Digitizing
My peace of mind and peace of health is more important to me than a multi-staff business, headaches, and the superficial measures of success as I know what it feels like to have faced potentially never being able to work again, I take my limits seriously and my comfort (happiness) as well.
There is nothing more liberating than breaking free from the chains of traditional side-hustles and going completely digital even if I miss client work as this is absolutely expanding my capacity without having to burn myself out in the process and spend energy I don't have.
People who know their truth, purpose, and own their creativity are enhancing their own lives and doing what they can to give back in their own unique way - so they know there's enough spotlight and abundance for everyone.
Everyone can be an expert in their own way.
Quality people who follow your brand for the right reasons will respect that it’s about quality of mental presence, not quantity. They’ll respect the limits/ methods of availability and be inspired by your health coming first. It’s about resonance, not quantity.
Since when is stability a comfort zone when that's the foundation on which different types of growth are built? Why can't the stability-haters uproot their own lives to prove their own ambition and leave the sensible ones alone?
A business without a baseline of order and structure is a recipe for disaster at the slightest instance of unpredictable circumstances, who would want that? What is the purpose of destroying a baseline of stability/chasing one's tail and making no steady progress? Makes no sense.
Compound knowledge carries innate value. I have never been a fan of bouncing around business or craft-wise for the sake of it. Those who want to live in chaotic upheaval can go right ahead, my mental wiring needs no further adventure to appease inconsequential stability-haters.
If anyone who isn't related to your existing craft, brand, family, household, charity of choice is wanting you to be wired differently than you are: they're essentially wanting non-available time and mad they can't get "more" from you. Real ones work around your limits. ✅
Clear brand deal proposals over email are authentic - if they insist on needless calls: they're looking to likely corner you into something. I haven't needed *any* of those for Forbes, Adobe, DNA Test Canada which goes to show that accepting your wiring magnetizes blessings.
I don't tolerate a business model that disrespects, encroaches, bulldozes, or makes my life more difficult. That's why I took it online. I don't run any businesses that require self-sacrifice to prove my worthiness. It's health before the ability to function in business, period.
I would not break my hard-to-attain consecutive focus for a deal I can live without who thinks writing an email is inconvenient (the parameters of how this business operates with which my best deals have had no issue), but try living with ADHD? (Those who personalize the differences of others and lace it with the insinuation that it is difficult are the weak ones).
You don't owe your limited work hours to mis-aligned nonsense at the expense of your fundraiser and business that funds the charity:
Boundaries are healthy, they’re not barriers nor are they difficult (imagine hating working around normal lines), it’s just that it inconveniences those who would prefer to use you (at whatever cost to you, everyone has a right to their own personal goals/health goals in life).
Why this business model and why I am a non-practicing trainer/nutritionist - so more of an influenster who sells online products exclusively?
I don't sell gasoline or food and so nobody's going to die if I delay a fitness or beauty product photoshoot by a few weeks… This is why crafting solutions that reside online for the masses makes more sense than 1:1 client work for me.
How I chose a niche group:
My niche is "wellness" inspiration in general, not using fitness for healing as the main focus so there's no need to linger with the backstories beyond it being known that this strength and ability to read the room and discern character easily did not come to me out of nowhere.
Some niches are far less scalable so there's a business decision behind it, inspiring people to create wellness rituals can be done via content alone with or without anything additional and that is far more scalable.
The challenges have given me street cred in that I have intense resilience, but they don't form the entirety of my identity/brand, which is why I don't regurgitate those stories more than necessary - it only needs to be shared once for multiple people to have access to the article or blog post so it also doesn't drag me back down in the process. I rather talk about fitness, resilience, ADHD (backstories are implicit). What does reliving possibly destructive circumstances do for you past the point of healing/finding solutions that resonate with the unique nuances of your situation? Nothing, and it distracts you from your future as well.
You can still widen your audience by sharing personal experiences as a founder with life experience here and there without making your brand the "solution" to that issue in the process as well so it's not lost or wasted experience, it makes you relatable without hijacking the entire brand.
It is possible to create solutions to wider spread health/wellness problems while still sharing your backstory (that gives you an edge because you actually have life experience beyond just your theoretical knowledge)... but that's the extent of it for me as I am not a "speaker" on my trauma nor am I selling fitness as a trauma solution, I am a nutritionist/trainer with a wellness brand designed to inspire people to take care of themselves (whether they had past trauma or not, my backstory demonstrates that I have life experience, but my brand is not selling trauma solutions so it's not the focus).
Refusing to regurgitate trauma past the point of necessity and healing and not making your whole brand about it also protects your energetic set-point for the law attraction/abundance to work and magnetizing blessings better due to higher energetic vibrational frequency.
Lessons:
Proper business decisions do not get made without adequate time to recharge so no you're not actually advancing anything (but an illusion) by doing "more" in a poorly vetted direction.
Speed isn't progress.
You are impairing your mind long-term with that mentality. Unwise.
Exercise is my mind-clearing and quiet meditative headspace and when my energy is aligned, the right (not just any) inspired action happens easily. Taking action outside of energetic alignment brings about lesser quality results. ✨
I restrict my availability to core work (bottom line work) to enable the ability to drop streams at any point without harming the business and maintaining a good amount of productivity...
Cherishing time off and refusing over-commitment is also a strategy I am starting to grasp.
Stability-haters forget to mention that an organized life allows projects on the side that are carefully vetted and scale-back-able at anytime.
An allergy is not a comfort zone, an intolerance to gluten is not a comfort zone, an amputee's inability to grow their legs back isn't a comfort zone, so: respecting your time, logistical, and mental bandwidth limits with any disability is not a comfort zone: it is dignified to live within your means. You shouldn't spend money that you don't have and you shouldn't spend time that you don't have because that ends up in burnout one way or another. The fact that I'm even working with a severe disability is already showing that I'm not in my comfort zone.
At this point, I just want to be an example for those with ADHD who are choosing to work despite a disability and an example of preserving one's own wellness routines first (while handling core obligations) to give from overflow - not depletion. Affiliate marketing works better.
"Protected time" for deep work is allowing creativity to function without constant notifications, you can't do that if you don't have a clear vision and clear priorities. You can't get anywhere if you don't carve out time for peace and managing your brain for aligned decisions.
A business is a reflection of your personal expression. You are not obligated to include anyone in your private business or life. We should not waste time on things that do not align with our vision or accept pushy "help" that ultimately hinders our progress and distracts us from vision.
