5 reasons ADHDers make great business owners

Running a small business (especially a creative one) is challenging in so many ways. I didn’t know I had ADHD when I ran my first business, but in hindsight a lot of my strengths and successes make so much more sense now.

I was able to pivot, act on ideas quickly, hyper focus my way through production and planning, and take risks. So here are five things that make ADHDers such great business owners - according to my own experience.

We can spin a lot of plates

We love when things are happening, ideally all at once so that we can activate our excellent multitasking skills. That’s why you’ll usually find ADHDers running businesses where they need to wear a lot of hats. Sound familiar, fellow ADHDer?

We act fast

Ideas never pass us by. When we come up with one, we act on it right away. Because we know that if we don’t, we’ll probably forget all about it within minutes. Thanks so this lack of inhibition control, we are usually ahead of the curve.

We can pivot

ADHDers love new things and rarely get stuck in the same patterns for long, because we get bored. That’s why we’re not slow to pivot when things don’t seem to be working, and we see opportunities everywhere.

We think outside the box

ADHDers are naturally creative and often think in ways that others don’t. We tend to excel at brainstorming, and solve problems by making unexpected connections. This creativity is also connected to a higher willingness to take risks - all great traits for a business owner.

We can hyperfocus

Hyperfocus is often referred to as the ADHD superpower, or secret weapon. When it really matters, we can channel intense, sustained focus by completely blocking out the world around us. This intense state of flow can be really helpful in getting a project over the line, but it does tend to train us, so make sure to recover afterwards.