Nervous System — Chronics — A Chronic Entrepreneur

Ainslee Hooper is committed to making the lives of disabled people easier, by consulting with providers of services to make the experiences of consumers with disability free of stigma and ableism. After suffering a nervous breakdown due to bullying at work, Ainslee realised that she needed to start doing things her way - and starting her own business allowed her to achieve so much more for herself and her clients than she felt she was able to achieve at a traditional job. Ainslee is now a consultant anthropologist specialising in disability inclusion with her business Ainslee Hooper Consulting. Read on to learn more about Ainslee’s inspiring story.

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Zoe Simmons

Zoe Simmons has been searching for a proper diagnosis for years. After an incredibly extensive period of uncertainty, she finally has some answers. But her diagnosis journey is not over - and she is still investigating other possible chronic conditions, which cause her consistent pain and fatigue. Despite this, Zoe is a successful journalist; SEO copywriter; editor and author. First published at only 16 years of age, Zoe has written for numerous well known publications including Daily Mail, news.com.au, Kidspot, Popsugar Australia, Herald Sun, and the Daily Telegraph, among others. She’s even writing a book on her town’s survival in the Black Summer Bushfires!

Reproductive System, Nervous SystemByzantine Design20 December 2021Fibromyalgia

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Justine Martin

Justine Martin is a professional artist, art wellness teacher, author, and resilience consultant and speaker. Being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2011, her successful corporate life was turned upside down. She has since battled three primary cancers at once and since then has overcome a long list of medical conditions. Entrepreneurship came naturally to her as she broke free from her “survival mode” in order to achieve the big dreams and goals that she set for herself. It wasn’t until she was diagnosed with her chronic that the entrepreneurship path truly took on its full meaning in Justine’s life.

Cancer, Nervous System, Neurological System, Immune SystemDara Shashoua15 November 2021Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Ilana K

Ilana K is a kinesiologist who has gone on a long health journey since her early childhood. Since hitting “rock bottom” and having to completely upend her life to focus on recovery, Ilana’s career has taken a full 180 degree shift from being in the corporate finance industry as a financial analyst, to now practising kinesthesiology where she helps people reclaim their health, wellbeing, inner joy and sparkle for life.

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Grace Quantock

Grace Quantock is a multi-talented woman who has built her life on her core values: compassion, ethical living and the wild world of possibility. She is the founder of Trailblazing Wellness Coaching and works as a wellness coach, motivational speaker (watch her TEDx talk here and below), writer and teacher. She also helps others create bespoke ethical gifts through her social enterprise, Healing Boxes.

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Kere Baker

Kere Baker is one of those humans who has an infectious personality, optimistic soul and wholehearted approach to life. She has built a lifestyle and a life, alongside multiple chronic illnesses, of which you’ll find out more about, and some incredibly hard moments that are hard to put into words which is why we’ll leave it to Kere to share her story in the way that feels right below

Nervous System, Neurological System, Reproductive SystemDara Shashoua17 September 2021Endometriosis, Fibromyalgia

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Achim Schlemmer

Achim Schlemmer was 29 years old when he was diagonosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Shortly after, he began working as an entrepreneur and hasn’t looked back. Now working in consultancy, project management and strategy for online projects, Achim lives his life in a small provincial town in Germany, doing what he loves. Read his story here.

Nervous System, Immune SystemMeirav Dulberg12 November 2020MS

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Taz Dunstan

For Taz Dunstan, being a chronic entrepreneur means being an invincible business woman. After a car accident resulted in severe damage to the cervical discs in her spine, it left her with chronic pain and limited mobility. She’d been an avid adventurer, hiker, mountaineer and ‘thrill seeker’ and she was told that she would never be able to enjoy those activities again.

Nervous System, Circulatory SystemMeirav Dulberg22 October 2020Chronic Pain

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Rachael Robinson

When Rachael Robinson was twenty years old she was diagnosed with her chronic condition, Trigeminal neuralgia. The condition affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensations and feelings from your face to your brain.

