How to Build a Business When Your Energy Is Limited | Raquel Hellenga

Send us Fan MailWhat would you prioritise if your energy, health and working capacity could change without warning?For entrepreneurs living with chronic illness or disability, that is not a hypothetical question. It shapes how they plan, sell, deliver work and design their businesses.It also exposes a principle that applies to every founder: your time and energy are limited resources, so they should not be consumed by unnecessary work.In this episode, Peter Boolkah speaks with life and business coach Raquel Hellenga about entrepreneurship, chronic illness, remote work and building within the reality of your available capacity.Raquel was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis when she was seven. She shares how living with uncertainty taught her to distinguish between what she can influence and what lies outside her control.Peter and Raquel explore:How chronic illness changes the way an entrepreneur approaches uncertaintyWhy remote work can improve economic participation and accessibilityWhy technology does not remove every barrier faced by disabled peopleHow acknowledging difficult emotions can support resilienceThe difference between unavoidable pain and additional sufferingWhy limited energy makes commercial priorities more importantHow comfortable activities can distract founders from salesWhy founders should concentrate on work that creates genuine valueHow constant busyness can prevent people from processing what they feelThe danger of waiting for circumstances to return to “normal”How to design a business around the reality of your capacityWhy resilience means adapting, not pretending a constraint does not existThis conversation was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2022. References to lockdowns, Omicron and a possible return to normal reflect that particular period.Its enduring lesson is broader: acknowledge the conditions you are operating within, focus on what you can control and build a business that works with your available capacity rather than continually fighting against it.WELLBEING NOTERaquel discusses her personal experiences of chronic illness, depression, anxiety and ADHD. This episode provides personal and business perspectives, not medical advice.Speak with an appropriately qualified healthcare professional about symptoms, diagnosis, medication or treatment.CONNECT WITH RAQUEL HELLENGALinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raquelhellengaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/raquelchronicillnesscoach/CONNECT WITH PETER BOOLKAHWebsite: https://www.boolkah.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boolkahInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/pboolkah/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoolkahX: https://twitter.com/boolkahABOUT PETER BOOLKAHPeter Boolkah is a business coach, author and speaker who has spent more than 20 years helping business owners build stronger, more valuable businesses that do not depend on them for everything.He is the creator of The Hamster Wheel Trap® and author of Your Business Sucks: Build a Business That Works Without Destroying Your Life.Peter works with founders and leadership teams on the issues that ultimately determine whether a business creates freedom or becomes another job: leadership, founder dependency, people, profit, execution, scaling, exit readiness and enterprise value.His approach is direct, practical and built around one simple question:Do you own the business, or does the business own you?Learn more at https://www.boolkah.com