If you’ve been told that lead generation means pitching constantly, being visible everywhere, or following a one-size-fits-all funnel strategy… this episode is going to feel like a deep breath.
In this solo episode, I share the most powerful (and overlooked) way to grow your audience, build trust, and attract aligned clients — through the sustainable and soul-led path of community and collaboration.
Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your approach as a coach, creative, or service provider living with chronic illness, I’ll share how to use your hobbies, professional skills, and innate talents to build visibility and create genuine relationships that convert — without pretending, burning out, or pushing beyond your body’s limits.
You’ll walk away with:
- The #1 mindset shift that makes collaboration sustainable
- How to attract aligned leads using your actual interests (not just business strategies)
- A simple weekly rhythm for connection, even if you only have one good hour a week
- Real-life examples of how I grew my podcast and audience without paid ads or constant posting
- Gentle journal prompts to help you turn your personality into your magnet
This episode is a gentle nudge to do things differently — and proof that you can generate leads from a place of alignment, joy, and rest.
Connect With Me
Send Me A Text & Share Your QA's or Thoughts
Loved this episode? Leave a review: https://www.craftedtothrive.com/reviews/new/
Products We Love + Special Guest Gifts → Want to support the show and treat yourself? We’ve created a quick-access list of products I personally use and love, exclusive savings from podcast guests, and other gems that can help you live well and do business with chronic illness. Explore our faves + savings here!
Subscribe HERE to Chronically Profitable, A free exclusive weekly email series designed for creatives and women with chronic illnesses. You'll learn how to make a liveable income with your hobbies, professional skills, and innate talents by building a successful online coaching business with simple strategies that work for you, even on flare days, and feel better living with chronic illness.
To Start and Grow A Creative or Service-Based Business with Chronic Illness, Book A Free Sales Call With Nikita Here.
Join & Follow Nikita & our Community Channel on Instagram
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Today's episode is one that is going totalk about lead generation or acquiring
(00:07):
more people to know about what you do sothat you can nurture and convert them.
And we're talking about thisthrough one of my favorite ways of
creating lead generation, which isthrough collaboration and community.
And I'm going to share with you whymost people are doing it in a way
that leads to burnout, misalignment,and just plain disappointment.
(00:30):
So whether you're at the start ofyour business or you've been building
for a while, you've likely heardthat you need to network, you need
to pitch, you need to get visible,you need to collab with the right.
People, and maybe you've tried,but something about it has
felt off, it's felt draining.
It's felt awkward, it's felt one-sided.
It's just not felt authenticallyyou in any way, shape or form.
(00:54):
And this is not just for introvertsthat feel like this, but also
extroverts have felt like this as well.
So if you've ever felt like I don'thave the energy to be everywhere.
Or I have the energy to be everywhere,but I don't wanna be everywhere.
I'm not the kind of person whojust slides into people's dms.
I want real connection, not justthe surface level kind of collab.
(01:16):
You itch my back eye.
It's yours.
This episode is for you.
Welcome to Business with Chronic Illness,the Globally Ranked podcast for women
living with chronic illness who wantto start and grow a business online.
I'm your host, Nikita Williams and Iwent from living a normal life to all
(01:36):
of a sudden being in constant painwith no answers to being diagnosed
with multiple chronic illnesses.
And trying to make a livable income.
I faced the challenge of adaptingtraditional business advice to fit
my unique circumstances with chronicillness, feeling frustrated and more
burned out than I already was whilemanaging my chronic illness to becoming
an award-winning coach with a flexible,sustainable online coaching business.
(02:00):
I found the surprisingly simplesteps to starting growing a
profitable business withoutcompromising my health or my peace.
Since then, I've helped dozens of womenjust like you learn how to do the same.
If you're ready to create a thrivingbusiness that aligns with your lifestyle
and wellbeing, you're in the right place.
Together, we're shifting the narrativeof what's possible for women with
(02:22):
chronic illness and how we make a living.
This is business with chronic illness.
A value that guides everything that Ido is something I wanna share with you
before we dive into this conversation.
