What I learned from the Neurodiverse Entrepreneurs Summit 2024!
You’ve probably heard about links between ADHD and entrepreneurship.
(There’s a research paper about it in The National Library of Medicine and Dr Russell Barkley
explores the complexity of those links in this 20-minute video.)
I’m relatively new both to self-employment and to knowing I’m neurodivergent, and I’ve
been learning about running a business over the last few years.
However, my experience of business advice is that loads of it is not made for us, our brains, or our nervous systems.
I went to the Neurodiverse Entrepreneurs Summit for the first time this year (22nd - 24th
July), and it was a revelation of affirming and connecting insights.
As a self-employed AuDHDer, I was keen to get insights into running a business from
people who actually understand the strengths and struggles I experience. I got that in
abundance. Not only did it offer useful information and shared experiences, as I’d hoped,
but the summit inspired and supported me with making practical improvements to my
business and gave me a lot of momentum. Hooray!
Here are some highlights.
Demystifying Discipline: Creating a Supportive Relationship with Structure with Athena Sayaka (she/they)
Athena redefined discipline as supportive, adaptive, and compassionate, and I loved that.
Her description of corporal punishment as a feature of the definition of discipline she
inherited resonated with me. A lightbulb moment for me was their description of what
corporal punishment looks like as an adult, e.g., working past the point of exhaustion and
withholding food. This is a behavior I recognise in my treatment of myself and in how many of
the people around me treat themselves, too.
Athena redefined discipline as “any structure or accommodation that supports me at
my current capacity.” For her, discipline is a mentor like Uncle Iroh from Avatar the
Last Airbender.
She developed the ARCHS framework, in which discipline is Activating, Rewarding,
Cyclical, High Leverage, and Supportive. She also encourages folks to develop their own
framework, for which she provides guidance.
I loved their characterisation of discipline as The Scrub (as in TLC’s No Scrubs) — wanting
to be free and rebelling against anyone telling you what to do, including yourself. Hard
relate! And it is so interesting that, for me, it coexists with deliberately ignoring my needs in
order to work.
I’m excited to build on my supportive relationship with structure and develop a healthier
relationship with discipline, thanks to what I learned.
Gonna rewatch Avatar the Last Airbender, too.
You can find Athena on YouTube and at AthenaSayaka.com.
How to Sell Without Selling - Lindsay Johnson (they/them)
Content marketing, including social media, is a really slow and time-consuming way to do
marketing. If it’s bringing you business, cool, keep doing it. If not, invest less time in it.
Thanks, Lindsay, that was a breath of fresh air for me! I’ve repeatedly been advised that I
need to create and implement a detailed marketing plan with regular and consistent
social media posts — which just isn’t going to happen.
Instead, Lindsay recommended networking, public speaking to new audiences, and
community building for more effective approaches to marketing. (Yay! I enjoy all those
things! That means I get to amplify skills I already have and practice using them more
fruitfully!)
I loved their consent-based approach to selling, which they described as ‘sales without
the ick.’ They also provide a $9/month membership for support with sales and marketing,
which I’m excited to explore.
You can find Lindsay at The Radical Connector and @radicallinds on Instagram.
Beyond Busy-ness: A Paradigm Shift For More Effective Delegation with Nikki McKnight (she/her)
I hadn’t thought about delegating decision-making, so the main takeaway for me from
Nikki was the distinction between execution (tasks and processes) and decisions
(outcomes and values) and when to delegate which of those.
Another thing I appreciated about Nikki’s talk was some of the questions she shared,
which you could ask when delegating, such as:
● This is what I think is important; what do you think?
● What do you think could sell best?
● What do you need from me to get us to my values, which are XYZ?
● What do we need to measure to know that things are working?
If you like the sound of that, you can get 28 powerful questions from Nikki.
I’ve been desiring a thinking partner for my business to reduce the cognitive load and
decision fatigue, as well as to bring their complementary strengths and skills. This talk
gave me some language I was missing for how to articulate that and, therefore, find the
right people for me.
You can find Nikki @nikkimcknight on LinkedIn and at The Ops Shop.
Wish you’d been there?
If you’ve got FOMO and wish you’d caught the summit or more of it, you have a few
options:
● You can access recordings from previous years for $50
● Join the First Dibs list to hear when next year’s summit will be and/or put a
reminder in your calendar
● Find a business coach, community, or program that works for your brain. I’m in
hyperfocus research mode at the mo, so let me know if you want to chat about it.
There’s loads more I could say! If you’d like more insights from the summit, let me know
on Instagram.
Otherwise, you can get in touch with me via my contact page. And keep an
eye out, cos I’m looking forward to sharing how I get on with practising what they
preached!
PS Watch this space for careers and entrepreneurship support for the Babes, including
peer support and self-employed body doubling…
about LiLi K. Bright
I’m a writer, facilitator & artist who values compassion. I love public speaking, artist
residencies, poetry readings, collaborating with value-aligned folks, and being a massive
nature nerd.
I support marginalized people to connect with city nature & creativity at
CherryTreeWalk.com, with queer nature writing workshops & walks, nonviolent
communication training, black neurodivergent community support, climate future
dreaming, and coaching. I write ecopoetry & create textile collages using reclaimed fabric
discarded by industry.
You can find me on Instagram @cherrytree_walk.