For Maddy Alexander-Grout, the realisation that she wasn't a "broken horse" but a "beautiful rainbow-colored zebra" didn't come until her ADHD diagnosis at 37. Before that, life was a chaotic cycle of self-medicating with alcohol and chasing dopamine hits through a shopping addiction that racked up £45,000 in debt. Now, she’s flipping the script to show neurodivergent entrepreneurs how to turn "procrastin-faffing" into a superpower and build a business that actually fits a non-linear brain.

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  The Dopamine Debt Trap: Why ADHD brains are biologically wired for spending addiction and how Maddy climbed out of a £45k hole.

  
  

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  Passive Income Gold: Why memberships are the ultimate "low-energy" revenue model for neurodivergent creatives.

  
  

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  Visibility vs. Virality: Why your personality and "quirks" sell better than a polished, viral video.

  
  

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  The "Procrastin-faffing" Cure: How to identify task paralysis and move forward when you have too many "bubbling ideas".

  
  

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  Gamifying the Boring Stuff: Tips for making budgeting and admin feel like a win rather than a chore.

  
  

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  RSD in Business: Navigating the "gut-punch" feeling of client rejection and why it’s usually not about you.

  
  

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  Owning Your Soundtrack: The cassette tape analogy for pausing, rewinding, and rewriting your business story.
  

  
  

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  Recurring Revenue is Freedom: For creatives, hitting a "ceiling" with physical products is common. Building a membership or evergreen course provides the recurring revenue needed to scale without constant manual labor.

  
  

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  Authenticity is a Filter: Don't hide the "screamy" music taste or the "two left feet". Showing your true self online attracts "know, like, and trust" faster than any sales pitch.

• Money Values are Formed Early: Most of our financial "blocks" are set by age seven. Understanding your "money story" is the first step to fixing a broken relationship with profit.

  
  

As Maddy explains, if it isn't fun, why bother?

Running a business on "hard mode" often means trying to force an ADHD brain into a neurotypical box. Whether it's through outsourcing the "chores" of business or building a flexible budget that includes self-care (and eyelashes!), success comes from building a life that accommodates your brain, not one that tries to fix it.

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  Work with Maddy: Find her financial coaching, the Mad About Money app, and her "Invisible to Influential" membership via her Stan Store.

• Read the Book: Grab a copy of Mad About Money at all major bookstores.

• Follow Maddy: Catch her on TikTok (@madaboutmoneyofficial) or Instagram (@maddytalksmoney).

  
  

Join the ADHD Creative Club community at ⁠https://theadhdcreative.club⁠ for more tips, tricks, and real talk on thriving as a neurodivergent creative entrepreneur.

For many ADHD creatives, the "business" side of things feels like a separate, hostile language. Celie Nigoumi describes the brutal shift from being a "talented amateur" to a "struggling pro" who was once so overwhelmed by corporate meetings she’d completely zone out, feeling like an "idiot". She eventually realised that building a successful business isn't about fixing your brain—it's about building a fortress of systems around it.

• The "Accidental" Networker: How working a part-time shop job became the ultimate lead generator for local business clients.

• Charging Your Worth: Why Celie shifted from "50 quid" Facebook shoots to high-end branding by investing in the client experience.

• The Funding Secret: How to use government resources like Access to Work to pay for the support you actually need.

• Automating the Fear: Using Studio Ninja to handle contracts and payments so your "forgetful" brain doesn't drop the ball.

• Feedback as Fuel: How a "Reflection Sheet" helps you iterate your services and provides a mental boost when RSD hits.

• Quarterly Re-calibration: Why you need to step out of the business every few months to see if you actually like the path you’re on.

• The "Signature Offer": Transitioning from "doing everything" to a specific, high-value "Brand Story Experience".

• Systems over Willpower: Don't rely on your memory to send an invoice. Use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to automate your workflows. If it isn't automated, it likely won't happen.

• Support is Not a Luxury: Whether it's a virtual assistant to manage your Trello board or a mentor to get you "unstuck," professional help is the fastest way to scale.

• Regulate Your Nervous System: Success is unsustainable if you're constantly in "fight or flight." Learn to name your triggers (like Celie's "Frieda") to navigate PDA and rejection sensitivity.

Building a business as a neurodivergent creative means rejecting the "standard" hustle culture. As Celie points out, you can’t run a business while burnt out. Success comes from knowing your cycle, protecting your "me time," and creating a structure that allows you to be the artist without being crushed by the administrator.

• Work with Celie: Check out her Brand Story Experiences and Mentoring at celienigoumi.com.

• Follow the Journey: Catch Celie on Instagram at @celienigoumi.

• Application Link: Apply for an Access to Work grant.

  
  

Join the ADHD Creative Club community at ⁠https://theadhdcreative.club⁠ for more tips, tricks, and real talk on thriving as a neurodivergent creative entrepreneur.

Running a business as an ADHDer is like putting your face right next to a fire—there is nowhere to hide from the heat of feedback. Maddy Shine, SEO and website strategy expert, knows this "burn" all too well; from the sting of a short email to the internal spiral when a client cancels a membership. In this episode, we dive into how Maddy stopped letting Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) dictate her professional worth and how she built a "Managing Expectations" shield to protect her peace.

