October 9, 2024 • 15 mins
Ever wondered how to stay afloat when the entrepreneurial waters get choppy, especially as a neurodivergent entrepreneur? Join me, Will Wheeler, as I unveil a personal story packed with resilience and perseverance. Discover how the journey of entrepreneurship isn't just about building a business, but about nurturing a mindset that refuses to give up, even when the odds are stacked against you. From the grind of managing a side job to fund your dream, to the critical task of assembling a team that clicks, I lay bare the real obstacles and the strategies that have helped me weather the storm.
This episode of NeuroDivergent Mates isn't just about the trials; it's a heartfelt testament to the enduring power of resilience. Listen in as I share the crucial support mechanisms that have been my lifeline, offering insights on how you too can remain steadfast in your pursuits. Whether you're grappling with tough decisions or grappling with the idea of quitting, this conversation is a rallying cry to fellow entrepreneurs to remain committed and strong. Prepare to be inspired by tales of grit and tenacity, and gain some valuable advice on thriving as a neurodivergent entrepreneur.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to NeuroDivergent Mates.
Hello and welcome to anotherepisode of Neurodivergent Mates.
(00:26):
I'm your host, will Wheeler,and to tell you the truth, I
just wanted to actually try likea new little segment I've been
really just trying to get myhead around called the 15-minute
chat, where I just get on andtalk about a topic that's been
on my mind a little bit recentlyfor about 15 minutes.
I think the biggest thing forme was that I was sitting at
(00:50):
home a lot of the time.
I'd share certain things onsocial media, all of that type
of stuff and I thought you knowwhat?
It'd just be cool to be able tojump on whenever I feel like it
and just share something that'son my mind and maybe able to
share some advice, all of thattype of stuff.
(01:11):
But before we do get into it,let's do a little bit of
housekeeping.
If we haven't already done so,please subscribe, like and
follow to all of our socialmedia pages.
We're available on TikTok,facebook, instagram, x, twitch,
youtube, linkedin, and if youhaven't already done so, please
go to anywhere where you checkout your uh podcasts, all of
(01:34):
that type of stuff, and pleasesubscribe and rate the show.
You know, we'd really love thatsupport.
Also to a big shout out to oursponsors,
neurodiversityacademycom, forall the work we're doing over
there.
Please, if you haven't alreadydone so, please go and check it
out.
Also, too, you know some of thediscussions I might be talking
(01:54):
about may be triggering for some.
If you need help, please reachout to a loved one or call
emergency services.
I'm not a doctor, you know.
This is a space for sharingexperiences and strategies, so
please feel free to reach out tothe most important people that
you can.
Now also, too, if you've gotsome questions while I'm going
(02:14):
through this, please feel freeto just put it into the question
box there and hopefully I knowthere is a little bit of delay
through the social mediaplatforms If I get it in time, I
should be able to answer thatquestion there.
Cool, cool, cool.
So today, what I really wantedto cover was resilience as a
(02:36):
neurodivergent entrepreneur.
I think that you know it can betough entrepreneurship, and you
know and I think the reason whyI got to this was last night I
posted up a post about, you knowmaybe, some of the struggles I
have, or all of that, especiallyas a neurodivergent person
(02:59):
yourself or as an entrepreneur.
You're doing so much work thereand it's really hard to see the
return on investment.
So, you know, I really wantedto come on and speak a little
bit more about that.
You know how we're able to dealwith it.
I know for myself that it hasbeen a hard journey, I think,
(03:25):
with a lot of the supportmechanisms around me.
Definitely having a lot ofresilience has helped me.
Don't get me wrong.
There's been times where I'vejust wanted to throw in the
towel, and it is hard.
It's definitely not easy.
Business is not easy and anyonewho goes into that type of
(03:47):
field you know I take your hatoff to you it's definitely not
easy and being able to stick toit is the hardest thing.
So you probably see a lot ofpeople you know try to start a
business at some point and onceyou really get stuck into it,
there's a lot of things thatpeople don't realize.
