Being an ADHD business owner comes with it’s fair set of challenges BUT, surprisingly, it can also be a super power. How would I know?
In 2022 I found out that I myself am an ADHD business owner. You wanna know how I found out? Instagram.
I was happily scrolling along through my reels and I started noticing that I was getting a TON of videos all related to ADHD. But, I wasn’t just getting them and scrolling on through. I was relating to everything I was seeing A LOT.
It was as if someone had been secretly videoing my entire life and making parodies of it.
So, I did what any responsible self-diagnosed albeit Instagram influenced ADHD business owner would do, I made an appointment with a psychiatrist.
And, my suspicions were true. I had indeed been struggling with ADHD my entire life.
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The Current Landscape of ADHD Business Owners
It’s currently estimated that about 6% of the US is diagnosed with ADHD. Couple that with the fact that there are around 33.3 million small businesses, and you come up with just under 2 million ADHD business owners.
AKA, there are A LOT OF us out there. But, there’s even more to the story.
ADHD diagnoses are on the rise. So, not only are there a lot of us BUT there are more and more of us every single day.
And, sure there’s a case for ADHD being over diagnosed BUT I actually think the fact that more and more people are becoming aware of their own ADHD struggles is a great thing for everyone.
It brings more awareness which will in turn lead to more and more people talking about and finding solutions that work for them.
ADHD Business Owner Super Powers
A lot of you reading this might be like me, diagnosed later in life. I was in my 40’s when I first realized just how much I identified with common ADHD symptoms.
It was as if all of my past frustration with getting easily distracted had a context outside of my being “undisciplined” or “spacey.” My heart got to take a deep breath because something wasn’t necessarily wrong with me.
My brain just works differently.
And, while that might mean I have a hard time with some things, it also means that I excel in things that others find pretty difficult.
In fact, I’ve come to see ADHD as an asset to my life and business instead of something I’ve got to work to avoid.
Sure, there are things I definitely have to make accommodations for. I have to work extra hard on the final details of any project I’m working on because after the dopamine hit has long gone I have ZERO interest.
But, stuff like “seeing the big picture” or “instantly understanding a strategy that will accomplish XYZ” are all things that take me hardly any effort. And, that’s the kind of stuff that I’ve found other people aren’t great at.
So, my encouragement to you as you navigate being an ADHD business owner is don’t simply try to “fix” your ADHD brain. First, that’s impossible, BUT, ALSO, you’ll miss out on some of the best happy byproducts of having ADHD if you only see it as a problem.
Here are some things that I have found to catapult my productivity as an ADHD business that will hopefully help you as well.
1. Get Radically Comfortable with Your Limitations
As someone with ADHD, I hate being told I can’t do something. In fact, that’s a sure fire way of getting me to obsess over being the best at that thing.
That fire within has been the catalyst for figuring out how to be good at all sorts of random things web design included. BUT, it’s also lead to a lot of frustration.
And, more often than not I find myself in situations where my abilities, skills or even time allotment are NOWHERE NEAR where I need them to be in order to finish a task that I volunteered for.
I think folks with ADHD really struggle to understand their own limitations. Some of that is because we’re horrible at executive functioning.
Executive functioning in general is the ability to set goals, manage our emotions and then go on to achieve the goals that we set for ourselves.
But, I also think it’s because we’re actually pretty good at figuring out how to be good at stuff.
The Curse of Being Good at Everything as an ADHD Business Owner
I recently saw this post from a fellow ADHDer talking about how frustrating it is to know how to learn to be good at just about anything we want.
Now, listen, I know that sounds like we’re just being stuck up. “Oh look at me! I can be good at anything!” 💩
But, in reality, it’s not always a good thing, ESPECIALLY AS AN ADHD BUSINESS OWNER.
You can’t be good at everything in your business because quite frankly there’s just to much to be good at.
So, you need to get REALLY REALLY comfortable with not being good at everything and not having time for every good idea you come up with.
As someone with ADHD it’s hard to admit when I’m not enough or I won’t be able to finish something in the time I thought I would, BUT if you want to get more productive, you’ve got to learn what you truly are and aren’t capable of.
That way you can do the work that only you are really good and can take on the projects that mean the most for your business.
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2. Learn to Ride the Waves of Productivity
Having ADHD I’ve found I have two modes: Hyper Productivity or Complete Lack of Focus 😂
I’ll wake up one day in the middle of a big project and have no desire to do anything at all.
Then I’ll wake up another day and be like, “let’s clean the garage out, build a new website, write 10 blogs and record a video.”
There really isn’t any in between AND both of those modes can come out of nowhere.
For the longest time I tried to fight that. I’d have checklists, timers, accountability all to force myself into normal productive rhythms day in and day out.
But, those things never worked. I mean, maybe they’d work for a few weeks or a couple months max.
But, eventually, all of my best efforts and new strategies would slowly fade into oblivion and I’d find myself frustrated with the fact that I just couldn’t stick to a plan.
