AITA for Saying ADHD People Who Can’t Keep a Job Should Try Self-Employment?

Someone said it’s irresponsible to tell ADHD people who can’t keep a job that they should start a business…

So - did I give out ''irresponsible'' business advice? 🤔 

In other words: AM I THE ASSHOLE??? 💩

Because, as an unconventional witchy-goth woman with late-diagnosed ADHD who has been successfully self-employed for the past 9 years, I believe the opposite might be true...

I'm going to explain why.

And why, being a self-employed online digital marketing educator and mentor for my fellow unconventional, neurospicy women and gender diverse creatives, I'm passionate about helping ADHD people who can't keep a job KNOW that they CAN become as self-disciplined, focused, and organized as they need to be to run their own business.

The secret is in finding something you LOVE to do that is FUN.💜

And that keeps your novelty-seeking, highly distractible brain fn INTERESTED.

For me, my creative, highly sensitive brain HATED working boring-ass jobs for boring people doing boring, repetitive jobs! 😂

But once I gave myself FULL PERMISSION to pursue my alternative lifestyle DREAM of self-reliance and time, location, and financial FREEDOM, my whole life changed for the better.

I stopped blaming myself for feeling like a failure and started following my own personal ''exotic life manifesto.''

It only took me 4 months to become self-employed, and a year later, I was traveling the world as a pet-sitting digital nomad.

And that was YEARS before I even KNEW I had always had ADHD and learned how to work WITH my brain as I do now.

I struggled to find my place and purpose in this world for most of my life. But I knew I wanted the freedom of self-employment. So I kept striving to become self-employed over and over and over. Failed MANY times.

But I was determined to make it work. And I finally did!

And I know you can, too. Even if you don't believe you'd EVER be capable of it, like I used to believe.

You don't NEED to BE ''capable'' right off the bat...

What you DO need is a willingness to believe that it might be possible for YOU.

You've just got to start planting some seeds of self-trust in yourself.

I have an unshakable faith that when creative and unconventional ADHD people give themselves permission to separate from the herd, they SHINE!✨

So continue reading to hear my story, or, if you prefer to listen while you multitask, move around, or spin your choice of fidget toy, you can listen to the podcast version on the Hexotica podcast here.🪄 🎧💫

Prefer to watch instead of listen? Catch the video version on the Hexotica YouTube channel here: 🪄 📺 🎧

As an ADHD Person Who Could Never Keep A Job, It Sh*ts Me That People Tell Us We're Too Flaky to Work For Ourselves

Ok, so first, let's grab this angry charging goat by the horns...

It was some random ADHD woman on Threads who posted that she thought it was ''irresponsible'' to tell ADHD/neurodiverse people that they are ''suited'' for self-employment...

Then she went on to say that if they DO, they should then give their programs away for FREE.😮

As someone who has talked a lot about how I think self-employment DOES suit ADHD/spicy people, based on the fact that over 30% of those who are self-employed have ADHD/are neurodiverse, it gave me food for thought...🍜

Personally, I would have liked to have known that my brain was better suited for self-employment when I was struggling to maintain my sanity with a 9-to-5 job.

I ALWAYS struggled with them, to the point where I often quit around the 9-month mark.

Secondly, now that I have been successfully self-employed for over 9 years, I know that I also would have liked to have known that it was not as hard as I had thought it would be!

It IS hard - don't get me wrong. But the struggle to work a 9-5 far outweighs the struggle to be self-employed, in my mind.

I've learned much more about myself and how my brain works through being self-employed than I ever would have as an employee, that's for damn sure.

Self-improvement is one of the greatest benefits of being self-employed. You have no excuses, nowhere to hide, and you are your only obstacle.

So you learn to become extraordinarily self-compassionate and patient with yourself. And discover as much as possible about your brain and how it works.

You LEARN how to become the person you need to be when you have a strong desire to make it work. When you LOVE what you are trying to do!

My point is summed up nicely by the saying by American author Mark Twain ''Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

Some of the most successful business people I know have ADHD, chronic fatigue, disabilities, and complicated lifestyles where they are carers, have dependants,

PASSION and drive are incredibly powerful forces that can defy some of the hardest obstacles, giving people the resilience and resourcefulness they need to overcome extraordinary disadvantages.

But, I DO see her point...

Self-employment can be a double-edged sword for ADHD people who can't keep a job...

You may get the freedom to follow your creative passions, you can work flexible hours, and you can completely bypass rigid corporate structures.

But there are issues that come with ADHD, such as addiction, impulsivity, or risk-seeking behavior, that can be extreme and debilitating in some cases. In such cases, I'd recommend seeking employment assistance or support services before seeking to launch a business.

I do NOT recommend starting a business if you are struggling with serious mental health issues, either. The struggles of working for yourself will only make it worse, trust me. Often, it's the isolation factor. If you can't afford a mentor or supportive mastermind or coaching group right off the bat, and you try to go it alone while struggling with high anxiety or depression, you may suffer.

At the very least, join a free local business networking group and grab a business bestie or two for REGULAR weekly accountability catch-ups. You're going to need them.

Because the problems for ADHD aspiring business owners come in the lack of external accountability, the headaches of managing boing-ass administrative tasks.

