## Question:
How do other ADHD founders cope with the internal battle between self-doubt and the potential of their business?
## Intent:
Hashtags: #ADHDfounder #startupstruggles #mentalbattle #entrepreneurship
### Background:
– The user struggles with self-doubt and execution in their startup despite believing in its vision.
– They find it challenging to prioritize tasks and follow through with them.
– The user works well with people and has experience as a Salesforce Account Director.
– They question whether founders with ADHD are suitable for the demanding role of being involved in every aspect of their company.
### Key Points:
1. ADHD founders often face a mental battle between their capabilities and the success of their business.
2. Balancing hyperfocus and distraction can impact execution and ideation in a startup.
3. It’s crucial for ADHD founders to find coping mechanisms and strategies to navigate these challenges successfully.
4. Seeking advice and insights from other ADHD founders can provide valuable perspectives and support in overcoming internal struggles.
### Call to Action:
Share your experiences and insights as an ADHD founder to help others navigate similar challenges. Let’s build a supportive community to empower each other in our entrepreneurial journey. #ADHDfounder #startupstruggles #supportnetwork
A personal assistant to prioritise tasks would be helpful if on a money crunch from 3rd world you can find . The hard parts for ADHD folk are usually repetitive parts you can suppose if cold Calling or mailing them out that you can and actually talking to the influencer you can do . Make things into procedures so that others can follow and you don’t have the administrative overhead on you ADHDers usually suck at it . Systems are your friends ,at starting out phase money can be an issue hence hiring freelancer from Phillipines or some other countries is common pipeline.
If consistent work that has to be done and you don’t like the work , forcing yourself is not an option. If it is a key part and only you can do and cannot be delegated it’s a problem for the business.
ADHDers are good at finding resources , looking at the problem in a unique perspective and big picture ideas about how to work and what to do . But suck at details , implementation,and sustained efforts.
Think of your weaknesses and try to mitigate them. Accountability partners , coping mechanisms can partially work.
I’ll say this, and I’m really not trying to be mean here: the world does not care about your struggle. It sounds harsh but it’s true, especially when it comes to people handing you money for a service.
You either figure out a way to make your business work, or your business dies – it’s that simple.
TBH, this sounds more like depression, which often goes hand in hand with ADHD – have you considered trying therapy?
I only ask because I’ve been there, man. And I can tell you from experience that hyperfocus can indeed be an asset, but my brain simply doesn’t work well (or nearly at all) when I’m depressed.
I have diagnosed ADHD.
I recommend finding a psychiatrist who can assess the best treatment options for you.
Personally, I’ve found that medication isn’t the approach I want because there are other negative side effects.
What I have found to be effective is time boxing. I do it a little different than traditional time boxing. Whenever something comes up in my head, I quickly assess how important it is that I do it. (more on that in a second). Then, I put it on my calendar with an appropriate amount of time to get it done. It could be today, or it could be next week. In practice, what happens is that my calendar is usually very full for the next 2-3 days (on a running basis). Some things take longer than I thought, some things take less, but it all sort of tends to balance out.
The key is determining ahead of time – i.e. NOW – what is important to you. You cannot allow yourself to believe that everything is of equal importance. You should sit down and write out what the things are that your product and company should do. Write down the business’s goals and how you will get there. Then, when something new pops into your head, make a quick assessment: Does this contribute to those goals? If so, how does it compare to the other things?
Never ever ever run your business on whim. Companies that are run on whim fail. Have a plan, execute the plan, and throw everything else in the trash
More than half the successful entrepreneurs I know have ADHD or really seem like they do.
Some great advice here, but whatever tactics you follow, this diagnoses doesn’t preclude you from being successful.
Hey, I’m an ADHD startup founder also.
Being a founder with ADHD is hard. You’re often excited and driven by your projects, but also distractible by those cool ideas.
I recommend not working according to your whims and urges or whatever feels exciting in the moment.
Write a list of things you want to achieve and set a timeframe to do those things.
For example, “this week I’m going to find out if x feature improves adoption. I will do that between 12 and 2 everyday. I’ll give myself 2 weeks to figure out if it works and then drop it.”
Finally, the ADHD-driven idea machine is super powerful, but the subjective excitement around ideas can be bad for you. If you get a cool idea, write it down and then look at it again the next day. If it still looks good, add it to your backlog and only deal with it when it becomes a priority. Doing this means you’ll not be distracted and you’ll have a long list of powerful ideas to draw on in the future.