(02:44):
It's probably one of my deepesttruths when I think about
how I've grown my business.
Community holds us,collaboration grows us.
This value runs through myentire business ecosystem.
It's how I've builtlong-term trust with clients.
It's how my podcast has grown without paidads, and it's also how people find me and
(03:05):
feel like they know me instantaneouslyand want to be in my offers or in
my world, or just connect, right?
Because.
The reason why I believe this is becausecommunity is what holds us through the
messy parts when we're authenticallyshowing up and being who we are, and
collaboration is what expands us beyondour current reach or our current rooms
(03:28):
or situation, but only when it's donefrom alignment and not performance.
So today I'm going to walk you throughone powerful shift you can make to
build community and collaborations thatfeel good, that support your capacity,
and that actually move your businessforward without burning you out.
(03:48):
Now, there is a lot to this actually,when I was thinking about this episode.
So I'm just gonna break downfor you in this episode.
The most important starting point I wantyou to remember when it comes to this and.
Most people start in the wrong placewhen it comes to lead generation when
you're using collaboration and community.
(04:12):
So I wanna share what I thinkhas been the reason why people
are starting at the wrong place.
This is just to bringmore awareness to why.
If you've been doing this way, ithasn't been working, or if you've
been wanting to do this, why youhaven't really leaned into it more.
Most people try to network, quote unquote,before they connect to themselves.
(04:34):
They ask, who should I be pitching?
What's the best strategy to get seen?
Who do I need to know to grow faster?
But when your life includes.
Everyday ups and downs, chronic illness,burnout, recovery, or just being a
deep feeling sensitive human being.
That strategy doesn't feel right.
(04:56):
It just feels completely out of alignment.
It feels transactional becauseit skips the most important part.
Your capacity, your values, your rhythm,your vibe, and your actual reality.
So instead of asking how do I getin the right rooms, try asking
where do I already feel most myself?
The real starting point iswhat's gonna help you connect
(05:19):
in the right rooms, right?
Connecting from what you careabout is what will help you
shift your thoughts about this.
So start your collaborations andyour community building from what
already brings you joy, both insideand outside of your business.
It's that lane that I alwayssay that business is personal.
It's that point that what, who and youare vicariously is being brought into
(05:43):
your business in some way, shape, or form.
And that is a part of how we can grow.
This is what I've coached so many of myclients through and it changes everything.
Why does it do that?
Because it removes the pressure toquote unquote perform to be something
that you're not and anchors yourconnection in truth not tactics.
It naturally attracts peoplewho value what you value.
(06:05):
So what does this look like?
Maybe you love talking about plantsand your home habits or DIY projects.
Maybe you're obsessed with long formcontent like podcasting or YouTubes.
Maybe you're a huge book readerand you love mystery or you love,
old school books, or maybe you're apoet and you love poetry maybe you
(06:25):
love slow mornings and journalingand scrapbooking and book clubs.
Maybe you enjoy certainaspects of your creativity.
Paint by numbers crocheting,maybe you love music.
Like I do.
And it's just something youare feel, you feel so moved to.
Maybe it's traveling.
There's so many things.
(06:46):
There are so many doors into connection.
And from that connection,collaboration grows.
And here's the beautiful part foranyone listening who's still learning
how to make a livable income with yourhobbies, your professional skills, or
your innate talents, community holds us.
Collaboration grows us,is your business model.
(07:07):
If you want to start coaching,creating, or consulting online without
burning out, this is where you begin.
You let community hold yourconfidence while you're building.
You let collaboration growyour visibility, even if you
only show up once a week.
Let your values and your passion bethe map, not someone else's funnel.
(07:29):
This is how you grow using strategiesthat work even on flare days, even on
brain fog days or just bad days andunpredictable life things happening
because you're not forcing output.
You're creating connection.
You're sharing from what'salready inside of you.
That's lead generationthat works with your body.
With your reality.
This can happen in a doctor's office.
(07:51):
This can happen at the mall.
This can happen atgetting your nails done.
Leads can come from anywhere and so canclients, and that is how your income
comes from this place of integrity.
