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Neurodivergence meets entrepreneurship: Josh

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I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Josh who is a DJ in Manchester. He very kindly agreed to chat with me about running your own business with ADHD – a timely reminder that we all see the world in different ways. This is the third part in a series exploring what happens when neurodivergence meets entrepreneurship. 

 

Tell me a little about your business:

I’m a mobile and club DJ. I’m fully equipped to do private events and bring all my own equipment, but I also fit right into a club night where I can bring nothing but my smile and a USB stick. Most recently I’ve been renovating an old horsebox with my dad to turn it into a mobile bar/mobile disco!

What neurodivergence do you have and how does this impact the running of your business?

I don’t have any SEN per se, but I do have ADHD. It impacts me massively with my organisational skills and forgetting things, so a centralised calendar and reminders system on my phone is critical to make sure I don’t miss things or double book!

There are so many positive sides to it however, as I am able to hyper focus on things I am passionate about. I’m also very creative, which is a big part of DJing.

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What would you say to someone with ADHD who is thinking of starting their own business?

If you have ADHD, you might be similar to me in the sense that you don’t feel that you can bring your full self to work in a corporate/office setting. If so, my advice would be to just go for it and go self-employed. ADHDers quite often cite that they do best when chasing the dopamine, which can be found in abundance when you’re running your own business, as everything you do intrinsically is what you’re interested in.

How could neurotypical people be more accommodating for you?

With regards to people being more accommodating for me, I don’t think there should be any extra/special allowances made just because I’m neuro divergent. As long as everyone has a base level of flexibility to allow for everyone being slightly different; I don’t really want special treatment in honesty.