The Invisible Illness Club | Chronic Illness, Auto Immune

031 Boundaries, MS & Building a Business on Your Terms (with Stephanie Boyle)

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Virtual assistant agency owner Stephanie Boyle shares how living with multiple sclerosis reshaped her work, motherhood, and mindset. We dig into boundaries without guilt, pacing work with alarms and self-check questions, co-parenting through flares, and starting a business small (on your body’s timeline). This one’s a masterclass in honoring limits without losing your ambition.

Key Topics
  • The schedule that listens: using alarms and self-check prompts to pace work with MS
  • Boundaries that stick (and why “no” often becomes a better “yes” later)
  • Recovering people-pleasing: serving well without self-abandonment
  • Parenting in a flare: resilience, honest language with kids, and asking for help
  • Building a values-first business: starting with one client and growing sustainably
  • Finding your people: support systems that celebrate your “no”
  • Faith as a trust fall—releasing what you can’t control

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    Highlights & Takeaways
    • “If I don’t take care of myself, I can’t please others.”
    • Set expectations early: deadlines met, but on a spoon-friendly schedule.
    • When guilt creeps in, remember a past boundary you kept—and how light you felt afterward.
    • Compare less. Chronic illnesses—and capacities—are different in every body.
    • Start small in business. Five hours a week can become forty.
    • Choose community that congratulates your boundaries.
      • Quotable Moments
      • “My faith is a trust fall. I’m trusting God will catch me.” — Stephanie Boyle
      • “Hustle culture won’t get you there faster when your body needs slow.” — April Aramanda
        • Connect with Stephanie
        • Work with By Friday
        • Say hi on social:
          • Instagram: finished_byfriday
          • Facebook: assistancebyfriday

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            Connect with April / The Invisible Illness Club
            • Newsletter: The Unseen Sisterhood
            • Social Media:
              • Instagram: the_invisibleillnessclub
              • TikTok: theinvisibleillnessclub
              • Need ops help? Tell Stephanie April sent you 💌
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                The Invisible Illness Club | Chronic Illness, Auto ImmuneBy April Aramanda, Invisible Illness Club