Building a Values-Led Business for Spoonie Solopreneurs with with Casey Eade

Why real connections matter in business

Casey Eade

Casey Eade didn't set out to become an entrepreneur. She calls herself an "accidental" one. But growing up surrounded by creative, passionate people who carve their own paths can nurture an independent spirit. As a neurodivergent, chronically ill, and disabled entrepreneur, Casey saw a gap in how business owners connect online. Traditional marketing tactics often demand relentless energy—something many in her community simply don't have.

How did she build a business while dealing with such adversity? Let’s find out.

Roots of Entrepreneurship: Growing Up Creative

How did your experiences as a triplet and growing up in a creative environment shape your non-traditional career path?

Growing up as a triplet, my identity in my early years was always one-third - we were known as “the triplets,” a collective unit. Friends of my parents - strangers to us - would always ask how we were the same, and so as soon as we were old enough to make small decisions on our own (like what to wear to school and pack for lunch) we were determined to make ourselves as different as possible.

Our parents were regular volunteers at local renaissance fairies, and this is the “creative environment” that really set me on my nontraditional path. My siblings “grew out” of the rennie life - another way we grew to differentiate ourselves - but I never did (at least, not until the pandemic paused the fairies and, well, everything else) because it was such a part of me.

I consider myself to have been “raised” at ren fairies. In an environment where we were encouraged to create our own characters, alternate identities - where anyone could be anyone - I developed a love of storytelling and for listening to other people’s stories. I feel like that interest in people is a big part of why I do what I do now, and why I love it.

The Accidental Entrepreneur

How did you find yourself in the world of entrepreneurship?

Spring 2020 was my last semester at university. I’d been hoping to land an editorial or publishing internship over the summer - seemed only fitting for an English degree and all - but all those hopes were dashed pretty quickly with the sudden onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. I ended up spending about a year in pretty bad shape, with regards to my physical and mental health. These were undoubtedly worsened by the fact that I’d had to move back home when the pandemic hit, and well, my parents really wanted me to get a job and move out.

In 2021, I managed to snag an “internship” position making Instagram graphics and captions and cold DMing people (I know, ugh) for a friend of my sister’s then-boyfriend. It was during that position that I realized, “you know, I could probably charge money for this,” and began brushing up on my skills, learning less-icky ways of connecting on social media, making myself an Instagram page… and the rest is history.

How did your experiences as a neurodivergent and chronically ill person shape your business approach?

Funny story: I actually didn’t really consider myself to be “neurodivergent” until I started doing online business, and it was like, “Oh wow. That explains a lot!”

And a big part of that was being a tiny baby virtual assistant, wanting to absorb all the information I possibly could - attending every webinar, downloading every freebie - and realizing just how much of the common advice simply did NOT work for my body-mind or my capacity at all.

So from about the six-month mark onward, I knew I wanted to work with other chronically ill, disabled, and neurodivergent entrepreneurs. But it took a couple more years for me to realize the “why” at the core of it: because I was meeting so many other folks who didn’t want to build huge, wildly successful million dollar agencies - we just want to find a way of doing business that aligns with our values and works with our body-minds.

Can you share how your personal challenges became the catalyst for Casey Connects (Formerly Chipmunk Marketing)?

I’m not ashamed to admit that spite was a major motivator in me starting the business, originally named Chipmunk Marketing. As a disabled person in a less-than-accepting household (and, let’s be frank, a less-than-accommodating world) I wanted to make something successful enough, from the ground up, as a “fuck you, I did it” (can I curse here?) to everybody who’s ever told me or other disabled people that we can’t be business owners, or be successful, etc. To prove myself to them, and also, definitely, to myself.

How do your multiple identities—queer, disabled, neurodivergent—inform your business philosophy?

One of my core values in business and life (the two are inextricably connected for me, as for many of my clients) is compassion - compassion for yourself, and for the people around you, and for everybody. We all want to be seen, and not just in the “follow me on socials” kind of way. We also want to be understood, and to meet and work with other people who understand us and believe in our inherent value and worth as humans. We need folks who “get it.” So I think given my identities and these values, it’s only natural that my work has evolved to focus so much on helping people “find their people.”

