ADHD Mompreneurs: Turning Your Business Dreams Into Reality

Last month I hit a major milestone in my business. I officially out earned my husband (a full-time software engineer) and achieved the revenue goal that I'd set for myself in 2022 when I launched Master the Mundane.

This is a really, really big deal for me and I wanted to take a moment to share some insights and lessons for those moms trying to build a business in part-time hours around kids with big needs.

First of all, I want to share a little perspective.

I launched Master the Mundane in May of 2022 but I launched my first online business in September of 2013 after leaving a corporate job in January 2013. So, almost ten years earlier.

That first business was in the world of direct sales and I have lots of mixed feelings about that experience. I'm not going to go in detail about that here but I will say that when I started Master the Mundane, I had a few important tools in my toolbox.

• I knew how to craft a life where I had consistent time to work 15-20 hours a week consistently while still being the primary caregiver to three young kids. In 2022, I still had a preschooler who was only in school a few days a week.
• I knew my brand and had learned how to post authentically on social media. I had around 10,000 followers and a small email list when I launched Master the Mundane.
• I knew that I didn't want to sell to my friends and that I wanted to help people in a meaningful way. I had learned basic sales skills but knew that helping people really brought me joy not sales.
• I knew that I wanted to maintain my 15-20 hours a week but wanted an income that could scale significantly.
• I knew that I had what the tenacity and perseverance to build a big business though I didn't know exactly how it would look or how to do it.

So, I don't discount those first ten years because they grew and matured me in a significant way to set the stage for launching Master the Mundane and the the last two years of significant growth.

Here are the most important lessons that I've learned and implemented over the last two years that have led to my business success.

1. Not everyone thinks like I think and wants what I want. I was thinking about entrepreneurial ideas back in 2013 when I left my corporate job and I kind of assumed that other moms around me were thinking the same thing. They weren't. Not everyone is wired like me with a need and a desire to build a business. Embraced this helped me to stop comparing myself to other moms.
2. Having a vision is different than having a dream. I have lots of ideas and lots of dreams but dreams aren't the same as vision. I had a very clear vision for the type of work/life balance that I wanted but it took me years to really own that vision and to figure out how to bring it to life. I had to realize that only I am responsible to bring my vision to fruition. I also believe that vision is a gift that not everyone has. If you have a clear vision for your life or business, that is not something to ignore. For me, my vision was always more about lifestyle than about a business. I knew how I wanted my life to look and then I figured out how to create a business that aligned with that vision.
3. I've prioritized my sleep, exercise and therapy. Managing my ADHD well makes me more consistent and creative as well as have better clarity and communication around my thoughts. If I didn't wake up early enough to work out before taking the kids to school, I'll start work a little later so that I can get to the gym for a short workout. Even if I have less work time, it will be more productive if I've had that release. Similarly, I know that I need down time and fun to be at my creative best and I function best in short 2-3 hour focused work sessions. I can get a lot done in a short amount of time and have no guilt about taking time to watch a show or read a book when I can.
4. I stopped waiting for the magic day when I could outsource everything at home. For years I was neglecting all of the boring home things that I hated waiting for the magic day when I could have a full time housekeeper or even a weekly house cleaner. I stopped waiting for that magic day and learned how to manage my home and family in my current financial circumstances. When my home life became less chaotic, it became much easier to devote my mental energy to my business. I was more confident and had the capacity to think clearly. I then took my outsourcing wish list (because yes, there's lots of things I'd love to hire someone to do!) and let that fuel my goals and vision.
5. I started running my business like a business. I started really tracking my numbers, figured out how to work quickbooks and embraced being a CEO. Having data really helps me to take emotions out of my decisions and it's given me so much more confidence in my ability to understand and execute my decisions. I started trusting myself to make decisions for my business.
6. I stopped feeling guilty for needing time to work. From March of 2020-January of 2022 I was homeschooling my kids and it was incredibly hard. In January of 2022, I sent the boys to public school and then that next Fall, I sent Libby to preschool as many hours as I could. I devoted almost all of my kid free time to building my business and said no to a lot of other things. I stopped trying to be a "stay at home mom" with endless flexibility and availability and really committed to being a self employed work at home mom. 
7. I monetized what I already figured out. It's very tempting to want to monetize what you are currently learning because that's probably more interesting for your brain. When I started MTM, I wanted to create a community for ADHD Mompreneurs but the truth was that I hadn't yet built a business earning six figures as an ADHD mompreneur. I was still learning HOW to do that. Instead, I focused on what I had actually figured out and that was how to manage my time and my home so that I had time and energy to put towards my big ideas. Creating MTM was so easy and I was so much more confident because I was teaching what I already had done versus feeling like an impostor. 
8. I gave myself room to tinker. There are still things that draw my interest and that I want to figure out but I let those be a side thing. For example, I've been playing around with Amazon influencer links and LTK affiliate links. I'll have fun making a random collage and post it to Pinterest because I'm curious about how that business model works. But it's not my main thing. I have pretty clear weekly goals for my business activities so if those are done and I spend some time tinkering with a collage or creating a list on Amazon, I don't beat myself up about it. I let it be a fun creative outlet for my curious brain but don't let it derail my attention. Here's the link to Amazon Storefront if you are dying to see it! Be warned it's kind of all over the place and I'm choosing to let that be okay!
9. I gave myself permission to grow in the future. There are a lot of things that I want to do and learn and teach and build. As I have new ideas, I don't dismiss them completely but instead tell myself that it is not for now but it might be for later. I expect my business to look very different in 5 or 10 years and that's not failure... that is just how I'm wired. Right now, I really like being a solopreneur and I don't want to manage a big team. If that changes and I can outsource more things in the future, I will have more capacity for other endeavors and ideas.
10. I opted out of things that don't work for me. I just really don't get excited about sponsored content and though there is money... it's just not want I want to focus on in this season of life. Perhaps that will make sense in the future but every time I start thinking about doing a sponsored post, it gives me a lot of anxiety. I've decided to just not pursue or accept sponsored post ideas for now because it just feels like a distraction from my main goals.
11. I got honest about my capacity and planned for my limitations. I could have reached my income goal faster if I was working full time but that has never been my goal. I want to work part-time hours and having time to exercise and take my kids to the playground and make dinner... that all matters to me and being able to build a business that works for my actual life and my actual family is incredibly important. I get to decide what success looks like and have worked to block out those who aren't building a business in a similar way. This has meant for me letting go of vanity metrics like followers or story views because I really don't want to be glued to my phone all the time. I also designed my course and community offerings around what I can actually commit to long term.
12. I've focused on one social media channel. My business really started taking off when I started focusing solely on Instagram. Every time that I've tried to post on more channels, it backfires and I backslide. I get too overwhelmed and overthink and it just becomes too much. I have been trying more recently to repost reels to Pinterest and YouTube when I have the capacity to do so but that's kind of a nice to do more than a must do. I tried tiktok for a little while and found it really overwhelming and distracting. Is that limiting my growth? I've had to learn to let go of the fear and learn that I'm allowed to do what works for me. 
13. I've relied heavily on automation. I try and automate as many things as possible in my business. At this time, I'm a solopreneur and there is actually a lot of benefits to not having a team. I've tried to create systems and infrastructure so that I don't need to show up every day on social media in order to make money. Automation helps give my posts greater longevity as new followers binge past content.
14. I've invested in tools and training. I tried for years to piece things together through DIY workarounds but I wasted a lot of time and energy that way. I really love to tinker and to figure things out my own but have had to learn to seek help when I get stuck. I invested most of my income back in to my business for the first year and paid myself a very modest amount for year two. My family and I have made a lot of sacrifices to do that and it hasn't been easy but I knew that it was necessary in the long run to scale the business to meet my long term vision.
15. I've tweaked things along the way. I've learned that how I think something will go is often very different from how I actually experience things. I often have ideas that sound great from a strategy standpoint but then I actually really hate executing that strategy. I really try and minimize resistance in my life so if I find that I'm dreading a certain task or duty, I try and change that expectation quickly or find a work around. For example, recording YouTube videos is really draining for me but blogging is so easy and natural. I'd love to have a bigger presence on YT but for now I'm leaning in to blogging and accepting that it might just be a better avenue for me in this season of my business.
16. I've leaned into Facebook Ads. I'm not going to lie it's really scary and was a huge learning curve but Facebook Ads have been an enormous blessing to me and my business. I still use organic content on social media and try to show up consistently but ads have been phenomenal for my business growth and for reaching a larger audience. My business only really started to scale significantly when I leaned into ads. If you don't want to be glued to your phone or to social media, I highly recommend Facebook Ads.