• The tone-of-voice trap: Why written communication makes it nearly impossible to detect tone and fuels RSD.

• Expectation Shields: Using a "Managing Your Expectations" document to define exactly how you want to be spoken to.

• The "Essay of Love": Why we expect poems of praise for our work and feel crushed by a simple "yes, all right".

• The 2% Rule: Why 96% of people aren't actually thinking about you at all, even when you want them to.

• Separating Art from Self: Learning to detach your personal identity from project results to avoid devastation.

• Voice Note Therapy: Using community and "Instagram buddies" to let off steam so you can carry on with your day.

• Role-modeling Rest: Why choosing to help family over chasing "multi-six-figure" burnouts is the ultimate power move.

• Interrogate the Sting: When a message hurts, call it out; Maddy asks, "that stung a bit actually. Is everything okay with you?" to clear the air.

• Contractual Kindness: Establish a separate document to your contract that lays out how you wish to be communicated with to ensure a friendly working environment.

• Community is a Coping Tool: Whether it’s hanging out at the pub or speaking to "Instagram buddies," community is a massive mechanism for navigating the low moments.

• Prioritize the "Mental Health Project": Realize that being your own boss is about the freedom to choose your time—like taking a day off to help family—rather than just chasing money.

Being a creative entrepreneur is empowering because it suits our brains to be our own bosses. However, it also means our work is deeply personal and we often internalize harshness. If you've ever felt like you were being "told off by a parent" just for sending a client an invoice or a draft, this episode is your reminder to be kind to yourself and find people who back you up.

Maddy's work focuses on uplifting women and non-binary entrepreneurs in three excellent ways so go check her out:

• Official Personal Website: maddyshine.co.uk — Focuses on visibility education

• Sassy and Soft (SEO Agency): sassyandsoft.co.uk — Her agency providing "done-for-you" SEO and website strategy services 

• Pints and Purpose: pintsandpurpose.co.uk — Her South London-based pub networking group  

• Instagram: @maddy.shine — Be inspired by the colour and the visibility tips

• Download her free SEO Resource: Tell Google You Exist Guide — A free download to help business owners get started with search engine optimisation.

Join the ADHD Creative Club: Join the ADHD Creative Club community at ⁠https://theadhdcreative.club⁠ for more tips, tricks, and real talk on thriving as a neurodivergent creative entrepreneur.

We’ve all been there: the "bull in a china shop" energy that feels like it’s either going to build a kingdom or burn the room down. In this episode, Dave sits down with filmmaker Ben Ogunbiyi, who went from "flushing" his potential through self-medication to directing socially vital films like Neon.

Ben opens up about the raw shift from masking his neurodivergence to using it as a high-definition lens for storytelling.

• The 90-Day Reset: How a brutal running challenge rewired Ben’s brain for actual discipline (not just "hyperfocus" luck).

• The Masking Trap: Why self-medicating was a temporary fix for a permanent neurodivergent reality.

• Scripts & Spite: Using a photographic memory to memorize entire scripts—because "just your lines" wasn't enough.

• Reading the Room: The transition from being "too much" to becoming a mature, collaborative leader on set.

• 14-Hour Magic: A wild, unpaid shoot in France that proved why ADHD passion is the ultimate fuel.

• Taboo as a Tool: Why Ben uses his ADHD "magnifying glass" to focus on the stories society is too scared to tell.

• Tick-Box Diversity: A candid look at navigating the film industry without becoming a neurodiversity statistic.

• Hard Time creates New Paths: High-intensity commitments (like a 90-day challenge) provide the external structure an ADHD brain craves to build internal discipline.

• Passion is an Amplifier: Your ADHD isn't a "broken" focus; it’s a volume knob. Learn to point that volume at the right projects, and you become unstoppable.

• The "Kindness" Butterfly Effect: In a high-stress creative industry, being the person people want to work with is more valuable than being the person who is "perfect."

• Invest in the Human, Not the Tool: When you prioritize your mental well-being and self-acceptance, your creative output naturally levels up.

If you’ve ever felt like your brain is a Ferrari with bicycle brakes, this conversation is your roadmap. Ben’s journey from a diagnosis at age 11 to running a successful production company in his thirties proves that we don't need to "fix" our ADHD to be successful creatives. We just need to stop fighting the engine and start learning how to drive it.

• Instagram: @benhasgonebananas

• Ligatura Films: @ligaturafilms

• Watch: Neon, Meat Free, and upcoming projects Faults and his debut horror feature.

Join the ADHD Creative Club community at ⁠https://theadhdcreative.club⁠ for more tips, tricks, and real talk on thriving as a neurodivergent creative entrepreneur.

Visit https://theadhdcreative.club/ for tips, resources, and to join the community.

From Alien to Artist: how late ADHD diagnosis changed everything 

In this deeply moving episode of the ADHD Creative Club, Dave welcomes tattoo artist and fine artist Katriona Macintosh, who shares her extraordinary journey from being the "gifted child" who painted herself as an alien at age 9, to receiving her ADHD diagnosis at 55. 