So now I just choose to ride the waves. I take a break if I don’t have any ability to stay focused. Even if I’m in the middle of something big.
But, at the same time, if I’m hyper focused I don’t stop even if it’s quitting time. I just ride the wave for as long as I can.
That would be my encouragement for you. Don’t feel like you have to fit in to the normal work rhythms of everyone else. Your brain doesn’t work like theirs.
Limitations On Riding the Wave
Now, there are some circumstances where that doesn’t work as well as others. Obviously, it’ll be a bit tougher if you’ve got a hard deadline or a boss that wants you in or out of the office at specific times.
But, even still, you’re not completely without options.
First you could talk to your boss about your ADHD and just tell them you might need to leave early every once in a while BUT you will always get your work done. Many of us are only motivated by tight deadlines anyways!
For projects with deadlines, I learn to find other things that will give me an emotional boost that are unrelated to the project like keeping a movie on in the background OR putting a tangible reward at the end of that deadline.
I just try anything and everything to keep me motivated and headed toward the finish line.
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3. Embrace the Value of the Side Quest
You can boil down just about any reason an ADHD business owner gets uninterested in a task or project to dopamine levels.
Dopamine levels are high when you first get started with a project you’re excited about. But, inevitably, over time as realty sets in and the luster of the shiny new toy fades away that wonderful little hormone decreases.
And, you find yourself as uninterested in that same project you couldn’t stop thinking about mere days ago.
Sound familiar? That’s the plight of so many great ideas that ADHD business owners tend to have.
But, don’t worry. There are some things you can do to keep yourself motivated even after the initial excitement wears down.
How Side Projects Help with Low Dopamine Levels
Recently, I’ve realized that if I’m really excited about ONE project, it helps to fuel all other things I’m working on at the time.
It’s kind of like the idea that “the rising tide lifts all boats.” Except, this is the ADHD business owner version.
So, I’ll start a side project or what I like to call a “side quest” if I’m particularly lacking in enthusiasm to do the stuff I know I need to do to run my business.
But, here’s the thing. I don’t set any expectations around the project. I don’t give myself deadlines. I don’t even try to convince myself that I’m going to actually see the thing to the finish line.
I’m okay with half-finished projects that never see the light of day because the purpose isn’t to finish it. The purpose is just to get me excited.
Yes, there is a graveyard full of half baked ideas that never quite got there. BUT, the enthusiasm they induced AND the extra skills they added to my repertoire were well worth it.
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4. Just Do it…And Don’t Be Afraid to Do It Messy
The Nike slogan is almost correct for ADHD business owners. Yes, we need to just do it. But, we’ve also got to be okay with the fact that our “just doing it” is going to be really messy.
It likely won’t be a tidy process. Our brain just doesn’t work that way. But that’s okay. You don’t actually need to have everything all organized and neat for it to be successful.
I love what Chris Do said in a podcast I had him on a few years back. He said that, “the most successful freelancers are those that have a proclivity to action.”
In other words, people are successful if they just act. They just do it.
But, it’s tough to do that some times. We want to make sure we’re all studied up. We want to organize the files, build a 6 month plan, hire a part time coach all before we take our first step.
My ALMOST ADHD Business Owner Just Do It Failure
I recently almost fell prey to this pitfall recently. There was a course from someone I follow that was outlining how to do something I was about to start doing.
The kicker: it was $300 off it’s normal price!
That’s almost like crack cocaine for ADHD business owners. You’re telling me I’m gonna get all the plans, details and prep work outlined for me AND IT’S THE CHEAPEST PRICE IT’S EVER BEEN SINCE YOU FIRST LAUNCHED THE PRODUCT!?!?!
I almost did it. But, I sent it to my friend and boss James Nwobu and he helped bring me back to reality. His advice, “You probably know everything in the course they’re going to teach you. You just need to do it.”
He was right. So, I didn’t buy the course. Instead, I just got to work on the thing the course was teaching.
Getting things done is never going to be an orderly process especially as an ADHD business owner. Sure, try to be organized and prep but don’t let that keep you from just getting started.
5. Aim for a C…Not an A
ADHD business owners have a tendency to obsess over perfection in some things. The things we care about at least. The stuff we don’t care about could be an F and it wouldn’t bother us 😂
But, one things for sure, we care about our business. That means that we want to do everything in our business to absolute perfection.
When others have moved on, we’re making adjustments because it’s just not right yet. It reminds me of an instagram post my friend Jen Olmstead made. She’s up late at night moving a text element 1 px back and forth trying to get it just right.
The caption reads: “Me up at 2am making design decisions no one will notice but me.”
The Grade School Hack for ADHD Business Owners
Here’s a hack I learned. Frame what you’re doing in terms of the grade you’re trying to make on an assignment from school.
Don’t shoot for an A. Don’t even shoot for a B. Shoot for a C.