Various paths and various business structures exist precisely because everyone is unique and they have their own needs and health considerations. There is no one-size-fits all and only you know what your nervous system needs.
I don't want 150 employees or 2 million 1:1 clients, I want digital solutions/drop-ship products that make an impact without disrupting my disability oxygen mask in the process. The "legitimacy" of this is decided by my health markers, not those who have no business of their own.
Having to eat salty greasy food because I didn't have time to meal prep or headspace to select healthier prepared foods was probably the thing that I hated the most about not having work-life balance and I am definitely never letting it happen ever again. Digital business all the way.
An online business guarantees personal time off-limits (which is respect for humanity and wellness time carved out without overlapping it with anything that resembles work out of basic self-love), my side-hustle was never designed to be a shackle that takes over my main lane so the "depth" is limited to 1-to-many content that should motivate people to do research and then future paid solutions/affiliate marketing.
I did not feel like I fully "arrived" at a happy balance between my craft and decisively keeping my fitness business digital (self-respect is protecting my own health and going the content 1-to-many route) until now. Realizing my own consistency is to thank is fantastic.
Please don't take business advice from someone who would rather do triple the work and suck up their whole evening (instead of sleeping on time) than innovating a faster way forward that uses less resources, those types try to make innovation seem lazy (it's just self-respect).
My business is my unique expression, not someone else's. How I give back and inspire wellness is my own unique way, with clear designated recharge time unbothered and off-limits which is why traffic-control is built-in with a scope.
My potential is unique to me and includes health. If it doesn't light me up or make me happy and I could do more, and I'm leaving money on the table, that's fine as my health will never be left on the table. And unfortunately, we can't do everything in the first place.
When you show up in the manner that works for you, you are getting way more mileage out of yourself and you're capable of giving back in a long-term way that wouldn't happen if you overextended yourself. That's why I'm pumping out more consistent content/doing things digitally.
I rather do digital stuff and a fundraiser than try to be everywhere.
Why would I want a 24/7 business that isn't simplified and manageable? More is not better as size doesn't determine revenue either if you're strategic. More more more is not healthy or sustainable for me. I am not interested in over-scaling. If it's not on my menu, oh well.
My side-hustle is under my full ownership which means the digital method has reasonable workload and traffic control written all over it and if I am clear that I have ADHD as the owner: don't work with my brand if you're not capable of computing the concept of limited hours.
***A side-hustle is not an issue, a side-hustle is an issue when it is scattered and unsustainable and has too many components (it all adds up, don't be afraid to say: that's not the business I am in). Streams must be easy to pause when tired: so digitally-based.***
Intentionally and consciously managing the components to your unique health doesn't lead to "missing out" as the right things and situations are magnetized by your energetic alignment. ✨
I don't remember ever requiring anyone's validation for my unique path remix which meets my need for a stable baseline and self-driven/lean/low-overhead/pause-able creative outlets on the side. If something makes you happy, you're managing your obligations with quality time, and you can afford it, I don't know why anybody cares about how you live your life. There's always going to be someone telling you that you're not doing enough or you should do more. Who cares. Minding your own business doesn't mean you don't care care about others, it means that you're not worried about irrelevant stuff (limited energy) and save your energy for your immediate responsibilities and allocate the left-overs to relevant causes: saves a lot of time/trouble.
Scopes protect you:
The more you value what you're doing, the more you're going to value taking care of yourself because that's how you last long-term whether or not you have a disability: so overworking is not a sign of passion, but actually respecting yourself and your scope is a sign of passion. Your scope is your unique contribution, neglecting what your part is for something else that has nothing to do with your mission would not make any sense and that's a trap that unfocused brands fall into.
There's no way that I can focus on creating digital solutions that reside online for both health and fitness if I am taking on any 1 on 1 clients, which is why spreading myself too thinly and investing in a business model that is easily "capped out" just doesn't work.
***The "right to disconnect" aka being inaccessible/unavailable outside work/business hours has been trending... Feeling safe to disconnect without any notifications is a feeling... A rare one. I could never demand the people choose between their health and demand that they be accessible or available outside of working hours, if they're not a brain surgeon, police officer, or ICU worker. At the end of the day, you can be personable and very caring, but these are business relationships that exist because of the work that gets done during working hours.***
The gurus want you to think there's only one way to live, one way to build wealth, one way to work... They want you to hate the "norm" so they can sell you get-rich-quick schemes and courses. I am happy with my path "remix" as it respects my health restrictions and allows me to go at my pace.
Doing fewer things more better-er got me my best sponsorships and features i.e. Forbes and NBC News so why would I ever go back to scatter-brained-nonsense? For ADHD, the energetic alignment is more important than quantity of actions taken: it's about quality connections who *respect* your time and vision (mutually so).
Eliminating mental clutter that has nothing to do with your vision:
Overexertion and scattered energy is a good way to get nothing done (hundreds of random things in a mediocre manner), no thank you.
Always have a top 3 list in front of you.
Ambition is measured differently for everyone and my biggest ambition is making sure my health is taking care of first and foremost, so anything that conflicts with that is obviously not going to be the highest priority in my life. I won't make my business unmanageable and operationally clunky (as opposed to lean) for someone else's gratification at my own expense.
Eliminate clutter/interruptions and no-ROI tasks to subtract what doesn't add value = creating more time and energy for what does. Only streamlined, not random, work that actually moves the needle is fulfilling... Make sure that it's in-scope and well-defined.
Simplified side-hustle and overall ease of execution (smaller menus and not needlessly fussing over things that don't lead to more sales) makes the complications of ADHD less intense and anyone who does not innately respect this isn't someone I have a desire to deal with. ✅
The existence of my business is also to make enough money to give back to the scholarship for foster kids, does it really matter whether it's digital or not? Absolutely not. I don't want to need to be anywhere at a certain time, I want time/location freedom while sharing inspo via content and solving problems via digital products and solutions at-scale without 1:1 work.
Even the people who run a business full-time don't have all the time in the world and they max out at a few clients per week. I would rather be forced to innovate and use technology and ChatGPT to pull more weight without needing more time (at all).
My love for peace and simplicity has compounded the speed at which my life goals are accomplished.
As a startup owner, you have no business hiring anybody unless you have years of their salary saved because you're literally responsible for them putting food on their table... That's why you go for contractors/profit-sharing instead! Being responsible/level-headed isn't a lack of faith, it's just using your brain.