Here is a list of my 6 personal favorite business tools that I highly recommend after trying so many tools and services.

^{These recommendations contain affiliate links and I may receive compensation if you make a purchase using these links. Thank you as always for supporting my business.}

1. Kajabi: I can't say enough good things about Kajabi. I use kajabi for my website, hosting my sales pages, my email service, my blog, my course and my community. It's incredibly user friendly and easy to navigate. I tried moving to cheaper providers a few times but always came back to Kajabi because of the scope and ease. I wasted a lot of time hopping around and wish I'd just committed and trusted myself early on with Kajabi. Try Kajabi Free for 30 Days
2. Thrivecart: I was highly suspicious about my need for Thrivecart but it has made a huge difference in my sales because of the bump offers and upsells. It's also very easy to use and makes tracking my income and sales as well as adding affiliates incredibly easy. I was wary of that extra expense early on but it's increased my cart conversion and revenue per sale exponentially. Click Here to Learn More
3. ManyChat: This is a newer tool in my toolbox. Manychat helps the most with organic sales from instagram posts but I also use it on some of my Facebook posts. These are the posts where I say "comment with ____ word" and then you get a DM from me. It's great because if someone starts binging my content, they will comment on old posts and then get a DM. It gives content a longer life and it helps the IG algorithm expand my reach. Click Here to Learn More
4. Launch In Style:  I tried to create my own websites for years and they always looking just a little bit wonky. I wasted a lot of time tinkering and I'm so glad that I found, Launch in Style. I've purchased several templates from Launch in Style and they all look beautiful. My brand and website come across very professionally but it is much cheaper than hiring a graphic designer. Click Here to Shop the Templates
5. Facebook Ads Bootcamp: I can't say enough good things about Jana Bishop's courses and membership. I've purchased many things over the years included MUCH more expensive coaching packages and this membership has been life changing for me. I have purchased every course and now am in her monthly membership coaching program. I can't say enough good things about Jana's program.  Click Here to Learn More
6. Riverside FM If you are doing anything with video or podcasting, I highly recommend Riverside. It's so much cheaper than zoom and the video quality and editing features are remarkable. I'm a total amateaur when it comes to editing and this service makes it easy. I actually used it to record videos for my course because I could edit and add captions easily. It's the cheapest, easiest and best quality service that I have found. Click Here to Learn More 

More than anything, I want you to know that I believe in your vision for your life and for your family. I hope this post encourages and inspires you to keep pursuing your big ideas whether or not people in your real life understand what you are doing and where you are headed. 

If you need help managing your home and family side of your life so that you have the capacity to pursue your big ideas, I'd love to help you! Master the Mundane was designed for that specific reason and is the perfect place to start. Learn More about Master the Mundane.