Making progress in the quiet - and exploring neurodivergence

I haven’t written here in a while. I’ve been simplifying. Cutting back on everything - marketing channels, memberships, paid tools - to give my diary, brain and bank balance a break.

And in that time I have of course been reading and having conversations. Several of which combined together last week to evolve some new perspectives. I’m not quite sure exactly where I’m going with those new things yet, but these are some things I do know.

There are two sides to my business

I can’t get away from it. I’ve tried. I’ve currently got one website. But I can’t choose which direction to focus on. I’m two things and I can’t get away from that.

I’m a logical, linear thinker who loves planning and loves helping people with creative brains to get things done and make their ideas happen.

And I’m also like my ideal clients - I love variety, I have random creative ideas, I get distracted. And I love chatting about creativity and ideas.

I love helping people to enjoy their work and include creativity in it

I’ve helped a recent coaching client to step back and think about their business and make some changes. And I’ll be continuing to work with them in monthly calls to keep them on track.

I’d been wondering whether to step away from 1:1 coaching and mentoring, but it’s still calling to me. I really enjoyed working with that particular client, who falls into the category of “considering themselves to be creative” and just needs a reset and reminder about that on a regular basis.

And I also love my other type of client - the ones who have so many ideas they just go round in circles, distract themselves and rarely finish anything unless it’s got a deadline or a client attached to it. They have a lovely energy and enthusiasm that rubs off on me.

Neurodivergence feels like it’s relevant

I did a couple of courses over the summer. I’ve become very aware of all the neurodivergent people around me in the self-employed world, especially those with ADHD.

I’ve been hesitant though. What do I know about it? Why would someone with ADHD want my help? I’m not an ADHD coach, I’m just a coach who’s interested in it and has learned a bit about it. I don’t have ADHD myself. Or a child with ADHD.

But it’s still there, beckoning me to explore how relevant it is to what I can help with, and to figure out exactly what support I could offer. And whether to put myself out there with that niche.

The benefit of doing that, is that it would nicely partition the two bits of my business. The part that satisfies my logical brain, where I could work with founders and freelancers who have ADHD. And the other part that loves the variety and creativity and having ideas - and encouraging others to embrace their creative side eg through coaching. So I could coach both types of people, they just fit under different business umbrellas.

Doing some research is the next thing

I’ve done various bits of market research in the last few years and each time learned a lot, but never really found any natural next steps to use the information. This time it feels different. I know a lot more people that fit into the criteria of those I want to speak to. So even if some of them don’t connect with what I’m talking about or help me figure something out, there are plenty more of them I can chat to.

I’ve spoken to two self-employed people this week, one has AuDHD (ADHD and autism) and one has ADHD. And both conversations sparked ideas for me and a lot of nodding and resonance from them. I’ve got more calls in the diary for next week, and this week’s chats have prompted me to delve into a couple of interesting insights as well.

Substack still has its part to play

I haven’t written for a while because I hadn’t made any progress, I wasn’t in the mood, and I’d stepped away from this platform after the end of my last podcast series. But now my brain has started moving again and I’m feeling enthusiastic, maybe I’ll be back a bit more. We’ll see.

I might also start planning series 3 of my podcast - I’m wondering whether to lean more towards neurodivergence and exploring links with creativity. Two of the guest from the last series talked about their ADHD - not in depth as that wasn’t the focus of the conversation, but some interesting insights in those episodes. And the chats I had behind the scenes that weren’t recorded. (If you’re interested in that topic yourself, it’s episode 4 with Al Booth and episode 9 with Abi Moore.)

So that’s it for now. If you have any thoughts on the things I’ve written, please do let me know - this is all work in progress, and slowly evolving, always going in the right direction. 🙂