Confessions of a Business Owner with ME
(AKA: Why I’m both the boss and the biggest liability in my own company)
Running a business with ME/CFS is a bit like running a cleaning company while someone keeps unplugging your hoover.
One minute you’re powering through, the next — silence.
Energy? Gone. Memory? Gone. Ability to remember why you even walked into the room? Gone.
It’s unpredictable.
Some days I feel like a proper businesswoman — laptop open, phone buzzing, diary full.
Other days, I’m just confused and staring at my to-do list wondering who “11am in Bury” is and why I’ve committed to meeting them.
People often ask me:
“How do you do it? How do you run a cleaning business when you can barely carry the cleaning stuff some days?”
Answer: stubbornness, caffeine, a sense of humour, and a team who are basically my spare brain cells when mine have left.
The 30-Minute Text Search
It usually starts with a feeling… that nagging little thought that I’m meant to be somewhere, with someone, doing something.
The problem is, I have absolutely no idea who, where, or what.
So I open my phone, thinking I’ll just have a quick scroll to jog my memory.
Thirty minutes later, I’m deep in a labyrinth of old messages, random screenshots, and WhatsApp group chats full of memes I don’t even remember being sent.
By the time I finally find the conversation, I’m either:
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Already late,
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Sitting in completely the wrong place,
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Or realising the meeting was last week and wondering how to gracefully un-send the “On my way!” text I just fired off.
Meeting a New Client
ME/CFS brain has a wicked sense of humour. It waits until the exact moment you need to sound professional… and then it just switches off.
I’ll walk into a new client’s home, all ready to explain our services, prices, and process — and then suddenly… nothing.
Total mental blank. Like someone’s wiped the whiteboard in my head clean.
So instead of my well-rehearsed intro, what comes out is usually something like:
“Hi, I’m… uh… me… from… the cleaning place… we, um… clean… things.”
And there I am, stood in their hallway, smiling like I’m not 100% sure how I got there — secretly hoping they’ll start the conversation for me so I can just nod along and pretend that was my plan all along.
Brain Farts & Word Soup
Some people forget the odd word here and there.
With ME/CFS, you forget entire categories of words.
I’ll be mid-sentence and suddenly the word for “glass cleaner” is gone — vanished, like socks in the laundry.
So instead, I’ll invent something on the spot:
“Could you pass me the… um… scrubby-sprayer-thingy… for the shiny bits?”
(If you work with me long enough, you learn to translate.)
The Body That Forgot We’re in Cleaning
Once upon a time, I could carry a vacuum up the stairs in one hand, mop bucket in the other, and still have enough energy to rearrange the sofa cushions for fun.
Now? My body acts like I’ve just asked it to carry a grand piano up Everest.
Some days, I pick up the cleaning caddy and my arms stage an immediate protest. My back files a formal complaint. My legs suddenly remember they have “other plans.”
And there’s nothing quite like standing at the bottom of a staircase, looking up at it like it’s personally wronged you, and thinking, Do we really need to clean up there?
Owning a cleaning company when your body’s on strike is like running a bakery with a wheat allergy — you just have to get creative, delegate, and laugh about the ridiculousness of it all.
The Emotional Rollercoaster
Here’s the thing they don’t tell you:
It’s not just the tiredness or the brain fog — it’s the guilt.
The guilt when you can’t do what you used to.
The guilt when your body says “Nope!” in the middle of a job.
The guilt when you watch your team lifting heavy bags while you’re trying to look busy holding a feather duster.
But then there’s the pride.
Because even on the hardest days, I’m still here.
Still running a business.
Still helping people walk into a clean home and breathe that little sigh of relief.
Why It Works (Somehow)
My secret weapon? My team.
They get me. They cover for me. They know that when my brain freezes mid-sentence, I’m not being rude — I’m just buffering like dodgy Wi-Fi.
We work with empathy because I get what it’s like to feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and surrounded by mess you can’t tackle alone.
It’s why ALclean is built on the rule of zero judgement.
The Moral of the Story
Yes, I might forget your name mid-meeting.
Yes, I might need to nap before 10am.
Yes, I might sometimes put the kettle in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard.
But I also know what it’s like to push through, to laugh at the chaos, and to build something that matters — even when your body and brain are playing hide-and-seek with your energy.
So if you’ve ever felt like you’re running on 3% battery…
If you’ve ever lost your train of thought and wondered if it went to a better station without you…
If you’ve ever stood at the bottom of the stairs and considered phoning the vacuum to come down on its own…
Trust me — you’re in good company here.
A Little Note for Anyone Living with a Chronic Illness
If you live with ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, long COVID, or any other chronic condition, I get it.
I know how much energy it takes just to get through the day — and how something as simple as cleaning the bathroom can feel like climbing a mountain when your body and brain aren’t cooperating.
That’s why ALclean offers a special discount for clients with chronic illnesses.
It’s our way of saying: you deserve a clean, comfortable home without having to push yourself past your limits or spend days recovering afterwards.
We’ll work with you to create a cleaning plan that’s realistic, flexible, and kind to your energy levels — whether that’s a regular service to keep on top of things, or a deep clean when you need a fresh start.
If that sounds like it would take a weight off your shoulders, drop me a message.
We’ll make it happen — no judgement, no stress, just a little extra breathing space in your day.
