ADHD Entrepreneur: Building a Multi-7 Figure Online Business With Executive Dysfunction

If you’re an ADHD entrepreneur trying to grow an online business, most productivity advice won’t work for you.

In this episode, I share how I built a multi-seven-figure online business with ADHD — without forcing myself into neurotypical productivity systems.

We cover:

• ADHD and executive dysfunction in business
• Why energy management beats productivity hacks
• Hyperfocus and how to direct it strategically
• Delegation and externalizing executive function
• Automation and systems for neurodivergent entrepreneurs
• Time blindness and time tracking
• Avoiding burnout and understimulation

If you have ADHD (or suspect you might), this episode will help you design a business that works with your brain instead of against it.

Want strategy that respects your nervous system—and business growth that feels like a spell, not a sprint?

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:56

I have ADHD and I've built a multi-seven figure online business without trying to fit myself or my brain into neurotypical standards. For years I thought that my brain was a problem, and it turns out most business advice wasn't actually built for or designed for the way that my brain operates. Everything changed when I stopped trying to fix myself and started designing my business around my nervous system and attention. So if you have ADHD or suspect that you might, let's talk about what actually works when it comes to building and growing an online business with a neurospicy brain. So I wasn't even diagnosed with ADHD until I was 31. And it was only after a friend who is an executive dysfunction expert told me I should probably get tested. It had never even crossed my mind because I did extremely well in school. And was diagnosed as a young child, was on medication for it from a young age, and really struggled in school because of quote-unquote learning disabilities when really the public school system was not built for his very special brain. Now I look back on this and think it was such a blessing that I wasn't diagnosed at a young age. Because yes, I could have gotten a lot of help around things that I thought were anxiety, thought were depression, maybe they were, but when I actually learned how to work with and manage ADHD, a lot of that stuff just went away. Because I was again trying to fit my neurospicy brain into a neurotypical box. But I do think it was a blessing to be diagnosed so much later because it a huge thing I see in the ADHD space is a lot of people labeling themselves as essentially not being able to be successful or not being able to do normal things because of their ADHD. Because I never had that label from a young age, even though I may have struggled more than most people or had a lot of mental health issues because of it, I did have a certain standard of what I could accomplish and do. Instead of being like smacked with a learning disability label from a young age, which can really fuck with your self-concept and fuck with what you think is possible for yourself. Okay, so with that, let's actually get into it. The first thing that I think is really important for me when it comes to enjoying my business and easily grow my business with ADHD is prioritizing my energy. One side of this is following my creative spark. You know what I mean by this, going through and down into creative rabbit holes of hyper focus and creation. You actually leaning into that energy and riding that wave when it happens can allow you to get 10 times the amount of work done than a normal person in like one-third the time. Now, the key with this is what you're actually hyper-focusing on. I'm sure you've all had the experience of suddenly you're like in a hyper-focus period and you're like three hours into this really weird research rabbit hole, or like finishing this project, and you like look up and you're like, wait, does this even matter? Why the fuck am I spending this time on this? Why am I spending my precious energy on this thing? And it doesn't actually matter. So being intentional about what you're actually hyper focusing on, I think is really, really important. And we'll talk about like time tracking and time blindness in a second, which is kind of a way that I pull myself out of the unproductive, even though I don't like that word, the draining hyper-focus periods instead of the one that is working on projects that are actually feeding your business and making your business easier for you. Luckily, I do actually like business and techie stuff. I will often find myself in uh that hyper-focus rabbit hole working on like connecting tech together for like a new funnel I'm building for my business. That's a fun thing for me. So the other side of prioritizing energy is I've gotten really good at increasing my energy. There's studies on this, but more effective than ADHD meds is exercise. There's like again, a ton of studies on this. And I know for myself that when I go through periods of not actually prioritizing my physical fitness and not doing basic recommendations of cardio and strength training. The thing like not special far-out things, just like basic normal things that the general public and experts recommend. When I stop doing that, which sometimes happens for weeks or months where I just am don't do anything like that, it hits my mental health and it hits my brain so intensely. So I know and I reinforce within my brain that often taking care of my physical body is