To the Spooniepreneurs Who Keep Showing Up

(Even on the Days It Really Hurts) by 

Kristi Patrice Carter, JD

To the Spooniepreneurs Who Keep Showing Up (Even on the Days It Really Hurts) by Kristi Patrice Carter, JD

Today was one of those days.

I woke up in a full pain flare. The kind that makes getting out of bed feel impossible — like lifting cement. My whole body hurt. Even my eyelashes felt heavy. Every small movement just made everything hurt worse.

Honestly, getting dressed felt like running a marathon, especially since it felt like I had already been in a physical fight and lost, with only invisible scars to show for it.

But I had a doctor’s appointment, so I pushed myself to go.

I got there, hurting, exhausted, barely holding it together… and paid $140 for a 25-minute visit with someone young enough to still be figuring out their own life.

My nurse practitioner spent the entire time telling me that if I really wanted to lose weight, I had to “exercise more” and “eat better.” I just sat there thinking: I can’t believe I dragged myself here in pain only to be lectured by someone who has no idea what it takes for me to function on a day like this.

And then the second wave hit me.

Hold up. She’s making more per hour than I am — even though I’ve been out here for 25 years.

Something isn’t mathing. I’ve been out here building brands for other folks for years, and yet, the script feels flipped. I’m not bitter — well, maybe just a little — but I’m doing my best to turn things around.

I’m out here building whole brands and working through pain every single day whether I feel like it or not.

If you’re a Spooniepreneur, I know you’ve felt this. That moment where:

• Your body is fighting you.
• You’re doing your best just to exist.
• And someone with full energy, full mobility, and zero understanding of your reality is earning more for a simple task than you are for building an entire business.

It’s frustrating. It’s discouraging. And it can make you question everything.

But here’s the thing I reminded myself on the drive home:

I’m not behind. I’m not failing.

I’m building at a different pace than someone who is not a spoonie. It’s ok if I don’t collect a steady check (yet), and it’s ok if I’m not like “Ms. Exercise Lady” — because she doesn’t know my struggles, and that’s ok.

And so are you!

People with full energy get to build straight upward. Spooniepreneurs build in spirals, in layers, in seasons — with strength, with grit, with rest, and with a level of resilience most people never have to develop.

And even if our progress looks slower on the outside, it’s not less. It’s intentional. It’s hard-won. It’s sustainable. It’s OURS.

So, if you’re out there today pushing through pain, doing your best with limited spoons, trying to keep your entrepreneurial dreams alive even when your body has other plans — I see you.

I feel your pain (literally), and I want to remind you that this too shall pass.

We’re not building less. We’re building differently. And all our intentions and actions — no matter how small — count. More than people know.