Does anyone have experience starting their own freelance gig as a neurodiverse person (e.g., ADHD)? Any advice/tips are super appreciated.
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- @Ben Ellis aw this is so good to read 🤩🥰 thank you and I’m so glad you’re finding the podcast helpful.Brilliant, you’ve got this.You could also try job/industry specific Facebook groups, join other creative networks.Stay in touch X
- @Louisa Shaeri // SOLA Hi Louisa, thank you so, so, so much for your reply! I first read it two weeks ago, and your answers and your podcast have literally been the fuel that's kept me going these past two weeks. I've been going through your podcast from episode 1, and I've found your insights, perspective, and lessons so helpful, encouraging, reassuring and validating. I'm so happy your SOLA System exists, as a framework and an anchor for so many neurodivergent folks.On to your reply:1: Thanks for the tip: I'm still researching a few autistic folks who are available for mentoring or at least shadowing. In the meantime, I look forward to your seminar on March 22nd;2+3: I've genuinely never heard it explained this way, and as soon as I read it, it all clicked, it made 100% sense -- my WHY may change from Monday to Tuesday, but I've followed your advice and started checking in with myself on what my WHY of the day is. Like you perfectly said, it's not always about importance but what drives my interest, so it's been helpful for me to be aware of that and use that to my advantage.Thank you so much Louisa, your answers have been super encouraging and motivating, and I'm super grateful to you for that. I wish you a fab weekend ahead!
- @Ben Ellis 3. We are often taught to mistrust ourselves in relationship to ‘getting stuff done’, and so some of us need to heal by following what our bodies and minds need, our own pace and structure - before working on following through on set schedules or our own word to ourselves of when we will do what.Let me know if any resonate or any Qs, got plenty more.For more on the *context* my podcast episode 10 is all about this in relation to creative industries. Search “the unmasking unschool podcast”.Finally congrats on these new journeys you are on!!
- @Ben Ellis 2. ADHD/AuDHD-ers we are often driven by interest, not importance. Which means we get excited, passionate, obsessed with w new direction… but then lose steam. To be self-driven for the long haul of self-employed work, you’ll want to create a motivation that is a WHY that serves something greater than you and is the thing that will light you up/get you out of bed, more than dopamine/excitement/energy. That shift in motivation is a game changer for my clients.
- @Ben Ellis oh amazing. So a couple of tips - let me know if they resonate. 1. Autistic folks need more data points of lived experience - context - to make sense of a way forward. So asap find a way to shadow or assist or interview someone who is already living the freelance gig and in or adjacent to your industry.
- @Pansy Aung Thanks so much Pansy! My ADHD and autism have definitely been aspects of myself that I either shied away from or struggled with (often visibly). I'm now in a mental space where I'm more comfortable not fighting against those aspects of myself. What you said about owning your differences really resonated with me -- that's really powerful. I noticed that @Pip Jamieson does this too, absolutely owning it -- "delightfully dyslexic" -- it's so empowering, and I'll definitely learn from that. Thanks so much for sharing that, I really appreciate it!
- @Louisa Shaeri // SOLA Sure thing: I specialise in social intelligence, being able to use social + online + marketing data to answer specific questions from brands -- anything from "why doesn't our branded content resonate with our consumers anymore?" to "how are our audiences changing off the back of our recent campaigns/launches?", and more. In my role, I give data-driven solutions to brands that have problems to solve. I've been doing this for 12 years now, but I realise that the "conventional office" environment doesn't work for me, and I finally realised why after my ADHD (and more recently, my autism) diagnosis. I have a better grasp now of my strengths, and I've finally stopped "working against my ADHD" just to conform.Thinking about it, I don't really have any top questions at the moment, but I'm mainly interested in seeing how other ND folks have been able to manage their time, productivity, and build their own freelance gig.
- I have been really concious of my dyslexia for years, fearing that people would think I'm not professional. I've finally included a #MadeByDyslexia sign off in email this year and it really made all the difference. Think more for myself than for others. It just lifted that worry in my head. Clients seem to send me nicer replies too, perhaps because they now know the mistakes are not just sloppiness.Maybe just own it so no one is guessing :)
- Yes - but let's get specific - whats the freelance gig you are starting? What are your top 3 questions about it?I'm a coach, I work with ND folks X
- @Rowan Sharp thanks Rowan, I'll check it out now
- Hi Ben I just attended the virgin start up course it’s running until June I believe this was so empowering and has helped me so much regarding setting up my freelance / brand business hope this helps check it out best
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