(04:08):
Where are you getting the moneyfrom?
A lot of the time you've got towork another job just to be
able to support your business,all of that type of stuff.
So yeah, it's definitely hard.
So why don't we look at the?
You know, the first thing Iwanted to really talk about was
overcoming challenges.
Okay, so what do thosechallenges look like?
(04:29):
So I suppose, for me, a lot ofthe time, a lot of the
challenges have been a lot ofdifferent things.
So, um, I think the biggestthing has been building our team
, to start with.
Um, finding the right peoplefor the team is definitely can
be difficult and, more thananything, I think, finding the
(04:49):
right people who are going togel with the team.
That's really important.
I think there's really greatpeople out there and you know, I
think as well with, say, peoplewho don't fit in with the team.
That doesn't mean that they'rebad people, it just means that
they don't fit in with the team,and that's important as well.
And I think the hardest thingfor me sometimes has been trying
(05:12):
to I'm trying how do I wordthis?
Trying to work in with certainpeople, or having to make bad
decisions, or not having to makebad decisions, but having to
make decisions that are tough.
You know, maybe you have to,you know, disagree on something
(05:36):
that is really close tosomeone's heart, you know, and
that can be really difficultwithin entrepreneurship.
Maybe you want to try somethingwith someone and it doesn't
work out, and you know, I thinkthose can be the real challenges
there a lot of the time.
I think the other obstaclesthat I face and if we're looking
(05:56):
at it from a neurodivergentperspective, what is it that we
struggle with as neurodivergentpeople that we need to be able
to maintain to run a successfulbusiness?
So, you know, is that timemanagement, is that remaining
(06:16):
organised, Is that filling outcertain documents that need to
be presented in a way forcertain people to be able to
understand what you're gettingacross?
I think the biggest thing for meis that I've been able to, and
(06:37):
the AI world has been almostlike a life changer for me.
You know, a lot of people talkabout how AI will take our jobs
and all of that and, look, itprobably will take some people's
jobs.
You know, that's just how youknow technology and that works,
and it's unfortunate that that'swhat happens.
But for me, ai, especially asbusiness owner, has definitely
(07:02):
changed the way I do things.
So you know, I'm able to.
You know so back in the day for,for example, if I was going to
write a report, I would write areport with so many spelling
mistakes.
I had no idea about what typeof um, uh punctuation needed to
be in place.
All of those types of things.
So that was really difficultfor me.
(07:24):
But now, um and and the thingwas I used to write stuff out.
Now I I'd have to give it to mypartner or my mother to check
over, which takes time.
This day and age I can just gothrough it, put it into ChatGPT
and it fixes everything for me.
It is like a life changer forme.
(07:46):
I feel so much more independentall of that.
So you know, if you're able toutilize certain types of
technology, that's going to playa huge thing in overcoming your
challenges.
There I will say as well, ifthere are challenges you do have
, it is important that you dosomething about them.
You know it's.
(08:07):
I don't think it's good enoughto just say, look, I'm
neurodivergent, so you know youhave to expect that I'm going to
be late.
You know I think, yeah, okay, Iget that, but we really do need
to be making an effort becauseat the end of the day, it's not
an excuse.
We do need to put in the rightthings and tools to be able to
(08:33):
help us to be able to achievethe best for ourselves and,
potentially, our customers andclients as well.
So you know, that's a realimportant part I wanted to look
at.
But you know what and I thinkthat flows in nicely to stuff
like so dealing with setbacks,for example, now setbacks,
example, now setbacks especiallyfor neurodivergent people that
(08:54):
can be hard because we we don'ttake things that well, if that
makes sense.
So when there is a setback, itcan be very hard to get back on
our feet and get back into it,and I think for me that's been
definitely a hard thing.
(09:14):
When I first started out inbusiness, it was very difficult
because one I couldn't find agood business partner.