Rethinking Lead Generation

A little about Casey

What makes Spoon Savvy Leads different from traditional lead-generation services?

I spent two or three years of my entrepreneurship journey as an engagement strategist for social media management agencies, where the lead generation I did was often focused more on quantity than quality. I learned how to find a lot of accounts very quickly that had the keywords they were looking for, and that was what I delivered - and for those clients and that work, that was great, that was exactly what they wanted and needed.

But working now with largely solo business owners with limited capacity, whether that’s disability or being a parent or having a nine-to-five job, and working with people whose values and identities are such a core part of their business, the quantity over quality approach just doesn’t make sense to me. I’d rather do the deep work and research to help you connect with a handful of people that have the potential to become real close friends and collaborators and partners in your business, so that you can focus your limited energy where it’ll be most impactful.

How does Spoon Theory influence your approach to engagement?

I learned the hard way as a done-for-you engagement specialist that the same tasks every day did not take up the same amount of energy every day. Some days, thirty minutes of engagement flew by, and other times, it was like trying to drink a DQ blizzard through a straw. But so many of the tactics that are touted on social media just don’t take your capacity into consideration - it’s just “engage for this many minutes” or “make this many comments” or “engage with this many people.”

Well, I want to take the numbers based goals out of engagement completely, and start with, “what’s your capacity at today, and what can we do with it?” So it’s not about hitting some arbitrary numbers goals, it’s about interacting with people in the way that’s going to help you hit the goals that matter - building relationships with people - without burning yourself out.

What were some of the initial challenges you encountered when developing a lead generation strategy specifically for low-energy entrepreneurs?

I think that I’ve really had to learn to completely rethink a lot of the things I was taught, the ways I was taught things should be done, and to loosen up on a lot of the “rules.” For instance, with lead generation, I was taught about it in terms of funnels, and nurture sequences, and conversion rates, and wanting everything to be optimized, optimized, optimized.

But for me and my clients and my business, lead generation is just another way to say, “making connections with people.” And building real relationships with people doesn’t always happen on a strict timeline from step A to step B in X days or weeks. Especially for low-energy entrepreneurs, because I feel that we might often need more time to think about things, and take longer to make decisions, so we don’t like feeling pressured into a funnel, and we don’t want to do that to the people we talk to either.

Marketing That Works for You

What are some common engagement myths that you're challenging?

“You should reply to every single comment you get on your content, even the bot comments.” - I mean, you can if you want to, but it’s not going to make or break your entire social media strategy if you don’t. I recommend spending your time and energy where it’s going to be meaningful, so for me, that means I try to respond to the real people, let them know I appreciate them, and just hide the bot comments. I don’t really care if I’m missing out on “free (inbound) engagement.”

“There’s no way to do engagement that isn’t salesy.” - Sure there is! Engagement can just be talking to people. If you think if it as less of a sales tactic and more of a way of connecting and building relationships with people and building community, it’s a lot less salesy, and a lot more fun too.

“You have to engage for at least 30 minutes a day, every single day.” - I don’t. Some days I engage for zero minutes. A lot of folks say you need to be consistent about engagement, and while that’s true, it’s not the duration that matters - it’s that you are taking some time, when you can, to interact with people and let them know you’re thinking about them, you’re listening, and you care.

For someone feeling stuck with Instagram, or other social media, where should they start?

Start with what you like about Instagram or other socials. Start with what feels good. Forget about the “shoulds” for a second. Maybe that’s watching those reels about baby ducklings. Maybe that’s sending memes back and forth with a friend. If you’re just feeling totally stuck, I would rather you do more of what you like so that you can at least get into a positive headspace and remember what you enjoy about these silly platforms, than nothing at all.

How do you balance maintaining your own energy while running a service-based business?

Self-compassion. And it’s not easy - it’s a constant practice, and a constant struggle against my own depression and anxiety and internalized ableism. But truthfully, I still make a lot of mistakes, I overdo it, and then my body-mind kind of crashes on me and forces me to slow down a bit. But I am trying to be a little more compassionate with myself every time, and I am learning new ways to build that self-compassion into every other part of my business to give myself a bit more “padding,” so to speak. And I think that I’m getting better at it, inch by inch.