more important than actual work in my business. Because my brain wants to tell me something different. My brain wants to tell me, oh, I have to do this work, it's so important, therefore I can't exercise. When actually, if I flip this on its head and I reinforce with myself, exercise is actually more important, a higher priority to me than this work project. So that I actually do the exercise before the work project, everything gets easier. I think clearer, I'm in a better mood, I get things done faster, everything is sunshine and roses. Now, also with this is eating well for increasing my energy and energy management. I have had food sensitivities since I was a child, digestive issues since I was a child, so I kind of had to be aware of this at a really young age, but even now I'm often thinking about how will this food impact my energy, not eating food that makes me feel bad, being really aware of how glucose affects my energy levels, stuff like that. Because I know I'm always excited for my next creative burst where a passion of mine or a project of mine gets me excited and I get to go full force in creative mode. I want to make sure that my physical body isn't preventing myself from actually going to that because those are like some of my favorite times ever. Okay, so number two, we first talked about prioritizing energy. Second piece of this is externalizing executive function. Now, what is ADHD? It's an executive dysfunction disorder. That might not be the medical term or the technical term for that. But you know this. Well, one of the key pieces of ADHD is executive dysfunction. Most business advice is around how do you become more productive, how do you motivate yourself to do things, why don't you just finish this task list? And we literally don't have the brain. We don't have the brains for this. So I try and externalize my executive function as much as possible. Obvious ones is if you have the cash flow to hire a team, if you hire the right people for the right roles, it can change your business overnight. And of course, a part of this is actually delegating to them. I know a lot of very smart, neurospicy people who hire people and then don't delegate to them because they're like, I know how to do it, I can do it right, I can do it faster than them, I can do it better than them. When really that's not the point. The whole point is to train someone, even if it takes them longer, even if they don't do as good as you, to eventually being able to do it as fast as you or fast enough and good enough so that you don't have to do it. So I used to have a post-it note that I would write on and I like would write on and I would stick it right on my computer that said, Do I ever have to do this again? That was the question. Do I ever have to do this again? And I stuck it right on my computer monitor. And while I was working throughout the day, I would ask, Do I ever have to do this task again? The whole point of this was prompting myself, and we'll keep talking about this later in the video, of using external cues so that you don't forget things. But the whole point of that post-it note was reminding myself, can I delegate this task that I'm working on? Can I create a Loom video? Can I create an SOP? Can I just change who's responsible for it in my project management system, Asana, so that I don't have to ever do it again. Because if you're trying to finish stuff and you're moving throughout your day and you're moving so fast and everything is going so fast because of your amazing brain, you'll forget to actually hand it over to your team. Who's wanting more responsibility, who's wanting more work from you. So you're welcome to take on this task too. Do I ever have to do this again? If the answer is no, spend that extra 15 minutes creating a video on how to do it and hand it to someone else on your team. Another way that I externalize executive function is with automations. I love this with marketing, I love this with online business. I love we're in a day and age where so much can be automated. I use funnels for this, I use so many email automations, I have templates in my Google Drive, so many templates in my Google Drive so that I can create things one time and never have to think about how to do it again. I have the email template. I have the system, I have it recorded in my Google Drive so that the next time, oh, it's the end of a program and I have to send out the survey for the testimonials. First of all, someone on my team can do that. Second of all, okay, I have a template for the survey and the email to send that out. No executive function required. And third way that I externalize executive function is with systems and rhythms. Because of time blindness, we can often be like, oh, I did that one thing yesterday when it was actually you did it three months ago. No concept of time passing in either direction. So rhythms have become really, really important to me. I know, okay, at the beginning of the month, these are the things that I do. Or you can do it with like lunar cycles or seasonal changes if you want to connect it even deeper with nature. What is an external measure of time that could remind me to do things so I can be in the rhythm of it? Also, with this is habit stacking is incredibly powerful. This is a concept from atomic habits, which is a very large but good book. The idea that there is a trigger that happens that you already do or that already happens, and you whatever you're trying to do, you just stack that habit right next