I'd try and try and try and itjust didn't work.
But then I ended up finding mybusiness partner, who I've got
now Prateek, who works inNeurodiversity Academy, and you
(09:37):
know we click awesome.
Look, there's going to beproblems here and there, but
we're able to work through themand I think that's the end.
You know, I feel comfortablecoming to him with an issue.
If we have issues, we've goteach other's back all that.
And you know, I think also totime, don't just rush, don't
just rush into.
(09:57):
Well, I think the thing is likeyou know, it's probably good to
try people and if it works, itworks.
If it doesn't, it doesn't, um,and you're only going to find
out by working in with thepeople.
So, you know, I think that'swhere it is really important to
just trial and error is reallyimportant.
So, you know, dealing withthose setbacks I've found having
(10:20):
someone else there to be ableto support me, or vice versa,
has been really helpful to beable to move forward and maybe
not get so stuck on something,especially with neurodiversity
academy.
We've got our advisory boardnow and I think for such a long
time I was so stuck on certainthings I just didn't know how to
(10:45):
push forward there.
So, you know, having advisorswho are working in certain
industries or certain things hasbeen so helpful to be able to
get that ball rolling a lotquicker than what it was maybe
before we had an advisory board.
Or even having businesspartners and all of that type of
(11:06):
stuff.
So you know, I think that'swhere it's really, you know,
important to be building mentalendurance as well.
So when I talk about mentalendurance is and I've got some
notes here to the side here soit sort of helps me get through
it strategies you've developedto maintain resilience while
(11:28):
balancing the demands ofentrepreneurship.
So you know that could belearning to take breaks.
I think the biggest problem forme when I first got into
business was I was just likework, work, work, work, work and
I just burnt out big time.
I've never had such a bigburnout in such a long time
(11:52):
because I've been able to, Isuppose, balance a lot of things
.
Spend time with my partner isgreat for me.
To get away from.
Just sitting down watchingNetflix, watching the football,
speaking to my friends, having adrink with someone, whatever
that looks like has been sohelpful for me.
But also, too, I think you know, balancing that is really
(12:14):
important.
So not going out and drinkingall the time not, you know,
still focusing on what you needis really key, but, you know,
not going away from that type ofstuff.
Also, too, I think the biggestthing, as well as your support
networks I think your supportnetworks are going to be key and
(12:38):
if that's mentors, if that'speople you can just call and
chat, I think that for me, um,just being able to have people I
can talk to has been so helpful.
It can just there's going to betimes where you just feel so
(12:59):
down and out and I know it canbe hard to want to talk to
people around that time there,but it's vital.
So having support networksthere, I know you know someone
called out, someone messaged metoday and said look, will, let's
catch up for a chat shortly.
I really need someone to talkto and you know what.
(13:20):
My door is always open.
You know for that type of stuffbecause I know what it's like.
So, yeah, it is difficult attimes there, but you know if I
can close this off because we'veonly got about a minute and a
half to go here.
Advice for other neurodivergententrepreneurs is just keep at it
(13:42):
.
You know, if you've got a dreamthat you're working towards, if
you've got something that youknow you're really passionate
about, yes, at times it's goingto feel like nothing is
happening, but if you stick atit, you're going to see the
little things happen.
So it might be things likeyou'll get a meeting with a
(14:04):
really interesting person.
You may have someone reach outto you to say, hey, look, you've
done so much for me that I'vebeen able to do this.
You may see growth withinyourself, and those are the
things that it's all about.
(14:24):
I think that's the wins rightthere.
So when you get these small wins, I think it's so important to
celebrate them wins.
I think it's so important tocelebrate them.
So it could be that someone youget, your first person who
wants to buy your course orwhatever that might be.
Celebrate it, you know.
Go out for a dinner or I don'tknow whatever that looks like to
(14:48):
you.
Go for a walk with your dog orsomething, I don't know,
whatever that looks like to you.
That's what it's going to beall about.