Pointless (rather than inevitable/natural) chaos isn't for me, it leads to nowhere and has no real ROI.
✨At this stage, I love my suppliers and contractors here and there, but:
Editor? ChatGPT other AI plug-ins
Proofreading? Grammarly
Photo Editing? AirBrush
Videos? VideoLeap/InShot
Photos? Photo Timer + and my tripod
No need for overhead and mentally taxing business models/overstimulation when other options exist.
Setting up structures that are nearly self-sustaining means that the hours you put into your business don't matter, it's the mental bandwidth - then after a while ideally, 80% of it is automated so you can choose to step back as you please (not a service-based business, digital).
I'm finding more joy and simplicity and I think that things don't have to be extravagant to be enjoyable and fulfilling. Prioritizing peace and health.
✨Few non-traditional fitness/nutrition side-hustles:
• Blogging with affiliate marketing revenue
• Vlogging
• Brand deals for your own fitness routine which you already do - no added time expensed
• Ebooks/online plans
• Developing nutritional supplements
• White-label workout plans
• Membership platforms
Most businesses that don't last are: massive, clunky, and complicated.
I'm keeping it lean, easy, simple, sustainable, nimble, and constantly able to switch on and off in a heartbeat.
I can't justify spending more bandwidth for keeping up appearances, my peace is a priority.
I need mental clarity to function with ADHD, which means that if I do not not have a full day for crashing out per week, I can't function at all, regardless of what I do for a living so with this medical consideration, a combined mix of stability and a digital side-hustle works.
Fewer business streams or traffic streams mean better impact in focused directions - that's higher quality output for consistency, scattered efforts barely solve problems beyond a surface level, somewhat useless and highly mentally draining (energetic alignment comes first).
A situation that gives me enough time outside of it to organize myself, process my thoughts, time for daily reflection after the day is done is luxury. I need lots of time for "processing" and if I don't get that, I can't do much, so fewer things is better than no side-hustle.
The manner in which you get out of your comfort zone (if you're even interested in doing so because a disability condition of survival is an actual requirement and not a comfort zone) is different from every person to another and mine just happens to be different creative projects that I can pause as I please...
It's not how much time you have left at the end of the day - it's how much energy you have left at the end of the day because ADHD is measured in bandwidth and focus, not necessarily just time.
A combination of my ADHD and having seen more than enough adventure for one person since my childhood, let's be real... I don't mind the small (pausable) adventure of a side-hustle, but I prefer systematic simplicity and peace in my day-to-day life because of my health.
I don't see how you can be consistent with any goal in life in general with constant upheaval so if you want adventure, read, travel, paint? There's no need to uproot your work/life just for fun or to say that you're coming out of your comfort zone, we all do it differently.
Structure/consistent stability is extremely important for ADHD, and while my hours are not structured (the flexible part), the things that I complete on a daily basis are structured when it comes to health and the scopes of both the craft and side-hustle. It saves bandwidth.
I have a lot of life left to live, but my sense of adventure kind of expired after my childhood and I'm OK with that, now I know exactly what I want and there's a reason for it.
Service businesses can have scope-creep and be a nightmare to scale operationally even with the right team in place (mental bandwidth needs to be focused for me to function at all)... so that's why I went digital and I am managing my lanes in a manner that respects my own balance.
You get to rank the different considerations in your life in terms of how you make decisions however you please, but obviously for me: medical conditions are at the very top of the list.
If I have a need for a baseline of stability that I truly enjoy and feel like I'm contributing to, then why would my business be anything but online? Is it unfortunate that I don't have unlimited time? No, as it's not realistic to expect someone to be able to do everything with or without a baseline and nothing good comes from financial instability even if the "go all in to prove your passion and your life sucks because of your regular job" gurus want to hate on steady income with a craft you love. They don't know what a disability is like and they could not pay me to value their opinion. 🔥
This may be surprising to those think I am "normal" due to being high-functioning, but if I didn't have someone limit my work scope and tell me I can't work too much, I'd run myself into the ground with a start-up, besides, I love my craft and it's fairly autonomous.
Business/craft/life stability leads to slow/steady/incremental growth, compound interest in knowledge, and longevity.
Short-term instant gratification doesn't interest me as it can lead to burnout/being energy-scattered. I rather be making business decisions without desperation.
This is exactly why the follow your passion advice is sort of nonsensical, you need to do whatever it takes and learn to love it (if you don't already) because your passions might not actually be that profitable (money is oxygen and survival) and that's just a reality of life.
It's probably 95% operations, 5% creativity if any, the whole "pursue your creative stuff" full-time is deluded, how do we think a business functions? Operations. If you're doing 99.9% of it yourself especially at first, do we think it's 100% creative design? Please research.
My business has a well-defined scope, menu, and capacity limits. Those who take issue with this are not the clients I wish to work with anyway.
The logistics of digital marketing and digital content are the right ones for my lifestyle (for the side-hustle portion). Is it my favorite? Not as much as coaching was, but time-math is showing me that the logistics matter more when you have a disability than anything else.
I have enough worries when it comes to a medical condition, the last thing I need to be worrying about is chasing my next meal. (why I am choosing my combined-lane approach). I prefer a craft that feels intuitive and for me, systems/numbers feel that way. Side-hustle can be scaled back.
Your purpose is the only weight you need to carry to contribute to the world, you don't have to carry other people's weight, know your priorities and trim the excess as setting your own household on fire isn't what genuine people would expect from you. Protect your peace.
Why digital-ONLY?
This is fun, but never intended to do it full-time/I wouldn't. I like having the best of both worlds: a genuinely neurodiverse craft that is systems-based, and a side-hustle I can scale back when I choose that's 100% online content/digital-only fitness plans. I know what I want.
I don't know, but if a therapist and a doctor can do their work online, I'm pretty sure that the mental wheelchair of doing 99.9% of things - including errands - virtually is not a problem in 2024. It's not on the person who has a severe impairment to "compromise" their oxygen.
I don't think that wanting to feel financially safe is a lack of faith or a comfort zone thing, I think it's about knowing that for me: peace and health come first. I can scale the side-hustle up or down as I please because I don't have people on the payroll depending on me.
I don't think that wanting to feel financially safe is a lack of faith or a comfort zone thing, I think it's about knowing that for me: peace and health come first. I can scale the side-hustle up or down as I please because I don't have people on the payroll depending on me.