to it. So suddenly that trigger activates that new habit that you keep forgetting. So for me, a good one that I've done recently is in the morning when I drink caffeine, currently in the form of cacao. I'm excited. I drink that every morning, I look forward to it, I get a buzz from it. What I've stacked to that thing that I'm already doing and I already like is writing 15 minutes for my new book, Radical Riches. I'm stacking this habit that I keep on forgetting to do, and it'll months will go by and be like, oh shit, I was supposed to write for my book daily and it's been months. Now I've stacked it on a habit that I'm already doing. I also use physical reminders for this, like the post-it note on my computer. I use a physical timer, like one of these little kitchen timers for reminding me to work. That's another good one of like, okay, I'm doing a 25-minute work period or a 45-minute work period, and it physically counting down in front of me reminds me to focus instead of like bumping around and bouncing around to multiple different tasks. But also like leaving laundry in the middle of the floor so that you remember to put it in the washing machine. Leaving your workout clothes next to your bed the night before so that you remember to do that in the morning. Physical to-do lists that you cross out throughout the day so you know what your priorities are. I also really love a good spreadsheet. I do this whenever I am trying to change a habit or add new habits or remind myself what I've committed to be doing on a regular basis. So if I'm doing a meditation kriya or sadna for 40 days, I'll just make a 40-day list and all the things that I'm trying to accomplish on a daily basis. And these are like from bigger things like daily meditation and journaling to the smallest things of am I eating enough veggies? What days am I eating in my five servings of veggies? Crossing that off. Otherwise, time just goes by and I know the things that work really well for me. And I just don't do them for weeks on end. And I just blink and time goes by and have forgotten about the things that work really well for me. You've probably heard me mention the regenerative business ecosystem, but what actually is it? RBE is my all-access membership for online entrepreneurs who want to build thriving, ethical, nervous system-safe businesses, ones that feel as good to run as they look on paper. Inside, you'll get every single course, workshop, and template I've ever created, from copywriting alchemy and drill-worthy offers to Evergreen Ecosystem and your root system. Everything's organized into clear learning pathways, so you'll always know exactly what to focus on next for your season of growth. And when you join, you'll get a personal onboarding audio from me, like a private welcome ritual, where I help you identify your next right steps based on where you are in your business right now. But my absolute favorite part of RBE is the live calls. Every month we meet twice. One of those is always a QA call with me where I answer every question you asked. You'll get what you need every time. We also move through quarterly implementation cycles, themed seasons of focus, reflection, and growth, plus access to audio drops, a private podcast, and a vibrant community where collaborations, referrals, and real friendships happen. RBE isn't another hustle container, it is a living ecosystem built on rhythm, reciprocity, and regeneration. When you join, you get to grow your wealth and impact without losing your aliveness. Members have used these tools to double their income while working fewer hours, rebuild their creativity after burnout, and finally feel grounded in their leadership again. You can join us now at thedirtyalchemy.com slash RBE, and podcast listeners get 20% off their first month with code podcast. Your next season of ease, expansion, and impact starts here inside the regenerative business ecosystem. Join now and have your best year yet. So another thing that I really like doing in a rhythm is thinking about my regenerative business zones. I do need to create a video for this for the YouTube channel. These are essentially the different zones that are in your regenerative business ecosystem. From zone zero, activities that nourish your energy, zone one, activities that nourish the people already in your ecosystem, zone two, activities that support your business, zone three, activities that nourish people interested in your work, and zone four, activities that help more people find you. So you can see out here in zone four in the wilderness that people are strangers to your work, they don't know you. They can start moving into becoming interested in your work, moving through your business ecosystem towards actually being a client and towards you. On a monthly basis, I identify what activities I'm doing on a daily or weekly basis that nourish each of these zones because it's so easy to forget about entire zones of your business that matter a lot, but you forget about because of your brain. And most of us have certain zones that we really are good at tending to, and other zones that we completely forget about, and then we go into a launch for our online course that is amazing, that people get amazing results from. But because we never tended to the zone four to get new people closer to you and interested in your work, your launch is a flop because you didn't tend to one of the zones. So, I mean, what a great example of externalizing energy in your business and actually seeing the visual