In this episode, Katriona discusses:

• Painting herself as an alien at age 9: the first sign something was "different"
• Being labeled a "gifted child" and the isolation that followed
• Moving countries constantly while masking her way through school
• The 10-year period where she stopped making art entirely
• How becoming a mother reignited her creative passion
• Entering the male-dominated tattoo industry as a late starter
• Her son approaching her during COVID: "Mom, I think I have ADHD"
• The moment she realised: "We all do the same sh*t, it's me, I'm the cause"
• Getting diagnosed at 55 and finally understanding a lifetime of feeling "alien"
• Raising three creatives (tattoo artist, interior architect, photographer) in an ADHD household
• Why reading before bed stops the rumination spiral
• Learning to communicate better as an ADHD family

Key Takeaways: 

• Be unapologetically you, the right people will gravitate to you 
• Reading/creative pursuits can stop anxiety spirals and rumination 
• It's okay to explore multiple creative mediums (don't let anyone limit you)
• Work around your schedule as a creative parent, flexibility is key 
• It's okay to walk away from people who don't serve you (even with RSD) 
• Support your children for who they are, not who you want them to be
• Late diagnosis (even at 55!) can still be transformative 

Katriona's story is a testament to resilience, late-blooming creativity, and the power of finally understanding yourself after decades of feeling different. Her message about being "normal in a different way" will resonate deeply with anyone navigating a late ADHD diagnosis.

Connect with Katriona:

• Instagram: @katrionatattoo
• Threads: @katrionatattoo
  

Join the ADHD Creative Club community at theadhdcreative.club for more tips, tricks, and real talk on thriving as a neurodivergent creative entrepreneur.

This week on the ADHD Creative Club, I sat down with Wesley Verhoeve: a photographer, director, and curator whose work you've probably seen in places like the New York Times, Airbnb, and Discovery Channel. Wesley just got diagnosed with ADHD later in life. He talks about that weird, emotional moment when he realised, "Oh... so this is what it's like to not feel anxious all the time."

In this episode, Wesley talks about:

• His first week on ADHD meds and that lightbulb moment about anxiety
• Why saying "creatives with ADHD" is kind of redundant (most of us are wired this way)
• His whole creative approach: do first, get inspired later, not the reverse
• Why he was able to finally launch a newsletter when he found the simplicity of the Substack platform
• How working alongside his partner (body doubling) helps him actually get boring stuff done
• The weirdly high number of ADHD folks in improv comedy
• Using street photography as a form of meditation
• Building systems that don't feel like they're fighting your brain
• Being kinder to yourself. Like, actually kind.

Key Takeaways:

•  Don't wait for inspiration. Just start moving and it'll show up. 
•  Pick tools that look clean and simple, even if they do less 
•  Body doubling isn't cheating, it's strategy 
• Stack new habits onto existing ones so they actually stick 
•  Put rest breaks in your calendar (seriously: 15 minutes, twice a day) 
• Use both phone lists and paper lists. Different tools for different moods. Creative work can quiet your brain down when it's spinning 
• Cut yourself some slack. You'd do it for someone else.

Wesley's story hits different if you got diagnosed late or you're still figuring out how to run a creative business with an ADHD brain. He's not sugarcoating it. He's just being honest about medication, what systems actually help, and why being nice to yourself matters more than you think.

Find Wesley here: Newsletter: readprocess.co 

Instagram: @wesley 

Website: wesley.co

Want more real conversations like this? Join us at theadhdcreative.club, where we talk about what actually works (and what doesn't) for neurodivergent creatives trying to build something.

In this episode of the ADHD Creative Club, Dave sits down with sports presenter and award-winning podcaster Dom Newton, who received his ADHD diagnosis in November 2023. Dom shares his raw and honest journey from being a "working-class lad from Bradford" to building a successful career in sports broadcasting, all powered by what he calls the "ADHD superpower."

In this episode, Dom discusses:

• The moment everything "flushed" from his brain before big interviews (and how he learned to manage it)
• Why ADHD people interrupt (and why it's not actually rude)
• How obsession with Blue Peter led to a career working with Alan Davies and the BBC
• The brutal reality of rejection sensitivity and online comments
• Why bullet-point research saved his career
• His journey from creating a passion project podcast to award-winning broadcaster
• The thing he's most excited (and nervous) about: trying ADHD medication
• Why he believes the creative industries are where ADHD brains truly thrive

Key Takeaways: 

• How to turn ADHD hyperfocus into career momentum 
• Practical strategies for managing short-term memory issues 
• Why finding "your thing" matters more than formal qualifications 
• The importance of opening up about neurodiversity (especially for men)

Whether you're a creative professional navigating ADHD, a business owner trying to understand your team better, or just curious about the neurodivergent experience, Dom's story will inspire you to lean into your obsessions and embrace your unique brain.

Connect with Dom Newton:

• Podcast: Manhood (available at bantamsbanta.com)
• Social Media: @sportingdom (all platforms)
• Archive Podcast: Bantams Banter (www.bantamsbanter.com)

Join the ADHD Creative Club community at theadhdcreative.club for more tips, tricks, and real talk on thriving as a neurodivergent creative entrepreneur.