Building an empire…

For years, I’ve felt like I was floating, aimlessly and pointlessly. I didn’t have a determined purpose, and I didn’t have a defined place to channel my potential into. Illness and disability meant that my passions and skills were less about moving my life forward, and more about just trying to keep myself occupied when my brain and body could handle it.

However, as my health has stabilised, I’ve found myself able to do more, and this has led to me wanting to be more. And I can barely believe how much I’m working on and how many plates I have in the air, after feeling so overwhelmed for so many years.

A few years ago, I started a YouTube channel as a place where I could talk about my experiences with disability, chronic illness and mental health. In the beginning, I uploaded videos whenever I was able. But as time went on, I realised I wanted to be more committed. I began keeping a regular upload schedule, I looked into the best way to write video descriptions and what video tags to include to make sure people could find my content.

I realised I needed a wider audience, and decided to make the most of social media by creating an Instagram account. I’ve been uploading promos for my YouTube videos, as well as selfies that keep up with a very active ‘disability fashion’ community. I also upload my promos to TikTok, with hopes that I can reach out and connect with a wider community of people who struggle with disability, chronic illness and disability.

I’ve been writing original songs for years and have plans to home-record my music so that I can release it onto streaming services. To build a future community for this, I have been sharing simple song covers on my Instagram and TikTok accounts. I’ve also been busking in my local area, and have a public Facebook account to keep people updated on where I’ll be performing.

I’ve been sewing for years, making things for myself and gifts for friends. I’m now planning to turn this into a small income by selling hand-made gifts. The gifts will include bookmarks, coin purses, glasses cases, bunting and small stuffed toys, all hand-stitched. I’m hoping to sell these around town as well, with my Facebook page as a base.

When considering all of these things, I decided to set up both a website and some business cards. As someone who has never had a job due to sickness, there is something deeply satisfying and validating about feeling like I’m building my own small empire. I’m building connections, I’m putting myself out there, I’m making plans and I’m planning for my future.

I’m proud of myself. And I hope this website will be able to follow my journey as this little empire grows stronger.