representation of your business as an external ecosystem from you. Okay, now the third area that I find incredibly important when it comes to maintaining and growing my online business with ADHD is time tracking because time blindness is so real. I started my business as a freelancer, so I had to track my time in order to get paid from clients. I would tell them how many hours I worked and they paid me hourly. So I got in the habit of tracking my time. And then I just kept that habit over the years, even as my business model changed, even as I started launching small groups and having one-on-one clients and launching courses and digital products. For years I kept that habit of time tracking and was so aware of where my time was going. And then I just completely dropped the habit because I didn't have clients paying me hourly anymore. I just didn't need to be aware of it. And now, years of not consistently tracking my time, I can see and I can recognize how that habit worked really well with my ADHD because it forced me to have this external clock staring back at me, reminding me how much time I was taking on things. When I don't have that, time is just a blur throughout the day, especially days where I don't have any meetings or weeks where I don't have meetings. It's just like an ocean where time doesn't exist and I'm just moving through the world. So right now I'm actually going through a personal challenge of getting not necessarily back into the habit of tracking time all the time, but going through an entire month of tracking my work time because I want to be able to make really clear decisions on what projects are working and what offers require what from me. And it just allows you to be hyper aware of where time is going and what that energy ROI is return on investment is. I mean, I already showed you my kitchen timer. I love this for time blindness of a clock actually staring back at me, especially for really time-sucking activities like being on Instagram, you only go on there so you can post and then you like look it up and it's 60 minutes later. When you go into tasks like that, having a timer that you turn on and suddenly, like, okay, it's gonna only take me five minutes or 10 minutes to post this thing on Instagram. Now, when you're suddenly shaken, being like, oh man, my timer went off, it's beeping at me. What was I doing? It pulls you out of it. Okay, so one little side note here is as you grow your business, as success keeps coming to you, as you continue to externalize executive function and you become more and more aware of what's working and what doesn't. So you're pouring energy into what's working, and then you have all of this extra time and money is going great. I have gotten into traps twice now of under stimulation in my business. This happened last year, so it happened in 2025, where I thought I was in this weird depression, and then looking back on it now, I was like, nope, that was under stimulation. And I've learned this before. I've learned this lesson before. Because I look back, I I forget if it was 2021 or 2022, I was really understimulated because business was going so well, and I had a team supporting me, and automations and systems supporting me, so I didn't actually have to work that much. And the under stimulation of it put me essentially in a depressed state. And of course, I can take my own advice of spending more time doing hobbies, spending more time with friends. I mean, if you have kids, I'm sure that's a great use of time. I don't have kids or want them. Just something to be aware of as you keep going forward with your business, especially with ADHD, is you need to plan for what to do when you're understimulated. Whether that is like, great, I need a new project in my business, or ooh, I want to like go after this big goal, or it is how am I stimulating myself outside of my business? What new hobbies can I take on? Do I need to travel? Because the worst case scenario that I've seen happen where brilliant, creative, neurospicy people will burn down their businesses or burn down super successful programs because they're bored or understimulated. So don't get into that habit. Okay, I did also want to say that I feel so lucky to have had lots of examples of neurodiverse, successful people. This is why I love the internet. This is why I love the time and age that we're in, even though there's so many fucked up things happening. We are also so lucky to have examples of people like us, whatever that us is for you, who have what we have, who look how we look, who function how we function, and they have success. If you don't have examples of very successful people with ADHD, go find them. Use me as an example. But there's a lot of people speaking out about their neurodiversity who've also achieved certain levels of success. Go bask in their wisdom, whether that's working directly with them or just paying attention to all of their free marketing, because that helps your brain understand that it's possible for you. Thank you so much for joining me today on the Regenerative Business Podcast. If you like this episode, please go ahead and take a screenshot of wherever you're listening to this episode and share it on Instagram. Tag me at the Dirty Alchemy. It's one of the best ways to get this podcast out into the world and shared with more people. Next week we're gonna be talking about seven reasons why your last launch may have flopped or not done as good as you wanted it to, and what to do about it. See you there.