I am okay with admitting that it took me so long to "stabilize" my medical condition that protecting it is something I need to go for life and I am okay with that. It's more important to be long-term/slow/steady than grow any area of my life too fast and crash-out.
I love me some money, but are we measuring "potential" and success strictly on these tangibles? We can if it works for us. But I think satisfaction, health, peace, longevity, sustained earnings over a span of time *without* burnout is a higher revenue yield over a span of time. It also keeps me "able" to work, at all.
Working at all is better than nothing in my situation as I got close to never being able to work again.
It's also best not to add staff to my business if I wouldn't even have the time to train them because I have to sleep off my ADHD exhaustion once a week for a full day regardless of what I do for a living, I always needed that crash day: I just didn't know why before.
I just can't risk de-stabilizing my ADHD in the name of growth.
Playing it safe with a health condition is a medical decision.
My small menu of equipment is only the top-selling brands, and I have an equally narrow menu of workout plans. Increasing the mental cost of operations doesn't make sense and more items don't mean more sales or more reach. It's 100% focus on as few directions as possible for me.
If the way your business is run is compromising your health, you change how your business is run and you make it digital as a potential solution. Anything that directly or indirectly threatens your health or your ability to live well needs to be adjusted, I love digital 100%.
Refusing to take flight lessons from chickens isn't arrogance, I just don't have mental energy to burn on people who drain me with random ideas that do not fit my authentic vision. They should mind their business and not siphon my energy. I am not here to entertain people.
It sounds really glamorous to have real estate and overhead and thousands of employees but how much money are you pocketing after all of that? And is it really worth the stress when half of it could be done online or by AI? Not for me.
The blueprint to follow is your intuition and your heart. The "script" that is set out for us in advance as the "do it this way to be happy" is not only lacking in neurodiversity, it doesn't know your unique values. Trusting ourselves and our unique path remix is happier. 🩵
What brings me the most joy is understanding that time and money have an opportunity cost on how they are spent and one way of spending them gets you more freedom later despite some of the upfront sacrifices. The freedom is the ability to say no to any deal for any reason.
The more freedom you have to run your business how you want, the more fun you have while doing it and the more detached you are from the outcome which naturally brings better outcomes and then you don't have to follow trends to chase dollars. 💯
Get your "adventure" from painting, running, side-hustles with unstable ROI. No need to mess with a baseline to prove to the world that you're ambitious or "too cool" for a baseline which for a disability, is self-respect not comfort zone: it's knowing what I want/protecting it.
It's unfortunate that opinions cannot be magically converted into toilet paper as that could be a good use for them, otherwise they remain as useless and irrelevant as the credibility of the sources spewing them out.
Don't let hustle culture trick you into thinking that you earn rest, it's a biological and neurological imperative (regardless of loving your craft) and anyone who expects you to function without or at the expense of your basic coping mechanisms does not mean you any good.
Tranquility in my business is having no overhead, I'll take scaling back at the drop of a hat over massive operations as the impact I am here to make must respect my health and mandatory ADHD-crash-out-day.
Genuine people encourage and respect your wellness because they don't want to use you for anything so they're not bothered by your lack of availability which preserves your baseline survival. They would never want to use you at your expense.
Why would the flexibility of your oxygen mask even be a question or a compromise, when would you ever need less of your mental wheelchair? Only someone who's controlling and doesn't have your best interests at heart would struggle with a boundary that's non-negotiable. If they disrespect your boundaries, they're not looking out for you; they're sent to disrupt your life. A caring person respects boundaries effortlessly. Why should the requirements for your oxygen mask fluctuate day by day? You might need more rest one day, but you'll never need less.
I will always have a side-hustle as a by-product of ADHD regardless of whether I enjoy my craft or not (but I do). This isn't protection-mode or a Plan B, this is Plan A with a side of an outlet for my days where I have too much ADHD energy, but it shuts off fully on rest days.
Segments of your life where you "show up" for yourself - especially when you have a disability - will be respected and encouraged by those worthy of being in your life in the first place. No time for intruders.
No one seems to mind that my business is 100% digital, you can still be personable/caring by any method of communication, and genuine clients who respect time "get" it. I am here for those seeking convenience, I never claimed to be everyone's cup of tea and I don't care to.
Creating a peaceful life is not a comfort zone, it's the sense of knowing what you want and what you don't want, my sense of adventure can come from learning new things and taking certifications on the side - and my ADHD brain. A business requires a foundation for sustainability.
Nothing long-lasting with longevity gets built from an unstable foundation and that's just facts. I don't see not having a stable foundation as adventure, I view it as irresponsibility.
Simplified business models that separates revenue-generation from charity means less mental strain, committed buyers who respect your limited working hours, personal private unbothered off-time for wellness which is why efficiency matters, and overall traffic control increases expertise and true value on focused hours.
I don't want a massive business with a call-center offshore and 1 million employees to take care of, I want something that's manageable for my ADHD and alongside my main lane where revenue generation covers my donation to the scholarship and my lifestyle, that's literally it.
Make your oxygen mask non-negotiable and watch the parasites scatter like the roaches they are. Clearly valuing your private mental recharge time off with no brain usage and respecting your limit of showing up online-only is not for everyone and clearly I don't care. I already have a charity.
I don't understand the mentality of not being able to have a side-hustle and a main lane if that side-hustle is online, it sounds like a time management issue to me and a lack of clear vision, I'd have nothing to allocate "more hours" to in an automated business... No.
If your mind is not in order, then your life will not be in order so the joy of missing out is making sure that no mental clutter is present and not trying to do everything or know everyone is actually a way to control the traffic which increases momentum and focus and expertise.
"Comfort zone" is not the same as:
• Earned stability with a side of
other projects if you like that (ADHD trait)
• Knowing what you value
• Knowing you can't build much off of an unstable foundation if you're chasing your tail and distracted due to lacking a baseline
I have to build my relationships through competence and the work itself because that's all the time I have as a person with a disability, it's not because I need people to pay me to deal to them. That's not the same thing. ✨
Focused work and efficiencies mean it would be a very bad sign if my start-up needed more hours due to its fully digital nature, I would be asking myself some questions about priorities and layouts, this does *not* apply to all work/roles, solely those designed to be digital.
