Johan Wiklund at the Whitman School of Management has done some interesting research into why so many people with ADHD start businesses or have a strong desire to become entrepreneurs.
By some estimates, adults with ADHD are up to 500% more likely to start businesses than the neurotypical population but that doesn’t necessary mean that people with ADHD are more successful in business. They are just much more inclined to start them.
In his research exploring the link between entrepreneurship and ADHD, Wiklund found that many ADHD traits are associated with business success and are common among entrepreneurs such as:
- Hyperfocus
- Impulsivity
- Tenacity
- Risk taking
But many ADHD traits are also associated with business failure and burnout such as:
- Inattentiveness
- Procrastination
- Negative self-talk
- Poor organization
He found that the successful entrepreneurs with ADHD are the ones who can create the right relationships and work environment that maximize their positive ADHD traits while minimizing the impact of negative ADHD traits.
From his decades of research into ADHD and entrepreneurship, Wiklund has uncovered the 3 biggest reasons why so many adults with ADHD start businesses:
1. People With ADHD Are Outliers
Many entrepreneurs with ADHD are outliers who have spent their entire life not fitting into traditional classrooms or office environments. As a result, they have looked for alternatives that work better for their needs.
Most entrepreneurs with ADHD that I talk to are basically unemployable because they can’t simply get their ADHD brain to function at a high level in a boring and meaningless job. They find tedium stressful and have trouble working with bosses or authority figures they do not respect.
Many creative ADHDers dread the 9-to-5 neurotypical “live to work” lifestyle and they seek alternatives where they can get the intrinsic motivators they need for peak performance such as high autonomy, mastery and purpose.
Entrepreneurship allows you to design a job to fit your own unique needs and strengths. Outliers are attracted to entrepreneurship and there are much higher rates of entrepreneurship among people with ADHD, Dyslexic and Aspergers as well as people with disabilities and immigrants.
2. People With ADHD Have High Impulsivity
How many people have you met who would love to start a business and have some business ideas but never pull the trigger?
Statistics show that 4 out of 5 businesses fail and successful entrepreneurs usually have 3-4 major failures before they find success. The reality is that most people are too risk-averse to act upon their impulses because they see the statistics and they know they are likely to fail.
Not people with ADHD. High impulsivity leads to an inability to wait, an act first and think later mentality and a desire for reward-seeking that sees the positives and not so much the negatives.
While rational “neurotypical” people become anxious, wait and do more research when faced with a huge risk; impulsive people charge ahead even when the odds are stacked against them.
High uncertainty renders the analytical approach unsuitable, which is why people who do really well in school often make terrible entrepreneurs. An action-oriented trial-and-error approach is much better for entrepreneurs and this is something that comes naturally for people with ADHD.
3. Lived Experience of Struggling With ADHD
Let’s face it, having ADHD isn’t exactly a joyride. It’s a rollercoaster of struggle, frustration and failure — which is perfect training for the entrepreneurial rollercoaster!
Adults with ADHD are used to working hard for things that others take for granted. Because of this, they learn tenacity, discipline and creative problem-solving skills. Essentially, they become good at thinking on their feet and performing well under pressure.
Another interesting point that Wiklund makes it that there are fewer traditional career options for people with ADHD because most corporate or government jobs are not well suited for ADHD.
Often adults with ADHD get into entrepreneurship and start a business because they have no other good options. Their lifelong struggles make them more risk-tolerant and they can put entrepreneurship risk in perspective because their desire for freedom, profit and impact is so strong.
Another thing that resilient adults with ADHD thrive at is they become good at soliciting help from others through networking and making connections. Many ADHD entrepreneurs succeed because they can stick to the activities in their “zone of genius” and they have business partners that complement them.
Taking advantage of business automation systems, delegation and collaboration is essential for entrepreneurs with ADHD because while they may have incredible strengths, their weaknesses can doom their business success if they don’t have people to help them in those weak areas.
Creating The Environment To Thrive With ADHD
If you’re starting a business with ADHD then you need to recognize your strengths and your weakness so you can strategize a way to build an ADHD friendly business.
Wiklund found that the best entrepreneurial teams are often a balanced mix of those with ADHD traits and those without, which fosters an environment where strengths are maximized and weaknesses are managed.
While ADHD traits like hyperfocus, curiosity, impulsivity and obsessiveness are strengths for entrepreneurs, other ADHD traits such as inattentiveness and procrastination are weaknesses.
Behind every successful ADHD entrepreneur like Richard Branson, Bill Gates or David Neeleman is a team of neurotypical people doing the administration, accounting and other tasks that most entrepreneurs with ADHD struggle with.
Create the system and find the others and you’ll have a much easier time starting a business with ADHD.