But look, thank you so much forlistening.
I really appreciate it.
This was just a trial.
I wanted to trial a 15-minutetalk here.
It's gone pretty well.
So thank you so much forlistening.
Now, if you haven't alreadydone so, please subscribe, like
and follow to all of our socialmedia platforms Also platforms
(15:16):
also to.
If you haven't already done so,check out um.
Go to any podcasting platformum, subscribe to the podcast and
also to rate it as well.
My name is will wheeler andthank you very much for
listening to neuro and davidmates.
Till next time you.
You're listening to NeuroDivergent Mates.
Hello and welcome to anotherepisode of Neurodivergent Mates.
(00:26):
I'm your host, will Wheeler,and to tell you the truth, I
just wanted to actually try likea new little segment I've been
really just trying to get myhead around called the 15-minute
chat, where I just get on andtalk about a topic that's been
on my mind a little bit recentlyfor about 15 minutes.
I think the biggest thing forme was that I was sitting at
(00:50):
home a lot of the time.
I'd share certain things onsocial media, all of that type
of stuff and I thought you knowwhat?
It'd just be cool to be able tojump on whenever I feel like it
and just share something that'son my mind and maybe able to
share some advice, all of thattype of stuff.
(01:11):
But before we do get into it,let's do a little bit of
housekeeping.
If we haven't already done so,please subscribe, like and
follow to all of our socialmedia pages.
We're available on TikTok,facebook, instagram, x, twitch,
youtube, linkedin, and if youhaven't already done so, please
go to anywhere where you checkout your uh podcasts, all of
(01:34):
that type of stuff, and pleasesubscribe and rate the show.
You know, we'd really love thatsupport.
Also to a big shout out to oursponsors,
neurodiversityacademycom, forall the work we're doing over
there.
Please, if you haven't alreadydone so, please go and check it
out.
Also, too, you know some of thediscussions I might be talking
(01:54):
about may be triggering for some.
If you need help, please reachout to a loved one or call
emergency services.
I'm not a doctor, you know.
This is a space for sharingexperiences and strategies, so
please feel free to reach out tothe most important people that
you can.
Now also, too, if you've gotsome questions while I'm going
(02:14):
through this, please feel freeto just put it into the question
box there and hopefully I knowthere is a little bit of delay
through the social mediaplatforms If I get it in time, I
should be able to answer thatquestion there.
Cool, cool, cool.
So today, what I really wantedto cover was resilience as a
(02:36):
neurodivergent entrepreneur.
I think that you know it can betough entrepreneurship, and you
know and I think the reason whyI got to this was last night I
posted up a post about, you knowmaybe, some of the struggles I
have, or all of that, especiallyas a neurodivergent person
(02:59):
yourself or as an entrepreneur.
You're doing so much work thereand it's really hard to see the
return on investment.
So, you know, I really wantedto come on and speak a little
bit more about that.
You know how we're able to dealwith it.
I know for myself that it hasbeen a hard journey, I think,
(03:25):
with a lot of the supportmechanisms around me.
Definitely having a lot ofresilience has helped me.
Don't get me wrong.
There's been times where I'vejust wanted to throw in the
towel, and it is hard.
It's definitely not easy.
Business is not easy and anyonewho goes into that type of
(03:47):
field you know I take your hatoff to you it's definitely not
easy and being able to stick toit is the hardest thing.
So you probably see a lot ofpeople you know try to start a
business at some point and onceyou really get stuck into it,
there's a lot of things thatpeople don't realize.
(04:08):
Where are you getting the moneyfrom?
A lot of the time you've got towork another job just to be
able to support your business,all of that type of stuff.
So yeah, it's definitely hard.
So why don't we look at the?
You know, the first thing Iwanted to really talk about was
overcoming challenges.
Okay, so what do thosechallenges look like?
(04:29):
So I suppose, for me, a lot ofthe time, a lot of the
challenges have been a lot ofdifferent things.
