TL;DR - 21-year-old entrepreneur, ran semi-successful business, faced burnout, got diagnosed with ADHD, seeking advice on a 'service as a product' design business, and need to validate it so I don't waste money that my father wants to lend me to run ads.
I’m 21yo entrepreneur with a bit of an unusual journey and I need advice.Long story short, traditional education system didn’t suit me, so I was always learning stuff on my own. Even thought I come from lower working class, I was always into entrepreneurship, literally selling YouTube banners for 0.5$ when I was 12.
After huge success with my Discord development agency last year, my journey took a turn for worse is when I experienced severe burnout, leading to a year of inactivity. There wasn’t a single day where I didn’t think about how I’m wasting time. Few days ago, I got diagnosed with ADHD. I decided to take meds and it was like putting glasses on for the first time, so without missing a beat I jumped right back.
Now I’m at a crossroad. I have an idea for a “service as a product” design business, I made the MVP on the freelancing site I ran my last business on, since I have a bit of past clients to try to contact there. Problem is, all the money I’ve earned is gone and I literally had to ask my dad to lend me some money to run ads from his saving budget. He agreed to lend me a bit to get started, but I need to validate my idea to him. I definitely feel bad asking him for money and would feel even worse if I at least can't get assurance this is something that could work.
This is where I need your opinion and advice if this is something viable (of course any advice in general would make my day):
- General idea is that a client can make unlimited design requests for a flat monthly fee, instead of having to work with multiple freelancers or pay in-house designer (which can be costly, especially at times when they don't have work for them)
- Do you think this is something viable?
- Do you think there is a market out there for this?
- What would be the best way to promote this?
- What would we the best way to communicate the value to potential clients?
I always try my best to give advice to people when they need it, so I really hope you guys can give me guidance this time 🫶
Not meant to offend you but I feel like the diagnosed with ADHD is not needed in this thread, does it have some direct correlation to the assistance you need or is specifically a part of your business model? Otherwise to me it’s like you added the like “I like cats” “blue is my favorite color”
Completely disagree mate.
As an ADHD entrepreneur, it completely changes your brain chemistry, the way success happens, the way productivity works, the way things get done.
I run a fairly successful business nowadays, I previously ran a fairly successful business. There's a 4 year gap in the middle there with a string of failures - just about paying myself a wage. The difference? During the first business, I was self medicating with cocaine and amphetamines and had more success at 17 than any member of my family had during their entire life, I didn't do drugs because I liked the high, I did it because it was the only time in my life I'd ever been productive. I got clean after it almost killed me, watched my business die, watched the next few fail and then 9 months ago got an ADHD diagnosis, started my current company and have 2 employees and a fully functioning growing business now.
'ADHD entrepreneur' isn't like saying 'entrepreneur who likes cats', it's a disability on the level of 'marathon runner missing a lung', it's a key part of how human beings function that ADHD people lack and being on medication for it is a huge qualifier to the successes and failures achieved.
OP (or anyone else this could benefit), if you're ever looking for someone to speak to about this, feel free to DM me or have a look at a group called Joyfully Different. It's a business network my friend Mark runs specifically for Neurodivergent founders and entrepreneurs.
That’s great to hear your story I am afraid I’m a bit jaded from seeing all the self internet diagnosis of ADHD these days I feel like doctors just throw it out as soon as someone says “I have trouble focusing”. Being an entrepreneur is hard in general and success is built off failure. My point was more that while it is context it is irrelevant context in this case, the op does not have a disability for example that requires them to use a screen reader or text to speech and thus needs business advice or ideas that they can perform the functions of working around said disability. Does he need to operate his design or discord business differently because of the ADHD diagnosis? I don’t believe so? Can I not believe so and still be understanding and sympathetic towards the struggles of having a chronic medical issue like ADHD I believe so.
I completely get your view on ADHD terms being thrown out there a lot, especially in todays day and age where everyone has problem focusing.
If it makes my point any more valid, getting diagnosis where I'm from, especially if you're an adult is extremely hard, but my ADHD was so obvious that the journey wasn't as painful.
Now that I'm on meds there probably isn't a need to run my business any different then everyone else, but before meds my business and I suffered through a lot because of inability to complete and finish tasks.
I know ADHD is hard to understand, but first imagine it as 100 thoughts at max volume apear in your head every minute. You start doing task a but remember there are tasks b,c and e which are also important then oh that's a nice car, I should reply to my friend, who's arguing outside, where are my keys... Task A is long gone.
Focusing on a task is like holding your hand above a stove. If it's at 1, you can hold it for a long time. Sure it can be a bit uncomfortable and if you do it for too long it will be painful. Now imagine that stove is at 10, how long would you be able to hold your hand above it before moving it? And what about next time? Your brain will tell protect you by increasing the uncomfortable feeling so you move it away quicker.
No worries, that's definitely a valid question.
I mentioned it because I said my business failed and I burned out. So to not get plane comments like "you just didn't work hard" or "you have to get disciplined to run a business" I specifically mentioned ADHD and how meds allow me to actually do the "boring" work I had insane trouble doing before.