Having my energy aligned is more important than trying to know everyone or do everything because that's not possible. Manifestations speed up without clutter through the avenues of my choice which will resonate for the right fit clients and audience. 👏
There are so many different ways to pursue your dreams and so many different ways to live your life, and I would rather be responsible and build sustainably than listen to the gurus trying to sell me their courses telling people to be irresponsible. Besides, I love my craft.
I think that it's a typical ADHD trait to love multiple things and accepting myself for who I am is better than trying to choose just one thing, as long as I balance both, I'm OK.
I don't want to travel constantly, I don't want to speak at conferences, I don't always want to be on video, I love writing and sharing my ideas with the world in a format that respects my disability and my main lane and gives me more privacy and time freedom.
With building sustainably, I still have no intention to leave my craft. My intention is to pursue both - but because it's my own side of business, I get to scale back when I choose. I have that luxury because I chose two lanes. I love that for me and I don't mind the sacrifices.
The cost of administrative labour for any business stream needs to be accounted for and at the end of the day, you're the one who ends up paying the price so it needs to be done in a fashion where you're really evaluating ROI all the time.
Not only is it just natural for me to enjoy building a start-up, I find having multiple lanes (in my chosen proportions, my personal choice, no one else's issue on when/why) when possible to be empowering for people with disabilities.
If you're doing influencing or an online business efficiently, I would be completely shocked if it was to take more than a few hours per week so the "go do it full-time" gurus: are you unfamiliar with time management or are you just hellbent on pushing your agenda/courses?
Traffic control and scalability are built-in to my business model. I do not live in fear of the foundation breaking. My peace of mind outweighs looking cool. The mental burden is sometimes not worth the potential ROI and that's where energetic alignment for me is more important than the outcome. If my energy is not aligned, there is no business. So what's the point of pointless streams?
The right people are going to resonate with whatever format you choose to put your business in, and you have to have the confidence to know that you will magnetize the right people who want what you're offering. But do NOT build a format that can't be SUSTAINED long-term.
Hiring is the last resort because every additional employee adds complexity and a need for training to your business, this is where ChatGPT comes in. Cashflow matters!
Digital products have a built-in scope and are super clear/easy to scale for the right clients who are already looking for that type of solution.
Switching your brain off as-needed is self-respect and being cognizant of your humanity, not a reflection of your like or dislike of your craft/business. The more you self-care: the better your results and I am glad I finally learned this. 🔥
You cannot miss out on anything you are not available for and having a clear vision means you innately will not have time for everyone and everything, that's part of life.
My capacity is very limited, but the ability to outsource to contractors (they have their own insurance and it limits my liability too) can expand my total capacity without burning myself out so this doesn't take me more than three hours a week.
No one needs to mortgage their personal time, health time, and personal life over elements that can easily be controlled: real businesses have systems that mostly self-manage so creative energy is reserved for real issues, not preventable ones. Willingness to forgo health isn't how passion is measured. I have never seen growth come from unstable/chaotic foundations that are ready to implode from within at anytime: no progress is made around constant messes.
My business model is 100% remote, no travel, little to no meetings (email is as good, if not better for many situations like varying time zones), nothing IRL and this has sped up my creative process as ADHD is permanent and if I want my business to work, it has to fit my wiring 100%.
Even so-called regular jobs can be creative in some respects... Making it a decision of either/or rather than both (in whatever proportion) is a very shallow way to look at life choices, and it really doesn't take into consideration every factor: YOU live with the consequences, not the course-selling-gurus. 💯
I have a question for the gurus who think that entrepreneurship is more glamorous than a regular job that you enjoy, how do you plan on stabilizing your finances when you're chasing your next client? Is that suitable for everyone? There's no one size fits all. Know YOUR values.
I don't think it's wise or healthy to get mad at the people who know what they want, it's wiser and healthier to work on oneself and take some time to introspect and manage one's own insecurities, and try to uncover the roots of the fixation of getting in other people's way.
Always be very careful around people who are subtle about implying that you should be doing something other than you are with your life (your chosen lane remix which matches your health conditions and values) as there's an agenda with hidden intent. Steer clear. Own your choice.
I have the right proportion of stability and craziness for me, and I'm just trying to encourage people to do what's best for their own life circumstances and stop listening to people online who are trying to sell you courses. 🔥
You can have a mix of faith and personal responsibility, it's not either or. The reason I can "play" with more ideas on the side and pay my contractors respectable wages unlike "all in" gurus who exploit interns is because I run multiple lanes, measured growth outweighs haste.
Besides...
What happened to the brands who tried to appeal to everyone during a stress test like the pandemic?
They died.
But Amazon & Uber with their ultra-niche markets (niche means not appealing to all) thrived, so whose example am I mapping out my workflows and business with? 🤷♀️
Working 1:1 would not suit my time limits and if I don't take on 1:1 clients, the only mentorship offered is to influencers/people who work for/with me, I am not sorry for my mental capacity limits and disability: not at all.
Scaling operations down has expanded my focus which works better for the long-term, and while everything may lead somewhere amazing - not everything fits a clearly defined schedule.
Protecting my recharge time precedes all else.
Trade-offs are part of decisive pruning.
Having multiple lanes is fine, as long as the other lanes are well-managed and have time allocations that are not excessive, it is very possible to have multiple things going on especially with technology.
✨ I will take the time constraints of self-funding my start-up over giving up creative control to someone else, the entire purpose of this is that it's my creation. ✨
Time is not a scalable lever and is not always related to the end result, innovation is a lever (leverage).
Creativity = solitude.
Then, purposeful collaboration with carefully selected people, we have a baseline of business operations to manage that won't manage itself 100% under automation and still requires scheduled time, so this is why there is no clownery and clear scopes.
You will *not* have more time with fewer lanes if you cannot manage your energy and time among via various commitments, more time is rarely the solution, my multi-lane approach is a more logical/stable hustle and forced constraints are fabulous for innovation/use of technology.
Levers:
Innovation
Technology
Software programs
Branding
Powerful alliances with suppliers
MEDIA
Time is not a lever and destroying your mental energy away from the core priorities for added headcount prematurely isn't logical if all else (innovation) isn't leveraged first.
Not making upfront/critical "this sounds great, but doesn't fit my logistical limitations" decisions (not every opportunity will) isn't solved by more headcount/time, those resources will be wasted without clarity of vision. Burning 2 hours a week isn't solved by adding 30 hours.
Doing too many small things that don't make a difference long-term will make you exhausted by the time you get to the big things that move the needle. I really don't care if I have to drop a few projects if it means my core priorities are in order.