So, um, I think the biggestthing has been building our team
, to start with.
Um, finding the right peoplefor the team is definitely can
be difficult and, more thananything, I think, finding the
(04:49):
right people who are going togel with the team.
That's really important.
I think there's really greatpeople out there and you know, I
think as well with, say, peoplewho don't fit in with the team.
That doesn't mean that they'rebad people, it just means that
they don't fit in with the team,and that's important as well.
And I think the hardest thingfor me sometimes has been trying
(05:12):
to I'm trying how do I wordthis?
Trying to work in with certainpeople, or having to make bad
decisions, or not having to makebad decisions, but having to
make decisions that are tough.
You know, maybe you have to,you know, disagree on something
(05:36):
that is really close tosomeone's heart, you know, and
that can be really difficultwithin entrepreneurship.
Maybe you want to try somethingwith someone and it doesn't
work out, and you know, I thinkthose can be the real challenges
there a lot of the time.
I think the other obstaclesthat I face and if we're looking
(05:56):
at it from a neurodivergentperspective, what is it that we
struggle with as neurodivergentpeople that we need to be able
to maintain to run a successfulbusiness?
So, you know, is that timemanagement, is that remaining
(06:16):
organised, Is that filling outcertain documents that need to
be presented in a way forcertain people to be able to
understand what you're gettingacross?
I think the biggest thing for meis that I've been able to, and
(06:37):
the AI world has been almostlike a life changer for me.
You know, a lot of people talkabout how AI will take our jobs
and all of that and, look, itprobably will take some people's
jobs.
You know, that's just how youknow technology and that works,
and it's unfortunate that that'swhat happens.
But for me, ai, especially asbusiness owner, has definitely
(07:02):
changed the way I do things.
So you know, I'm able to.
You know so back in the day for,for example, if I was going to
write a report, I would write areport with so many spelling
mistakes.
I had no idea about what typeof um, uh punctuation needed to
be in place.
All of those types of things.
So that was really difficultfor me.
(07:24):
But now, um and and the thingwas I used to write stuff out.
Now I I'd have to give it to mypartner or my mother to check
over, which takes time.
This day and age I can just gothrough it, put it into ChatGPT
and it fixes everything for me.
It is like a life changer forme.
(07:46):
I feel so much more independentall of that.
So you know, if you're able toutilize certain types of
technology, that's going to playa huge thing in overcoming your
challenges.
There I will say as well, ifthere are challenges you do have
, it is important that you dosomething about them.
You know it's.
(08:07):
I don't think it's good enoughto just say, look, I'm
neurodivergent, so you know youhave to expect that I'm going to
be late.
You know I think, yeah, okay, Iget that, but we really do need
to be making an effort becauseat the end of the day, it's not
an excuse.
We do need to put in the rightthings and tools to be able to
(08:33):
help us to be able to achievethe best for ourselves and,
potentially, our customers andclients as well.
So you know, that's a realimportant part I wanted to look
at.
But you know what and I thinkthat flows in nicely to stuff
like so dealing with setbacks,for example, now setbacks,
example, now setbacks especiallyfor neurodivergent people that
(08:54):
can be hard because we we don'ttake things that well, if that
makes sense.
So when there is a setback, itcan be very hard to get back on
our feet and get back into it,and I think for me that's been
definitely a hard thing.
(09:14):
When I first started out inbusiness, it was very difficult
because one I couldn't find agood business partner.
I'd try and try and try and itjust didn't work.
But then I ended up finding mybusiness partner, who I've got
now Prateek, who works inNeurodiversity Academy, and you
(09:37):
know we click awesome.
Look, there's going to beproblems here and there, but
we're able to work through themand I think that's the end.
You know, I feel comfortablecoming to him with an issue.
If we have issues, we've goteach other's back all that.
And you know, I think also totime, don't just rush, don't
just rush into.
(09:57):
Well, I think the thing is likeyou know, it's probably good to
try people and if it works, itworks.