Nervous SystemDara Shashoua15 October 2020Trigeminal Neuralgia

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Ramy Al-Kadhi

Ramy Al-Kadhi shares a slightly different story – while he doesn’t live with a chronic illness, he lives with permanent damage to his brain. In Sri Lanka in 2016, he was involved in a dangeous moped crash where he came off the bike and landed on his head.

Nervous SystemMeirav Dulberg17 September 2020Traumatic brain injury

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Kat John

After a painful and traumatic childhood, that continued with Kat through her teens and early adulthood, Kat was diagnosed with Arnold-Chiari Malformation in 2009. With a background in nursing and pyschology, Kat now coaches individuals to help them move through pain, fear and doubt to achieve their potential.

Nervous SystemDara Shashoua4 February 2020Nerve Pain

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Samantha Gemmell

Samantha Gemmell is one of those humans who found a way to combine all her passions and make a living from them. She is a nutritionist, writer and speaker who works closely with women across the globe, particularly those living with chronic illnesses. Sam was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) when she was 22 and largely manages the condition through an approach built on her knowledge of health and wellness, including nutrition, myotherapy, massage and meditation, as well as, most importantly, listening to her body.

Cancer, Circulatory System, Nervous SystemDara Shashoua28 January 2020Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Cancer

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Angela Bradley

After a bad fall, Angela Bradley was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 15 years ago in Sydney. While the diagnosis brought a sense of relief as it acknowledged things she had been experiencing for some time, she was given a life-changing prognosis she didn’t want to (and learnt she didn’t have to) accept.

Nervous SystemDara Shashoua21 January 2020Fibromyalgia

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Olivia Djouadi

Olivia Djouadi was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was just one year old. She was told she wouldn’t live past 30. She made decisions and lived her life, studying, marrying her husband and having children, but it wasn’t until she passed that milestone – the age of 30 – that she finally realised she was going to live and began to live her life in a different way because of it.

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Jo Gifford

Jo Gifford is an expert in creative thinking and content creation. In her words, she helps ‘awesome peeps show the world their brilliance without #samesame syndrome and biz BS.’ After burning out and breaking down at age 29, Jo was forced to step back and tune into her body. Since then, she’s embraced her entrepreneurism and crafted a life that works for her and her chronics, not the other way around. With a passion for making things easier and finding joy in life, she’s the creator of the Brilliance Ignition Process and founder of the Brilliance Hub.

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Laura Furiosi

Laura Furiosi has been dealing with Endometriosis since she was 17, has created a few businesses, been awarded the Ausmumprenuer of the year in 2017 and is an Endometriosis Australia Champion. I would say that having a Chronic Illness is purely part of Laura’s story, not all of it.

Reproductive System, Nervous SystemDara Shashoua28 May 2018endometriosis, Fibromyalgia

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Tina McDonald

Tina McDonald is the founder of Avalanche Coaching where she offers services in professional coaching and mentoring for businesses and individuals wanting to explore and reach their potential. When she was in a car accident that further aggravated her conditions, she realised something had to give. That’s when Tina made the decision to prioritise her family and her health, and left her job. What followed was her entrepreneurism which allowed Tina, in her words, to work alongside her conditions, not against them. Now, she makes time for her rewarding career in coaching, alongside making time for her family and listening to her body. Find out more and read Tina’s story below.

A Chronic Entrepreneur: Dara Shashoua

Dara Shashoua is the founder of Byzantine Design – a Melbourne-based store that curates tiles from across the globe to service Australia. She is also the founder of A Chronic Entreprenuer – which began out of her passion to share the stories of those living with chronic illnesses and how they’re thriving each and every day, by living their lives and doing what they love. Here, Dara shares her story of discovering her chronic – multiple sclerosis – how it’s changed her life and how she lives with it today.

Neurological System, Nervous System, Immune SystemDara Shashoua31 December 2017Multiple Sclerosis

Stories.