That's how you build a businessthat actually feels like you.
So here's what I did back in theearly days when I started my podcast.
I wanna share this in context oflike how I know this is to be true.
(08:13):
And also currently I'm likeplaying with TikTok and.
I'm testing out this theory on this newplatform on how this is working, and my
first viral pieces of content came fromliterally this truth, this reality, right?
Is tapping into things that I justvalues are, I'm con connected to.
(08:34):
But let me go back to thedays with the podcast.
When I started my podcast backin 2017, I wasn't thinking about
who is a big or small person.
I was like, wasn't trying tothink about who is most famous.
I was just trying to connect with peoplethat I felt like there might have been
some resonance, some commonalities.
Some common ground, some interestthat I was interested in, right?
(08:55):
I wasn't tracking audience numbers,I wasn't trying to optimize my reach.
I was thinking, who do I genuinely admire?
Who feels aligned with what I believe in?
And from there, I made it a practice.
Every week I picked three people onInstagram to just to engage with.
I didn't pitch them.
I asked them questions.
I learned about them.
I engaged with their content.
(09:16):
I did not slide into their dmsautomatically to ask favors.
I just connected.
I'd reply to a story, comment on a postthat resonated, ask questions like I said,
and tear them on, and eventually it felt.
It just felt good to naturallylead into I love your content.
I love who you are.
I love to get curiousabout you and your story.
(09:37):
Would you be interestedbeing on my podcast?
Not because they had a massivefollowing, but because they had
something to say about their storyor something to share, something
that aligned with the conversations.
I wanted to hold space for thatsimple rhythm built relationships
that I still have today years later,and some of those people are now.
Doing huge things like very popular, butwhen they first came on my show, they
(10:01):
were just people I connected with andI think that's a really big, important
piece because that's how I have ledwith my values and why I've been able to
sustainably keep growing in the way thatI have done it, especially on my show.
And I'm testing this theory out as well,in a way, on TikTok by talking about
all these all these different bucketsof things that I am interested in.
(10:24):
And it's not just business related.
And I'm really bringing my fullpersonality as much as I can that
feels good and within my capacity.
And I believe that's the reason whyI went pretty viral pretty quickly.
Now let's be real for a second.
This is a note on capacity.
You might think that soundsgreat, Nikita, but I'm tired.
(10:45):
I'm already stretched thin.
I don't have the energy toengage like that, and I get it.
Which is why I teach this asa capacity conscious process.
You don't need to connectwith 30 people a week.
You can start with one.
You don't need to go tofive networking events.
You can start by joining a conversationonline that feels safe and welcoming.
In fact, I often coach my clients tochoose one platform, one value thread,
(11:10):
and one intention and build from there.
Because when you respect your capacity,you build connections that respect it too.
So let's reflect, pull out your penand paper journal or whatever, because
this is the part that will help you bemore intentional in creating these this
community and these collaborations thatwill lead to leads is these questions.
(11:36):
What topics, hobbies, or experiencesmake you feel most like yourself?
Where am I already engaging withcuriosity and joy that I want to share?
What parts of my business orthings that I do is something
that I could talk hours and hoursabout and not feel like it's work.
What would it feel like to builda community based on shared
(11:58):
values, not just business metrics?
So I'm gonna say that again.
What would it feel liketo build community based.
On shared values, notjust business metrics.
These questions are the foundationof sustainable visibility.
This is how you grow without doing more.
Because again, say it with me, communityholds us, collaboration grows us.
(12:22):
This is how we scale visibility, deepen,trust, and expand without doing more.
So here's what I want you to know.
You don't have to networklike everyone else.
You don't have tocollaborate like a marketer.
You don't have to push yourselfinto burnout to be seen.
You can build from your truth.
You can collaborate from yourcapacity, and you can connect through
resonance or vibing, not just reach.
(12:44):
And when you do the people whoare meant for you, they find you.
You don't need to beeverywhere all of the time.
You just need to bewhere your values live.
Your energy will do the rest.