A C grade on stuff that ADHD business owners care about is actually closer to an A minus for everyone else.
In other words, you’ve got to get really comfortable with not being perfect on the things you care about. That’s a tough one. Sometimes it feels like a gut punch.
But, trust me, it’s okay if it’s not perfect.
It reminds me of something a friend of mine used to say, “An imperfect something is better than a perfect nothing.”
6. Rhythms Not Todo Lists
I have tried every form of project management and/or to do list system there is.
They all start the same way: enthusiastically optimistic. But, they all end the same way: forgotten and unused.
This tendency to try and find systems that will work for me has resulted in a lot of dollars spent that led to nothing. I call it my ADHD tax.
Slowly, I’m learning that these systems just don’t really work for me as an ADHD business owner. BUT, what does work is figuring out my rhythms and hijacking those.
We all have rhythms whether we’ve got ADHD or not. We all get up and have somewhat of a morning routine. We do pretty much the same thing when we get to work.
What you need to do is observe your own rhythms and then figure out a way to play in time with them.
The BJ Fogg Behavior Model
This very much borrows some ideas from BJ Fogg’s behavior model.
A very dumb downed version of the Fogg behavior model says that actions need a prompt or a cue in order to happen. So, what you’re doing is trying to find a “cue” that will remind you to do something that you have to do.
For instance, I’ve been needing to change out links to the ole self-made web designer blog. And, I typically will sit down every night to watch a television show with my wife before I go to bed.
So, the prompt to go in and change out links is when the TV turns on for the final show of the evening.
Do that in your own life with stuff that you need to get done AND give yourself a lot of grace to start it, stop and then start again.
Eventually, something will stick for a while.
7. General Tasks with Big Windows
If you want to do anything consistently over time as an ADHD business owner you have to do two things:
- Make the task SUPER GENERAL
- Give the time frame you’ve got to get them done a BIG WINDOW of opportunity
What do I mean by that? The best way to explain this is through my own example.
I’ve found that in order to keep things moving forward in my life and business I need to do 3 things every day:
- Write
- Record
- Design
Those are my general tasks. If I do NOTHING ELSE I try to make sure that those things get done.
Some times I get a bit more specific depending on season. For instance, right now, I try to write at least 1,000 words a day.
For recording and designing, I just try to do a little bit, at least 18 minutes each.
For you it might be different. You might need to make sales calls every day to move the needle or post a video.
Whatever it is, just keep it general AND don’t critique it while you’re doing it. JUST DO IT. See hack number 4.
Time Frames for ADHD Business Owners
The second thing you’ve got to do is give yourself a time frame. BUT, make sure those time frames are pretty vague.
Inspiration and motivation strike at weird times for me. Some times it’s first thing in the morning. Other times it’s at 11pm right before I’m about to go to bed.
Knowing that, I try not to have super set deadlines. So, instead of saying write 1,000 words every day 5 days a week. I say write 5,000 words a week or 20,000 words a month.
That way if I have a tough week I can make up for it later without feeling like I’ve train wrecked my plan.
So, lighten up on the specificity of what you’re trying to do and when you’re trying to do it in order to actually get things done.
8. If All Else Fails…Co-Working Helps
I was my absolute least productive over the pandemic. That’s probably not unusual.
Like many of you, I just couldn’t stay focused. Getting things done felt like I was at the last 3 miles of a marathon which if you’ve ever run one you know those are the miles you desperately want to quit.
The only thing that pulled me out of it was finding co-working meetups.
What are co-working meetups?
It’s a bunch of people who hope on a zoom call and just work. That’s it. Nothing special.
But, for some reason, any time I was about to get distracted, I would look up and see other people with their heads down getting things done. And, that was enough for me to stick to what I was doing.
Caveday for ADHD Business Owners
One great co-working resource is a company called Caveday. Caveday has a ton of different groups to jump on and do a co-working session with.
When you’re on a session a leader will steer the group. You’ll typically work in a 15 minute increment then take a break and talk about what you accomplished.
It is a paid community but I kind of like that. With that, you know the people there are serious about getting work done.
Just FYI, I am an affiliate for Caveday. So, if you sign up through my link, I’ll get a small kick back. But, I wouldn’t promote it if I didn’t think it could really help you.
Wrapping Up On Helpful Tips for ADHD Business Owners
Listen, I know a lot of that advice is probably not the conventional wisdom you here when it comes to productivity. Trust me. I’ve read all the books.
My library is full of productivity books. But, none of it really worked for me. These are the things that HAVE worked.
And, the tips are quirky and a bit unusual but I’d rather look weird while actually getting stuff done than trying to look like everyone else and not be productive.
So, don’t let the fact that the things you find truly helpful to your ADHD business owner brain are a bit unusual keep you from just going for it.
Because, if you can hone your skills and fine tune your energy, you’ll find that your ADHD isn’t a liability. It’s a superpower.
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