Not every idea/deal fits, that's part of life. It's not an entertainment centre, it's a business.
A business is a long-term investment so the "new" stream that seems shiny may very well destroy bandwidth for what builds longevity slower (core operations with excellence first), in choosing health first - I know I will see better results over a span of time.
My business doesn't trade my time (that I do not have much of as I manage a disability) for results, it trades innovation/knowledge for results.
Time is not leverage, automation is! If I had "more hours" I would still do this entire venture the same way with less than 3 hours a week (this is why everything is screened heavily before I take it on).
Time isn't candy, it isn't free. I separate my charity and business streams. 🔥
Focus on a maximum of a few things naturally compounds onto itself.
My scope and my direct involvement in this business is *not* a requirement for growth, I am not interested in doing everything so the delusion that more hours means anything needs to be buried. I outsource and I automate because ADHD.
Outsourcing business parts that are nonsensical for me to do so I can manage my gym time to increase quality of presence in all areas of life, don't mind my self-absorbed-muscle-meat-head phase because it has nothing to do with mental health at all! Obviously health maintains itself without guaranteed time carved out outside of main obligation like a robot-machine that is inanimate with no dignity. Just kidding.
Loving what you do doesn't change the amount of rest, recharge, and guaranteed sleeping hours you need daily in order to function physiologically. Hustle culture is pure delusion and insanity wrapped in stupidity with a bow of idiocy.
Potential is unlimited, time is not.
Also, I don't remember asking anyone, ever, how I should manage two lanes, if I should manage two lanes, or whether they think I should drop to one. No. Anyone else's lack of creative innovation to do both is truly not my problem, so back up and mind your business, respectfully.
ADHD is actually a gift when managed properly as it permits me to have a combination of paths in the right proportions for me (combo of stability and whatever-random-project-I-feel-like-when-I-feel-like (my business is based on innovation/AI/technology).
✨✨✨
Also…
Any brand lacking common sense as to how context-switching is more painful for someone with ADHD than someone without ADHD simply writing an email is one I would stay away from happily, such people would not survive even a day with a disability. I love deciding who I work with.
We cannot refocus after pointless context-switching, but what is the harm of just using email if that's not painful to someone without an ADHD brain? I would not break my hard-to-attain consecutive focus for a deal I can live without - I can live without any brand who thinks writing an email is inconvenient, but try living with ADHD? (Those who personalize the differences of others and lace it with the insinuation that it is difficult are the weak ones).
✨✨✨
Those who have issues with how others live their life, all while bothering no one, should manage their insecurities internally and not take it out on other people and make it our responsibility to manage it because it's not.
There is a hard line between sharing parts of my life on social media to inspire others, and then having my personal choices dictated by people who are not being asked to do so.
I connect with the Universe for my creativity, so I am not here to canvass opinions from unqualified sources.
I want to make it abundantly clear that if I have not personally recruited someone to be on the board of directors of *my* business, I'm not at all interested in mentally-energy-and-focus-draining opinions. I have a good balance of people on it right now who get my vision. 💙
The way to handle scaling when you have a health issue is automation, the solution is never more time as that's not a lever. Media, innovation, contractors, tech, AI = levers. Levers are limitless despite our own restrictions due to health. You can go after goals via creativity.
A business does not have to have a traditional structure to be legitimate. Low overhead is how you survive various market conditions.
Technology creates unlimited time in a sense which is why in-real-life-real-estate and traditional business models are not the only way to run a product-based business anymore IMHO, that would not fit my disability's wiring either and it is not even scalable.
Innovate how you want and when you want. Just because resting is not as popular as hustle culture doesn't mean that it's bad. I mean, everyone needs a specific amount of hours to rest per day in order to function at a baseline and innovation pretty much guarantees it. I don't work with anyone who sees wellness as an option or a luxury.
You can scale up or down depending on how you feel and how tired you are, and that's the beauty of online businesses. I wouldn't do anything that requires physical presence at a certain time, no matter how much more time I do or do not have.
I like efficiency because I don't have a lot of time to run this business in the first place so it is what it is, it is very important that every move I make impacts the bottom line positively rather than draining it.
Faith is making illogical decisions with your heart while being grounded by your unique values, not what others think you should do as they don't know your vision and core needs (what makes you sane and happy) as well as you do.
I wouldn't have efficient ideas for my business without the time restrictions and that's the model that works for my ADHD, being forced to innovate from the very first day is much more powerful than having all the time in the world and just wasting it on nonsense (for me). I have no need for trial and error when I have intuition.
When I am tired, I can drop streams from my business as I please so it's definitely not a hindrance to anything else which is what I like about being 100% digital and more time would not change this, I would just get contractors to scale if needed so I can live my life.
I couldn't scale back whenever I pleased if I had physical locations and real estate to pay for.
Self-worth is not measured by how much you can do for others or how big your business/career can be, rather it comes from within, and then you manage the overflow after filling your own cup and managing your own household first. I used to do self-care, while doing other things which kind of defeats the purpose of self-care, because that should be time carved out un-bothered except by dependents.
The luxury of being able to scale back when I want to is because of a stable day job, I don't care if it's supposedly my potential, I actually think it increases it because of my time constraints.
A lot of people want billions of dollars with 65,000 employees in various countries and I think that's a beautiful goal to have. I just want my peace and my health to be honest while making sure I can provide for myself, my household, and leave a significant legacy, but that legacy should not cost me more than it should within reason.
The price of peace is that scaling needs to be done in a different manner, and not necessarily with millions of employees, but maybe a few of them and then using technology so that I can genuinely scale down without breaking everything whatever I feel like and whenever I'm really tired which can happen at any point with ADHD without any notice.
It would be an incredible lack of credibility for my craft and business if I scale it higher than it should be for the days where I crash without any notice, and really need something that I can easily catch up on (without backlogs and pointless real estate that won't survive all market conditions). If I have backlogs, I get very stressed out and I can't think straight so managing my life in a way that suits my health is the first priority even if that's perceived as a holdback, I don't think it's a holdback, because of what technology is capable of producing on my behalf.
A peaceful business model is what's important for me. I need to be able to switch off 100% when I'm at the gym and not have to think about it, and that means that everything I do in terms of operations needs to be done either by technology, or managed by me at a very minimal level or outsourced. This takes a lot more efficiency upfront, and I think that it takes a lot of skill because it's about the significance of the hours rather than the quantity. I would rather give back in a focussed manner as well that be all over the place and that makes sure that my disability self-care time is not bothered.