So if you're craving more of this kindof approach, one of one that makes
space for your reality, your rhythm,and your values, come join us inside
(13:07):
of chronically UN and Profitable.
My hybrid group coaching program where Igive you one-on-one coaching along with
a group community where women livingwith chronic illness are wanting to
build a business that is sustainable.
Literally, if you decide to join, by theend of this week that you're listening
to this, you could get your own capacityconscious plan on how to start lead
(13:30):
generating for your business so you canbring clients and build a community that
serves you even when you're resting.
All right, until next time.
That's a wrap for this episodeof Business with Chronic Illness.
If you would like to start and growan online coaching business with me,
(13:50):
head to the show notes to click a linkto book a sales call, and learn how
to make money with chronic illness.
You can also check out our websiteat ww dot crafted to thrive.com.
For this episode's, show notesand join our email list to.
Get exclusive content where Icoach you on how to chronically
grow a profitable business whileliving with chronic illness.
Until next time, remember,yes, you are crafted to thrive.
Today's episode is one that is going totalk about lead generation or acquiring
(00:07):
more people to know about what you do sothat you can nurture and convert them.
And we're talking about thisthrough one of my favorite ways of
creating lead generation, which isthrough collaboration and community.
And I'm going to share with you whymost people are doing it in a way
that leads to burnout, misalignment,and just plain disappointment.
(00:30):
So whether you're at the start ofyour business or you've been building
for a while, you've likely heardthat you need to network, you need
to pitch, you need to get visible,you need to collab with the right.
People, and maybe you've tried,but something about it has
felt off, it's felt draining.
It's felt awkward, it's felt one-sided.
It's just not felt authenticallyyou in any way, shape or form.
(00:54):
And this is not just for introvertsthat feel like this, but also
extroverts have felt like this as well.
So if you've ever felt like I don'thave the energy to be everywhere.
Or I have the energy to be everywhere,but I don't wanna be everywhere.
I'm not the kind of person whojust slides into people's dms.
I want real connection, not justthe surface level kind of collab.
(01:16):
You itch my back eye.
It's yours.
This episode is for you.
Welcome to Business with Chronic Illness,the Globally Ranked podcast for women
living with chronic illness who wantto start and grow a business online.
I'm your host, Nikita Williams and Iwent from living a normal life to all
(01:36):
of a sudden being in constant painwith no answers to being diagnosed
with multiple chronic illnesses.
And trying to make a livable income.
I faced the challenge of adaptingtraditional business advice to fit
my unique circumstances with chronicillness, feeling frustrated and more
burned out than I already was whilemanaging my chronic illness to becoming
an award-winning coach with a flexible,sustainable online coaching business.
(02:00):
I found the surprisingly simplesteps to starting growing a
profitable business withoutcompromising my health or my peace.
Since then, I've helped dozens of womenjust like you learn how to do the same.
If you're ready to create a thrivingbusiness that aligns with your lifestyle
and wellbeing, you're in the right place.
Together, we're shifting the narrativeof what's possible for women with
(02:22):
chronic illness and how we make a living.
This is business with chronic illness.
A value that guides everything that Ido is something I wanna share with you
before we dive into this conversation.
(02:44):
It's probably one of my deepesttruths when I think about
how I've grown my business.
Community holds us,collaboration grows us.
This value runs through myentire business ecosystem.
It's how I've builtlong-term trust with clients.
It's how my podcast has grown without paidads, and it's also how people find me and
(03:05):
feel like they know me instantaneouslyand want to be in my offers or in
my world, or just connect, right?
Because.
The reason why I believe this is becausecommunity is what holds us through the
messy parts when we're authenticallyshowing up and being who we are, and
collaboration is what expands us beyondour current reach or our current rooms
(03:28):
or situation, but only when it's donefrom alignment and not performance.
So today I'm going to walk you throughone powerful shift you can make to
build community and collaborations thatfeel good, that support your capacity,
and that actually move your businessforward without burning you out.
(03:48):
Now, there is a lot to this actually,when I was thinking about this episode.
So I'm just gonna break downfor you in this episode.
The most important starting point I wantyou to remember when it comes to this and.
