ADHD in Entrepreneurs

ADHD Entrepreneur and Coach, Shelly Lyons takes a holistic approach, strengths-based approach to her work with ADHD business owners and entrepreneurs.

Shelly helps individuals hone their skills and implement strategies to navigate all areas of life – personally, professionally, and academically.

I love learning about what goes on inside of us be it the brain, our emotions, and our worlds, and how understanding that can help us show up our best in the world and live to our fullest potential.

In the past four years, I’ve heard a lot of individuals in general use the term “neurodivergent” to describe themselves and especially in the women’s entrepreneurial world I’ve seen a lot more language around ADHD, neurodivergency, and not being “neurotypical”.

All the conversations have piqued my curiosity but to really put the icing on my curiosity cake, my husband, who’s 43 was diagnosed this past year with ADHD, after going his entire life to date feeling that he wasn’t “normal” in his brain and experiencing a lot of what I think was probably shame in it. Or like a frustration or feeling of being let down. 

Specifically related to ADHD and being a business owner, he was facing some unique challenges and finally got a chance to sit down with someone to get some support around them and so I’ve been using this information as an opportunity for myself to really start understanding how his brain works as a person with ADHD and how his experience in the world differs from mine. 

• What does it feel like to have to fit into societal norms when you feel like they’re kinda the antithesis to how YOUR brain works?

• What does it feel like to just lose interest in something and truly not find the motivation to do it anyway?

• What does it mean to not even have to “think outside the box” because you can’t even see A DAMN BOX? 

It can be easy to see how you might get frustrated, and this goes for all of us, with all our many uniquenesses and differences when people don’t see things like you, think like you, operate like you, or comprehend in the way that you deliver. 

I think the path forward for all of us is creating bridges of understanding. Understanding one another. Talking openly with one another about our unique experiences, and whenever possible, offering ways to support and provide things in a way that DOES work for the other parties involved. 

Enter today’s She Built This podcast guest, ADHD Coach Shelly Lyons. 

Who helps coach individuals with ADHD get from where they are, to see the light and be open to possibilities, and then take steps to get to where they want to go. 

Shelly Lyons is an ADHD, Life, and Career Coach and Neurodiversity Business Consultant and Speaker with over 20 years of professional experience in coaching, Human Resources leadership, disability programs, education, and corporate work cultures. Shelly proudly identifies as ADHD and after a late diagnosis at age 39 including years of positive and challenging life experiences, she is gratefully living her purpose as a professional Coach. 

Shelly supports clients using a holistic and strengths-based approach to help others achieve their intentions – personal, professional, or academic – with more self-awareness, joy, and peace. 

In this episode: 

• Shelly shares her experience as an entrepreneur with ADHD

• What the term “ADHD” means? And what is it not?

• Common misunderstandings and myths around ADHD

• Challenges entrepreneurs with ADHD specifically face and how to navigate them 

• How businesses and employers can take specific actions to ensure neurodiverse-friendly spaces and customer experiences

• And More!