Part of self-love is respecting your capacity limitations / vision / and pouring into yourself first. Over-commitment leads to poor quality. All the time. Always.
I thought that I was burn out proof, I was delusional, we all have mental capacity limits and I did not respect mine before. I am not perfect with my balance right now and I don't have it all together all the time, but this is still a massive shift from my delusion of before.
You do not need to (nor do you have capacity to):
>solve every issue
>be everywhere
>do everything
>know everyone
Provided you do your part, the Universe will deliver your blessings through the vehicles of your choice.
Confidently choose your tools/niche. Ignore trends.
The work I take on for my business is proportionate to the fact that I don't replace myself when I take time off, double the work in the same strict non-negotiable working hours when I come back is illogical. I plan weeks in advance to respect my capacity and workload ability.
Showing up 1-to-many is the o n l y sustainable framework for this venture and expansion is in systems / processes / speed, I don't want to bog myself down with extra overhead, I like this a lot more, respecting my capacity is working wonders for overall creativity. 🙏
There are segments of your life that are for your mental health exclusively and this ensures sustainably being able to work and show up for your business ventures at 10000% capacity for the long-term, a backlog of unmet self-care needs puts you and your work in jeopardy. Gym is my sanctuary (and I believe in quiet time, whether someone is extroverted or introverted).
Any spontaneous work does not fit a stable scope.
With ADHD, stability in general and a scope are very important because I have to take into account insomnia buffers on top of the time it takes just to manage the disability on a daily basis. The adventure in my life comes from my brain and the fluctuating hours, but baselines are very important.
Health limits just means that your best within your capacity will not limit your growth when it’s focused. So focused growth is high growth for ADHD.
Time freedom is what I am receiving from using innovation and I really value that.
The vision and vehicle used to obtain financial wellness is more important than the end game, as health precedes all.
Sadly we don't receive a warning before crash mode so scaling back at *any* time is critical for my survival, that's why I hire contractors not employees as I am doing things responsibly rather than frivolously just to scale for the sake of it without sustainable infrastructure.
Literally 90% of my business is based on automation, I actually do not work as much as people think I do, I did have to set it up but I am falling tf back for real now that it's digitized and I am not doing anything that resembles work on my time off for my mental recharge time.
Efficient work methods and automations are how I make sure that I go home on time and manage my household and my rest needs with a disability. Those things precede my ability to function.
There is definitely more glamour in traditional business models, but they are the first to lose their real estate when ish hits the fan in the market. Having an online business means my overhead costs are lower, so lower costs for clients as they end up paying for it in the end.
Valuable content builds care and "know like trust" factors online, not much less is feasible or scalable.
There is no "only" way to success as you define it for you, forget what everyone else is doing and how they're doing it and focus on your unique gifts. I had a hard time accepting my ADHD, now that I have: I am getting the right deals that respect my wiring and time.
I LOVE my clients so no, I am not going to take on so many streams where I disrespect the service levels I owe them... Respecting your own scope is respecting quality control.
Many will try to disguise their agenda as support when it ends up being a nuisance to your vision or redirecting you or slowing down, your brand is yours - not theirs.
Not having a clear scope makes it impossible to identify distractions, glad that's out of the way now for my business.
The administrative and operational costs are actual labour costs that are rarely calculated when people randomly start adding components to their business, it's not fair to their clients if they're not able to deliver properly, so why add it in the first place?
A scope is the opposite of slacking, it is the epitome of commitment to not only intensity during set hours, but wellness outside of set hours that is guaranteed. A scope protects your business/creates healthy people who use innovation to leave on time (respecting themselves).
Please don't take business advice from someone who would rather do triple the work and suck up their evening (instead of sleeping on time) than innovating a faster way forward that uses less resources, those types try to make innovation seem lazy when it's their own thinking that lacks creativity.
The dangers of not having a clear scope are poor results and confusing results. Never ever take seriously anyone who ever acted like having a scope is slacking or making it seem like you should feel bad for wanting one or trick you out of confidently wanting a scope. Your business owes only its fair share, the rest of your time is for other areas of life.
You would be silly to overpromise and under-deliver. Those who put boundaries and limits and scopes around their work are actually the ones who care about quality control. We all have limited time in a day whether it's kids or disabilities so keep it in the hours allocated.
Let's say you can afford an added business cost or an added business stream right now, can you afford it during every season of the year or just this season? Are you making long-term decisions based on short-term circumstances? It has to work through all conditions/angles. 💯
Also...
Since 99.9% of work can/should be done over email and FaceTime is very strictly reserved, I'm not forcing any brand to work with me because my mental wheelchair (email only) comes before their sense of fake inconvenience based on a very simple communication method switch.
Never confuse a scope or an accommodation with slacking or lack of work ethic because those are the tools of people who are inconvenienced by respecting you and want you out of the game/picture rather than actually adapting their lazy thinking, I don't work with brands like that.
Guaranteed rest should be basic and not a luxury, if you can't anticipate managing your home, nutrition, and sleep from one day to the next and you're not a police officer or emergency responder... There may be a lack of leveraging innovation.
It being my own brand means I can cut my hours as I please.
I didn't start this to be "on" all the time, it is designed to be 100% online and to work with people who resonate with it. I am not looking to appeal to everyone and destroy my focus trying to do that.
Not resting or having the space to do so at the most basic level (and having no guarantees of time for rest) will allow the infiltration and destruction of your mind so protecting your health is your best protection in any situation: I wish I had learned this before.
You do not owe anything to those who think you should do more or express your gifts differently, you are a human with limited time and needs for rest. Do what is best for you and the right ones will appreciate what you're able to do. Block off that rest time. Self-worth first. ✨
We are not bad focusers, and we are not "extra" or nuts, we just genuinely have no control over that focus circuit the same way that someone who can't walk isn't going to magically grow legs. I just don't know how else to explain it.
The ADHD focus circuit cannot be reconnected once broken so we need to guard both work time and recharge time.
The more you value what you're doing, the more you're going to value taking care of yourself because that's how you last long-term whether or not you have a disability: so overworking is not a sign of passion, but actually respecting yourself and your scope is a sign of passion.
Functioning differently is not a low tolerance for stress necessarily, and being unable to re-focus after an interruption that isn't justified isn't a low tolerance for pressure, it is a fundamental need for different work methods and scopes, ADHD is beautiful when honed in.
