Building a business is hard enough. Entrepreneurship while dealing with a chronic illness or condition is even harder. 'Chronic Profit: Building Your Small Business While Managing Persistent Pain' shares the story of how one entrepreneur sought freedom from cubicle life along with the flexibility to be a parent and a business owner, and learned to extend herself enough grace and compassion to excel in business while still taking care of herself.

This book covers business-building strategies that will work for any entrepreneur, such as the importance of building foundations and systems; why standardizing and simplifying offerings is something we often don’t do enough; and how to shift your perspective and reframe common business problems. Another important topic, especially for businesspeople dealing with chronic pain, is how to refuel and do self-care, and as author Alison Tedford shares, that can mean a lot more than taking bubble baths — it may involve developing a coping toolbox full of proven tools such as mindfulness, gratitude practices, and more.

Often, we struggle when asking for help but Tedford also discusses how to do that effectively, and leaves the reader feeling there’s hope and that anyone can find joy in the journey of creating their own sustainable business while managing diverse issues and persistent pain.

Tedford has been struggling with chronic pain for a number of years as a result of her diagnosis of joint hypermobility syndrome (Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.) She has appeared on Sick Biz Buzz and Mom Camp podcasts to discuss life as an entrepreneur with chronic pain. She has also been a patient advocate with Pain BC in their collaborative care consultation and they have shared her content in the past. Tedford is an advocate for health issues, historically around mental health, serving as a Shoppers Drug Mart ambassador for their Run for Women and in-store fundraising events, and also around Indigenous health issues, having presented at a regional nursing conference on disparities in health experiences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women.She has created Stay Woke, Not Broke: a program for business owners to learn what woke is, and how to avoid being cancelled in today’s environment.

Alison Tedford's profile page