1) Be Your Own Boss, but Get the Help You Need When You Need it
Advice sometimes given to ADHD adults, or what we tell ourselves- If you can’t work for anyone else, work for yourself, start your own business, be a solo entrepreneur. Be your own Boss!
This is yet another ADHD double-edged sword. We often have trouble fitting in to traditional, linear-structured organizations
- We have a different working pace than our co-workers
- Sometimes our impulsivity causes us to respond or react in ways that may seem a bit, well, odd to those around us, or even get us fired
- We seem to ourselves like the Odd One Out (that’s also the name of a great book about ADHD by Jennifer Koretsky- hi Jen)
The answer-Be your own boss! This can actually be a VERY good thing, IF you understand what you’re getting into and take a proactive stance re: possible challenges.
In the book The E-Myth Revisited, author Michael Gerber explains how often a small business owner is three people in one- “The Entrepreneur, The Manager, and The Technician, and how conflict can develop between these three roles within the business person” (It’s an eye-opening read- check it out). This seems to me to be true whether you own a small business or you’re a self-employed company of one.
You may have the global view- ( “What if we sliced the bread?”) , or you may just want to make bread and to hell with the sales, paperwork etc. Or you may get into buying the ovens, the slicer, etc. the cake boxes, and running it all, but the other jobs in the business are not what you’re about.
Simply put, where are you the strongest? For example, is it the global view- the vision? If so, you need to have or need to learn the skills to clarify the vision, develop the plan to realize the vision, and then handle the day-to-day un-stimulating stuff like bills, taxes, ordering supplies, etc.? Maybe that’s stuff you need to outsource, but you try to do everything yourself- a typical ADHD approach, and one that can get us in trouble.
A few tips:
- If you’re busy busy busy, and the bills are chronically unpaid, the taxes are undone, and you’re running out of supplies and patience, GET HELP
- If you want a clear business plan (and you do), but you’re hopeless with Excel, OUTSOURCE it.
- If you’re great at sales but lousy at marketing, create a strategic alliance with someone good at it, or pay someone to help you.
These may seem like obvious solutions to problems that anyone would be aware of, but as an ADHD coach, I often work with folks who are accustomed to not seeking help, and are stuck on trying to go it alone. DON’T GO IT ALONE. For more info, check out this link on my website about ADHD business coaching to help you succeed with your new or established business.
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