I do not extend my working hours or days even on my own business for anything that is not mission-critical for the type of work done and the accomplishment of the outcome (services rendered).
A disability does not go away, we just get more innovative with our work and business, we will never have "more" time to spare.
I operate within the constraints of my health, and anyone who is not a dependent that has a problem with the limits of my availability is going to be shown the door very quickly.
I would never desire less balance than I have now, and I don't understand the correlation between working yourself into the ground and expecting growth because that's actually how you end up in the hospital, that's not how you grow up business or an actual genuine craft...
Remote work saves a lot of energy with people who are already on energetic reserves on most days due to a disability. If the work can be done remotely, it should. 🙏
I would not want to redo work, do double the work, or do manual work when it could be automated even within my own business if it is baseless and reduces my quality of life... I can't see why that would appeal to anyone when it should just be purposeful work being focused on.
Anything that's based on innovation does not rely on excessive manual labour that could be automated in the first place, so there's no correlation between more hours and more growth or more hours and passion. I think it's the biggest lie of hustle culture. Anything semi-structured can be done remotely.
There is nothing materialistic about wanting the best that life has to offer and safeguarding your education/and legacy, especially if you're willing to work for it, having a disability is actually not going to stop me, but it makes me even more intense about building my life.
The right people will understand you effortlessly and the rest would probably not survive a day trying to manage a disability in addition to multiple commitments, so don't worry about those people... You're not here to gain likes, or approval, you're here to express. With innovation, your business can become more passive so all you do is the marketing and promotional stuff and the backend ends up being "AI" or technology. It can take "work" upfront, but worth it long-term as a gift from you to you, a massive investment.
I am not afraid of refusing deals that do not fit my schedule and it's my decision which considers ADHD first always... The main purpose of having a side-business that I own is my agency over what I do and what I don't do. Those meant to resonate with me will understand that it is 100% remote. ✨✨✨
ADHD processes information differently and cannot easily refocus after context-switching so we will manage our e-mails
when we have "mental bandwidth" available, this is why we preserve virtual meetings for when it is direly necessary. This is not that innovative though, it's the basic removal of a barrier.
If needing 99.9% of work over emails rather than meetings is limiting, I wonder how my Forbes feature came about? I removed the notion that everything requires meetings aka a barrier. 🔥 I do love that most people are fine with using email as a main means in this day and age, those are my people.
It's not the different need, it's the resistance of the inflexible minds that haven't evolved, but when accommodations become more popular, those people are much less relevant.
I have tangible and real limitations; however, my work methods are innovative and that crushes the limitations and destroys them. I also know that when I am more tired, I choose the streams of my business to put on pause at any time as it is a very lean and innovative operation.
I don't really care how someone else defines potential and success, I care about reasonable time freedom to manage ADHD (severe - permanent - not going to change or get magically cured with sunshine and lollipops), and I care about health and a legacy. All else is extra.
The ongoing disability management itself takes precedence over superfluous added extras.
Your contributions with a disability and the way in which you're able to show up within your capacity limits and you doing your part and your part only (but doing it very well) will be respected by the right ones, we're not here to seek approval or validation, just resonance.
Combine extremely restricted work hours, intense desire to be nothing like what you saw in your childhood around you, and purpose aka true inner fire that says "I am not an ADHD statistic" and you get innovation/efficiency at the onset because I am born to win.
I don't want to spend hours or time on the side hustle, I want to spend knowledge / brain power upfront so that I can sell / resell the digital products (solving problems for others remotely). The economy I'm in is one of knowledge and hours being spent isn't how growth happens.
Let's normalize respecting our limits and knowing that this is different than a comfort zone, I push my limits in the gym, but when it comes to my time and energy, I respect my limits now... I'm getting so much more done as well!
Knowing something doesn't mean you have the energy to break your ADHD focus circuit (or consecutive rest) and be pulled away from priorities at-hand and physical proximity doesn't mean mental availability either so it's important to guard that mental wheelchair and not loosen the parameters.
You'd be a fit for XYZ if you had the time, they can find someone else.
My creative thinking requires heavy solitude, but there is no way that I could do what I'm doing if I didn't have suppliers and contractors, right? So there is a time for solo work, and there is a time for collaboration, it's just about finding the balance that suits you.
And...
A clear scope for my business means I don't have anything to worry about outside of those hours even if I tried.
I'm not going to punish my efficiency by taking on unnecessary deals either, I earned this ability to scale back.
✨ Rest or work bursts for my variant of ADHD must be consecutive and unbroken as I can't rewire the mental circuit if broken, embracing this has been lovely. The wheelchair we need is mental. Hyperfocus all the way to crash is unbalanced, but that's the nature of a race car brain. ✨
Unless it is critical to the existence of the mission, needle-moving, and it absolutely can't be automated or done with a different communication method, the buffers for insomnia don't move = why my business is digital. It's not a perk, it's a disability.
Overstimulation is louder in the absence of insomnia buffers (burnout ensues), so I don’t move those buffers needlessly especially in my business. That is a higher sacrifice (disability) than collaborating via different communication methods that are neurodiversity-respecting.
Any method of communication can foster professional connections (if it's genuine, even email, OMG the horror lol).
Sleep and wake cycle times do not change the fact that we require more rest and naps due to the race car brain on its own, insomnia is just an added thing. If a digital structure isn't ideal, no one is forcing anyone to work with my brand, I am certainly not.
Being upfront about what you can and cannot provide in any aspect of life is actually doing people a favour and it's quite authentic. I.e: if you're looking for XYZ, I can't do that. I think that's a beautiful thing.
A limited scope is how you make sure you do not overwork, and clear responsibilities as well: so with constraints on aspects - I am not bothered by anyone who believes a brand should be all things to all people (that would be a concerning business model for someone with ADHD).
The diagnosis made me realize exactly what was going on and also make me more creative and find different work methods to get what I want in life because I'm definitely not going to stop my hustle, I just do it differently.
You can have the best of both worlds if you manage your time properly, it's not all or nothing and you don't have to choose one thing if you're capable of doing multiple things properly and this is one of the good things about having ADHD is that we can compartmentalize.
It is possible to love your craft and business (yes both), I am choosing my own definition of balance and my business is 90% automated so no, I do not need more hours on it. I only take deals that move the needle.
The right people are going to resonate effortlessly, it's not supposed to be complicated.