Heidi Fahrenbacher is a ceramicist. She has faced some huge challenges in her business following a fall on some ice outside her studio.
No one knows the stress of facing injury while running a creative business better than Heidi. She makes a living full time from her ceramics so it was a huge deal when she fell and injured herself.
From business success to a painful path to recovery, facing chronic pain and surgery it took Heidi many years to get back on track, and the healing process is still ongoing.
Heidi and I discuss how she stayed positive through some of her hardest days, how she managed her frustration and got her business back on track.
If you have faced illness or injury, are currently on the road to recovery or would like to make sure you are prepared just in case, have a listen to this episode!
Quotes and highlights from this Episode:
- Heidi’s small business was going very well until in 2011 when she walked out of her studio and fell on some ice, knocking the wind from her. She thought she would be fine but soon noticed a numbness in her foot. She realised then that she had to get some medical advice.
- It took years before the doctors could find what was causing the pain Heidi was experiencing.
- Heidi had to undertake hip surgery and it was at that point she had to stop working.
- After recovering from surgery, 6 months later she started to feel numbness in her foot again and began physical therapy.
- ‘I was ready to quit ceramics.’ {Heidi}
- A foot doctor found that the bones in her feet weren’t aligned and were pinching a nerve. Finally she had found the source of the numbness!
- Heidi finally was in the healing stages and it came down to waiting patently.
- ‘That kind of strain and stress can really bring you down.’ {Heidi}
- Heidi eventually accepted what was happening and realised she had to be honest with herself.
- ‘I would go through days when I would throw a pity party for myself.’ {Heidi}
- Heidi could no longer focus on her social media and marketing and suffered greatly.
- ‘It is much easier to self promote when you are excited about what you are doing.’ {Heidi}
- Heidi soon came to the realisation that it was just work and it was time to cut herself some slack.
- ‘I was surviving instead of thriving.’ {Heidi}
- It took a year or so to get back into things, changing the way she worked and some of the techniques she uses.
- The best practical advice Heidi can share with you is to ensure you are insured especially if you live somewhere where there is no free healthcare, figure out how easy your products are to make in the case that you can’t, and try and have an emergency savings account to cover you through the hard times.
- Emotionally you need to stay positive. Heidi used to use physical exercise to find stress relief but now reads and listens to comedy to ensure she is laughing as often as possible.
- Having a supportive person and/or community is also very important for you emotions.
- ‘You can’t give up, you’re going to want to and there are going to be really bad days.’ {Heidi}
Download or Listen to This Episode
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