves + savings here!
Subscribe HERE to Chronically Profitable, A free, exclusive email series that shows you how to sell with self-trust, create content that converts, and use long-form strategies, especially podcasting, to attract dream clients consistently, even during the ups and downs of business and life. You'll learn how to build a rhythm that helps you sell even while you rest.
To Start and Grow A Creative or Service-Based Business with Chronic Illness, Join Chronically You & Profitable
Join & Follow Nikita & our Community Channel on Instagram
Duration:00:53:06
The 30-Minute Connection Strategy That Built My Business With Chronic Illness
9/26/2025
When I first started my coaching business, I had maybe 30 minutes of energy in a day. And while the online world told me I needed to post multiple times a day, go to endless networking events, and keep up with algorithms, I simply couldn’t.
What I did know? Connection creates sales.
In this episode, I’m sharing the 30-Minute-a-Day Connection Strategy I used to build a six-figure business while living with chronic illness and how it became the foundation of my podcast, the biggest safety net in my business.
You’ll hear:
✨ Quick Win: At the end of this episode, you’ll walk away with a simple 30-minute challenge you can try this week to create more connection in your business without burning out.
The Business Safety Net Series
What happens to your business when you can’t show up?
For so many entrepreneurs, especially those navigating chronic illness, burnout, or unpredictable seasons of life, the biggest fear is: what happens to my clients, my income, my visibility, when I don’t have the capacity to be online every day?
That’s why I created The Business Safety Net Series. In this special 4-part series, I’m showing you how to build a business structure that holds you with podcasting as the anchor.
You’ll learn how to:
Because your business deserves a safety net, one that brings peace, ease, and revenue, even when life gets messy.
Book A Sales Call to Learn how to work with me 1:1
Join The 5-Day Audio Series - Rooted Sales.
To Start and Grow A Creative or Service-Based Business with Chronic Illness, Join Chronically You & Profitable
Products We Love + Special Guest Gifts → Want to support the show and treat yourself? We’ve created a quick-access list of products I personally use and love, exclusive savings from podcast guests, and other gems that can help you live well and do business with chronic illness. Explore our faves + savings here!
Loved this episode? Leave a review:https://www.craftedtothrive.com/reviews/new/
Send Me A Text & Share Your QA's or Thoughts
Join & Follow Nikita & our Community Channel on Instagram
Duration:00:20:56
How to Spot Business Misalignment Before It Burns You Out | Jason Winters
9/19/2025
In this episode of Business with Chronic Illness, I'm joined by Jason Winters, an energy alignment coach and EFT tapping practitioner, to talk about the warning signs that your business is built out of alignment, especially important for entrepreneurs managing chronic illness and unpredictable energy levels.
Jason opens up about his experience with rapid business growth that felt unsustainable, from lowering his prices out of fear to over-delivering because of self-worth issues. He shares how he recognized these patterns as symptoms of deeper misalignment and the practical steps he took to restructure his business around what actually serves his life and energy.
We dive into why entrepreneurs with chronic illness are particularly vulnerable to business burnout, the difference between fear (which is natural) and doubt (which comes from learned trauma responses), and Jason walks through his truth work method for clearing limiting beliefs that keep you stuck in exhausting cycles.
By the end of this episode, you'll walk away with:
A framework for recognizing misalignmentPractical tools for realignmentPermission to build differently
Jason's story reminds us that sustainable business growth isn't about pushing harder; it's about building from a foundation that actually serves your energy and values from the start.
Leave us a Review and share this episode with a friend.
Send Me A Text & Share Your QA's or Thoughts
Join The 5-Day Audio Series - Rooted Sales
Products We Love + Special Guest Gifts → Want to support the show and treat yourself? We’ve created a quick-access list of products I personally use and love, exclusive savings from podcast guests, and other gems that can help you live well and do business with chronic illness. Explore our faves + savings here!
Subscribe HERE to Chronically Profitable, A free, exclusive email series that shows you how to sell with self-trust, create content that converts, and use long-form strategies, especially podcasting, to attract dream clients consistently, even during the ups and downs of business and life.
You'll learn how to build a rhythm that helps you sell even while you rest.
To Start and Grow A Creative or Service-Based Business with Chronic Illness, Join Chronically You & Profitable
Join & Follow Nikita & our Community Channel on
Duration:01:03:34
The 3 Key Problems Holding You Back from Making Sales (and How to Fix It)
9/12/2025
Selling doesn’t have to feel hard, especially when you're navigating the challenges of chronic illness or burnout.
In today’s episode, we dive into the three key problems that often keep us from converting leads into sales and how to tackle them with what I call the rooted sales process. We discuss the emotional and physical challenges that can make selling feel pushy or draining, leading to feelings of inadequacy and frustration. You'll learn how to create a sustainable approach to sales that aligns with our unique capacities and circumstances. Join me as I share practical steps to help you shift your sales strategy from survival mode to one that fosters peace and connection, enabling you to thrive in your business, even on your toughest days.
Leave us a Review and share this episode with a friend.
Send Me A Text & Share Your QA's or Thoughts
Join The 5-Day Audio Series - Rooted Sales
Loved this episode? Leave a review: https://www.craftedtothrive.com/reviews/new/
Products We Love + Special Guest Gifts → Want to support the show and treat yourself? We’ve created a quick-access list of products I personally use and love, exclusive savings from podcast guests, and other gems that can help you live well and do business with chronic illness. Explore our faves + savings here!
Subscribe HERE to Chronically Profitable, A free, exclusive email series that shows you how to sell with self-trust, create content that converts, and use long-form strategies, especially podcasting, to attract dream clients consistently, even during the ups and downs of business and life.
You'll learn how to build a rhythm that helps you sell even while you rest.
To Start and Grow A Creative or Service-Based Business with Chronic Illness, Join Chronically You & Profitable
Join & Follow Nikita & our Community Channel on Instagram
Navigating the challenges of running a business while managing chronic illness can feel like an uphill battle, often leading to feelings of inadequacy and burnout. We dive deep into the common struggles faced by women entrepreneurs who grapple with fluctuating energy levels and the societal expectations of constant hustle.
Throughout this episode, I share critical insights on the emotional toll of sales and marketing, especially when the traditional narratives push the idea that success is synonymous with relentless effort and discipline. We explore a foundational pre-sales approach, designed to help you sell from a place of calm and stability rather than from anxiety and pressure. This method encourages you to understand your unique circumstances and to create a sales process that honors your health and well-being. By focusing on things from the inside out, you can shift...
Duration:00:23:09