If it doesn't, it doesn't, um,and you're only going to find
out by working in with thepeople.
So, you know, I think that'swhere it is really important to
just trial and error is reallyimportant.
So, you know, dealing withthose setbacks I've found having
(10:20):
someone else there to be ableto support me, or vice versa,
has been really helpful to beable to move forward and maybe
not get so stuck on something,especially with neurodiversity
academy.
We've got our advisory boardnow and I think for such a long
time I was so stuck on certainthings I just didn't know how to
(10:45):
push forward there.
So, you know, having advisorswho are working in certain
industries or certain things hasbeen so helpful to be able to
get that ball rolling a lotquicker than what it was maybe
before we had an advisory board.
Or even having businesspartners and all of that type of
(11:06):
stuff.
So you know, I think that'swhere it's really, you know,
important to be building mentalendurance as well.
So when I talk about mentalendurance is and I've got some
notes here to the side here soit sort of helps me get through
it strategies you've developedto maintain resilience while
(11:28):
balancing the demands ofentrepreneurship.
So you know that could belearning to take breaks.
I think the biggest problem forme when I first got into
business was I was just likework, work, work, work, work and
I just burnt out big time.
I've never had such a bigburnout in such a long time
(11:52):
because I've been able to, Isuppose, balance a lot of things
.
Spend time with my partner isgreat for me.
To get away from.
Just sitting down watchingNetflix, watching the football,
speaking to my friends, having adrink with someone, whatever
that looks like has been sohelpful for me.
But also, too, I think you know, balancing that is really
(12:14):
important.
So not going out and drinkingall the time not, you know,
still focusing on what you needis really key, but, you know,
not going away from that type ofstuff.
Also, too, I think the biggestthing, as well as your support
networks I think your supportnetworks are going to be key and
(12:38):
if that's mentors, if that'speople you can just call and
chat, I think that for me, um,just being able to have people I
can talk to has been so helpful.
It can just there's going to betimes where you just feel so
(12:59):
down and out and I know it canbe hard to want to talk to
people around that time there,but it's vital.
So having support networksthere, I know you know someone
called out, someone messaged metoday and said look, will, let's
catch up for a chat shortly.
I really need someone to talkto and you know what.
(13:20):
My door is always open.
You know for that type of stuffbecause I know what it's like.
So, yeah, it is difficult attimes there, but you know if I
can close this off because we'veonly got about a minute and a
half to go here.
Advice for other neurodivergententrepreneurs is just keep at it
(13:42):
.
You know, if you've got a dreamthat you're working towards, if
you've got something that youknow you're really passionate
about, yes, at times it's goingto feel like nothing is
happening, but if you stick atit, you're going to see the
little things happen.
So it might be things likeyou'll get a meeting with a
(14:04):
really interesting person.
You may have someone reach outto you to say, hey, look, you've
done so much for me that I'vebeen able to do this.
You may see growth withinyourself, and those are the
things that it's all about.
(14:24):
I think that's the wins rightthere.
So when you get these small wins, I think it's so important to
celebrate them wins.
I think it's so important tocelebrate them.
So it could be that someone youget, your first person who
wants to buy your course orwhatever that might be.
Celebrate it, you know.
Go out for a dinner or I don'tknow whatever that looks like to
(14:48):
you.
Go for a walk with your dog orsomething, I don't know,
whatever that looks like to you.
That's what it's going to beall about.
But look, thank you so much forlistening.
I really appreciate it.
This was just a trial.
I wanted to trial a 15-minutetalk here.
It's gone pretty well.
So thank you so much forlistening.
Now, if you haven't alreadydone so, please subscribe, like
and follow to all of our socialmedia platforms Also platforms
(15:16):
also to.
If you haven't already done so,check out um.
Go to any podcasting platformum, subscribe to the podcast and
also to rate it as well.
My name is will wheeler andthank you very much for
listening to neuro and davidmates.
Till next time you.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.