Hiring a mentor or team from the very start will help you get the momentum you need to get the business up and running. When you gain momentum, everything becomes faster and easier: your lead gen, your sales, your systems, and your work and rest patterns.

ADHD entrepreneurs can quickly end up in overwhelm and burnout if they do not have a strategy and a LOT of support.

Many people try to get a business off the ground and do not do as well as they would have liked, and go back to employment.

The shame and financial setback of that can feel unbearable.

I know because I have been there many times. My first business was selling handmade accessories via e-commerce platforms. It was never consistently profitable enough to support my world-traveling lifestyle at the time.

My big mistake back then was not hiring a business or marketing mentor, above all. If I had, I would have learned that the fastest track to self-employment was through services. When I closed the e-commerce biz and turned to services, I was fully self-employed within 4 months.

Creative rebels like me will struggle for YEARS, blaming themselves for not being able to get something to work, when the support is and has ALWAYS been there.

You just have to work on your self-compassion and self-worth to get past the self-blame and shame narratives.

All the loud and messy ''head drama'' to make a bit more practical, logical choice: hire someone who knows what to do to help you do what you want to do!

But you've GOT to stop blaming yourself for not being able to keep a job if you have ADHD.

Most jobs were NOT designed to accommodate ADHD novelty-seeking brains.

If you're struggling right now and you've failed REPEATEDLY before (as I did), I have ONE question for you...

Is it better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all?

And is going back to employment truly ''failing''?

Many, many business owners pop in and out of employment before they find their footing on their own.

There is NO shame in that!!

The shame is when we tell ourselves that WE are the failure.

But choosing that story is a CHOICE.

Often not a CONSCIOUS one, though, which is why people will often insist that it was not.

We could equally choose to learn from our failures and feel good that at least we tried, and maybe we will try again.

And if you have ADHD...you'll probably need to try again. Again. And AGAIN. 🤷‍♀️ THIS IS THE WAY!

But know that you are NOT ALONE if you've had a million different jobs and none of them have worked out for you.

Don't just take it from me and my experiences! Go and have a listen to my podcast interview with Becky Tregear, who created her own art-based income stream with a thriving YouTube channel.

Like me, she struggled to keep a 9-5 office job. She's a great example of what giving yourself permission to go all-in on your creative passion looks like.

And as a business and marketing mentor, I admire how she's got exactly the right patient, self-compassionate, long-term thinking mindset for business success. It was evident in MANY of the things she said in our interview. She's got an absolutely radiant business mindset, but as she points out many times, that did NOT come naturally or easily for her.

You have to become a business owner. Simply starting or having a business does not automatically give you that strong internally-anchored identity.

But the good news is, it's ALL LEARNABLE.

And just remember...

ADHD People Who Can't Keep a Job Are NOT Failures. Those Jobs Were Just Never the Right Fit!

You'll realize, eventually, that your brain requires more stimulation and flexibility than a lot of jobs offer.

You can either continue searching for a more aligned career, or you can start now and MAKE ONE!

There are other paths. And self-employment IS a viable option for ADHD people like you. Don't let anyone convince you that you're not suited for it. Like, have they ever even seen how HYPERFOCUSED we get when we're passionate about something??!

It's an incredible superpower, and you can learn to channel that to its fullest when you work for yourself.

And you can just hire OTHER people to do all the boring work for you! Hello, OUTSOURCING!😘

Entrepreneurship is learnable.

I learned it, and now, I TEACH it!

Ready to Create Your Own (More Secure!) Job and Money-Making Skills?

While there's no guarantee that you'll become self-employed as quickly as I did, there are faster ways to build a profitable business of your own that will perfectly suit YOU.

The important thing is not to keep waiting.

You can start NOW, even if you are employed or seeking employment.

Learning to make money online like a money-making Marketician is a skill nobody can ever take away from you.

ADHD people who can't keep a job CAN still keep what's in their beautiful, neurospicy brains! Nobody can ever take the skills you learn away from you.

So learn the skills to replace the job before the job replaces YOU!💥

You could start a side-hustle NOW that'll help you build up the confidence and savings you'll need when you're ready to go full-time.

This is exactly what I can teach you in my SWAN Transformation Strategy mentoring programs. First, we identify and validate your creative business idea. Then I show you the 5 essential foundations to build to make it work. This isn't just a marketing strategy, you see.

We're working together to strategically transform YOU into the thriving online business owner you want to be!

For example, I share my unique approach to help you effectively manage your time and focus. And I help keep you accountable. I show you how to self-coach yourself to manage your ADHD brain for the best results.

Mindset really is everything when you work for yourself. So having a mentor to help you work through both your marketing and your mental blocks is a huge advantage.

It'll literally save you thousands of dollars and weeks. Maybe even MONTHS - of time, trying to figure it all out on your own.

If you'd love to learn more, sign up for my free weekly newsletter, The Inner Sanctum.

You'll get every new Hexotica podcast episode sent straight to your inbox. AND, you'll get a VIP invitation to book a call or DM chat with me to find out more about how to get mentored by me.

Who knows? Maybe you COULD be fully self-employed within just 4 months, as I was!

You'll never know unless you try. 😉

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