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs struggling to market themselves with limited capacity?

Every step counts, even tiny baby steps. Grand, comprehensive marketing strategies aren’t going to work for you if you don’t have the capacity to implement them, and that’s okay. One post on Threads or one Instagram Story or one message to somebody saying “hey, I think you’re cool” - all of that still counts.

Advice for Your Younger Self

Casey in her room reading

Looking back, what's one piece of advice you'd give to yourself when you were just starting out?

Not everything on your “For You Feed” is actually “for you.” I say it all the time, and it’s become a near-daily mantra. There will always be more ads and sponsored posts and viral Reels telling you that you NEED this, you SHOULD be doing that. So practicing discernment, checking in with yourself on what YOU want to build and do with your business (and not downloading every freebie or attending every webinar you see)... That’s what I would tell myself.

What's one book, podcast, or tool that has had a profound impact on your journey?

Not gonna lie, Threads has been a fantastic tool for testing out words and phrases to see what vibes with my audience and feels good for me. Profound? Maybe not. But as a chronic overthinker, it’s also been an excellent practice in just practicing getting something out there, and I really do think it’s helped me get comfier with expressing myself over on the ‘gram too.

For creatives listening who want to stand out, what's one action they can take today to start making their mark?

Grab a journal, or a sticky note, or a Google Doc, whatever you like to braindump in, and write in big bold letters: “Who are My People?” I’m not asking you about your “ideal client avatar” or whatever, I mean “your people” in the broadest possible definition. Do specific names or usernames come to mind? Keywords or phrases? Values, interests, identities? “Neurodivergent,” “soup brained,” “chaos gremlins,” “recovering theater kids?”

Write it all out. Because businesses are not built on clients alone. You will also have mentors, peers, collaborators, friends, people you can have coworking calls with, people you can swap memes with in the DMs. You will need these people too, and you can’t start searching for them until you know who and what you’re looking for. So get it out. Words are important, and in the online space, they’re vital - they’re how we find each other.

Looking Ahead

What's your vision for the future of Casey Connects?

I don’t think I’m ever going to be speaking at huge in-person business events, but I think I would like to be known in the spoonie-preneur space. I think right now more than ever, it’s important for people to know that we disabled business owners do exist and can be successful, and can craft our own definitions of what “success” means.

How do you see your business model potentially expanding or evolving?

In the near future, if all goes well, I’ll be adding a low-cost digital product and a workshop. Beyond that, I’m toying with the ideas of a podcast, a monetized newsletter, a course maybe? Pretty sure it’s always going to be “just me,” but I’m becoming more open-minded about what that could look like beyond 1:1 services.

What impact do you hope to make in the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem?

Can we all just be more compassionate towards each other? Thanks 🫶

How can people support your work?

Paid: check out my signature service “Spoon Savvy Leads” at heyitscasey.com/savvy.

Paid, but less expensive: leave a tip in the tip jar at https://ko-fi.com/caseyconnects.

Free: follow me on Instagram @CaseyConnects (it’s where I hang out most), here on SubStack, or anywhere I’ve dropped links to here: https://bio.site/caseyconnects

Final Thoughts

Casey demonstrates that there's no single "right" way to run a business. By rejecting hustle culture and embracing her own limitations, she's created a service that empowers others to do the same. Spoonie solopreneurs, introverts, and low-energy business owners now have a way to grow their businesses on their own terms so they can avoid burning out.

If her story resonated with you, let her know. And if there's another neurodivergent, chronically ill, or creative entrepreneur you'd love to hear from, drop a comment below. I'm always on the lookout for fascinating voices that challenge traditional business narratives.

If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with fellow creatives or subscribe for more interviews with people making their mark in the most unexpected ways.

P.S. from Casey: “I've never gotten "professional" brand photos done. I took these (photos) myself a couple years ago - in my childhood bedroom, on my childhood bed, with my own crappy Android phone. I wanted to show that it's okay to work with what you've got, even if it isn't much.

And I wanted to show a glimpse of my reality. As a disabled entrepreneur, I started my business working from bed, and I still have many days where I'm doing the same. And there's nothing shameful about that.

Also, the dragon's plushy name is Desmund.)”