Most people start in the wrong placewhen it comes to lead generation when
you're using collaboration and community.
(04:12):
So I wanna share what I thinkhas been the reason why people
are starting at the wrong place.
This is just to bringmore awareness to why.
If you've been doing this way, ithasn't been working, or if you've
been wanting to do this, why youhaven't really leaned into it more.
Most people try to network, quote unquote,before they connect to themselves.
(04:34):
They ask, who should I be pitching?
What's the best strategy to get seen?
Who do I need to know to grow faster?
But when your life includes.
Everyday ups and downs, chronic illness,burnout, recovery, or just being a
deep feeling sensitive human being.
That strategy doesn't feel right.
(04:56):
It just feels completely out of alignment.
It feels transactional becauseit skips the most important part.
Your capacity, your values, your rhythm,your vibe, and your actual reality.
So instead of asking how do I getin the right rooms, try asking
where do I already feel most myself?
The real starting point iswhat's gonna help you connect
(05:19):
in the right rooms, right?
Connecting from what you careabout is what will help you
shift your thoughts about this.
So start your collaborations andyour community building from what
already brings you joy, both insideand outside of your business.
It's that lane that I alwayssay that business is personal.
It's that point that what, who and youare vicariously is being brought into
(05:43):
your business in some way, shape, or form.
And that is a part of how we can grow.
This is what I've coached so many of myclients through and it changes everything.
Why does it do that?
Because it removes the pressure toquote unquote perform to be something
that you're not and anchors yourconnection in truth not tactics.
It naturally attracts peoplewho value what you value.
(06:05):
So what does this look like?
Maybe you love talking about plantsand your home habits or DIY projects.
Maybe you're obsessed with long formcontent like podcasting or YouTubes.
Maybe you're a huge book readerand you love mystery or you love,
old school books, or maybe you're apoet and you love poetry maybe you
(06:25):
love slow mornings and journalingand scrapbooking and book clubs.
Maybe you enjoy certainaspects of your creativity.
Paint by numbers crocheting,maybe you love music.
Like I do.
And it's just something youare feel, you feel so moved to.
Maybe it's traveling.
There's so many things.
(06:46):
There are so many doors into connection.
And from that connection,collaboration grows.
And here's the beautiful part foranyone listening who's still learning
how to make a livable income with yourhobbies, your professional skills, or
your innate talents, community holds us.
Collaboration grows us,is your business model.
(07:07):
If you want to start coaching,creating, or consulting online without
burning out, this is where you begin.
You let community hold yourconfidence while you're building.
You let collaboration growyour visibility, even if you
only show up once a week.
Let your values and your passion bethe map, not someone else's funnel.
(07:29):
This is how you grow using strategiesthat work even on flare days, even on
brain fog days or just bad days andunpredictable life things happening
because you're not forcing output.
You're creating connection.
You're sharing from what'salready inside of you.
That's lead generationthat works with your body.
With your reality.
This can happen in a doctor's office.
(07:51):
This can happen at the mall.
This can happen atgetting your nails done.
Leads can come from anywhere and so canclients, and that is how your income
comes from this place of integrity.
That's how you build a businessthat actually feels like you.
So here's what I did back in theearly days when I started my podcast.
I wanna share this in context oflike how I know this is to be true.
(08:13):
And also currently I'm likeplaying with TikTok and.
I'm testing out this theory on this newplatform on how this is working, and my
first viral pieces of content came fromliterally this truth, this reality, right?
Is tapping into things that I justvalues are, I'm con connected to.
(08:34):
But let me go back to thedays with the podcast.
When I started my podcast backin 2017, I wasn't thinking about
who is a big or small person.
I was like, wasn't trying tothink about who is most famous.
I was just trying to connect with peoplethat I felt like there might have been
some resonance, some commonalities.
Some common ground, some interestthat I was interested in, right?
(08:55):
I wasn't tracking audience numbers,I wasn't trying to optimize my reach.
I was thinking, who do I genuinely admire?
Who feels aligned with what I believe in?
And from there, I made it a practice.
Every week I picked three people onInstagram to just to engage with.
I didn't pitch them.
I asked them questions.
I learned about them.
I engaged with their content.
(09:16):
I did not slide into their dmsautomatically to ask favors.
I just connected.
I'd reply to a story, comment on a postthat resonated, ask questions like I said,
and tear them on, and eventually it felt.
It just felt good to naturallylead into I love your content.
I love who you are.
I love to get curiousabout you and your story.
(09:37):
Would you be interestedbeing on my podcast?
Not because they had a massivefollowing, but because they had
something to say about their storyor something to share, something
that aligned with the conversations.
I wanted to hold space for thatsimple rhythm built relationships
that I still have today years later,and some of those people are now.
Doing huge things like very popular, butwhen they first came on my show, they
(10:01):
were just people I connected with andI think that's a really big, important
piece because that's how I have ledwith my values and why I've been able to
sustainably keep growing in the way thatI have done it, especially on my show.
And I'm testing this theory out as well,in a way, on TikTok by talking about
all these all these different bucketsof things that I am interested in.
(10:24):
And it's not just business related.
And I'm really bringing my fullpersonality as much as I can that
feels good and within my capacity.
And I believe that's the reason whyI went pretty viral pretty quickly.
Now let's be real for a second.
This is a note on capacity.
You might think that soundsgreat, Nikita, but I'm tired.
(10:45):
I'm already stretched thin.
I don't have the energy toengage like that, and I get it.
Which is why I teach this asa capacity conscious process.
You don't need to connectwith 30 people a week.
You can start with one.
You don't need to go tofive networking events.
You can start by joining a conversationonline that feels safe and welcoming.
In fact, I often coach my clients tochoose one platform, one value thread,
(11:10):
and one intention and build from there.
Because when you respect your capacity,you build connections that respect it too.
So let's reflect, pull out your penand paper journal or whatever, because
this is the part that will help you bemore intentional in creating these this
community and these collaborations thatwill lead to leads is these questions.
(11:36):
What topics, hobbies, or experiencesmake you feel most like yourself?
Where am I already engaging withcuriosity and joy that I want to share?
What parts of my business orthings that I do is something
that I could talk hours and hoursabout and not feel like it's work.
What would it feel like to builda community based on shared
(11:58):
values, not just business metrics?
So I'm gonna say that again.
What would it feel liketo build community based.
On shared values, notjust business metrics.
These questions are the foundationof sustainable visibility.
This is how you grow without doing more.
Because again, say it with me, communityholds us, collaboration grows us.
(12:22):
This is how we scale visibility, deepen,trust, and expand without doing more.
So here's what I want you to know.
You don't have to networklike everyone else.
You don't have tocollaborate like a marketer.
You don't have to push yourselfinto burnout to be seen.
You can build from your truth.
You can collaborate from yourcapacity, and you can connect through
resonance or vibing, not just reach.
(12:44):
And when you do the people whoare meant for you, they find you.
You don't need to beeverywhere all of the time.
You just need to bewhere your values live.
Your energy will do the rest.
So if you're craving more of this kindof approach, one of one that makes
space for your reality, your rhythm,and your values, come join us inside
(13:07):
of chronically UN and Profitable.
My hybrid group coaching program where Igive you one-on-one coaching along with
a group community where women livingwith chronic illness are wanting to
build a business that is sustainable.
Literally, if you decide to join, by theend of this week that you're listening
to this, you could get your own capacityconscious plan on how to start lead
(13:30):
generating for your business so you canbring clients and build a community that
serves you even when you're resting.
All right, until next time.
That's a wrap for this episodeof Business with Chronic Illness.
If you would like to start and growan online coaching business with me,
(13:50):
head to the show notes to click a linkto book a sales call, and learn how
to make money with chronic illness.
You can also check out our websiteat ww dot crafted to thrive.com.
For this episode's, show notesand join our email list to.
Get exclusive content where Icoach you on how to chronically
grow a profitable business whileliving with chronic illness.
Until next time, remember,yes, you are crafted to thrive.
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