How ADD/ADHD Affects Your Business (Part 1)

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Important Disclaimer- Please Read This : The following information is not intended to provide any type of professional advice nor diagnostic service. If you have any concerns about AD/HD or other health issues, please consult a qualified health care professional in your community.

It's widely known and accepted that ADD/ADHD is not a childhood problem. In recent years, study results have shown that between 30 to 70% of children with AD/HD continue to exhibit symptoms in the adult years.

In 2006 the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) conducted the "ADHD In The Workplace" survey to correlate ADHD prevalence to specific professions/occupations and other demographic categories. This survey concluded that:

Copied from “ADHD in the Workplace” a survey of adults in 14 common professions"

Occupations freer from constraints and office work tend to be more likely to exhibit behavior that is consistent with the symptoms of ADHD Tradespeople(Plumbers, Carpenters, Electricians, Gardeners, etc.) Entertainers (Actors, Comedians, Musicians)􀀠Elected Officials Healthcare Professionals (this group might be anomalous. Arguably this may be due to their diversity and higher level of awareness of the ADHD symptoms.) Construction Workers More structured working environments, high disciplined fields of work, and those who essentially have to “serve” others tend to be less likely to exhibit behavior that is consistent with the symptoms of ADHD Teachers Lawyers Law Enforcement Agents Media Professionals Office, Bank, and Retail Store Clerks

As an online business person working your own hours in your own home, you are free of the constraints of an office worker. And in an article written by David Giwerc, MCC, it states that:

"People are literally waking up to the idea that they can work for themselves and make a lot of money doing it. And, while there are as many types of entrepreneurs as there are businesses, most entrepreneurs share some common traits. They tend to be visionaries. People who go into business for themselves tend to be risk takers. After almost a decade of coaching entrepreneurs, it has also been my observation that a majority of all entrepreneurs have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or AD/HD. They may not be taking medication and many of them haven't even been diagnosed..."

Now I am not saying you have ADD and I am not saying that if you have ADD you won't succeed. What I am saying is that "All adults have some symptoms of ADHD." (After working in a highly disciplined field for more than 20 years even I have some of the symptoms! I also think having small children around causes some of these symptoms just like it causes early senility.)

So how does ADD/ADHD affect your business?

It affects your business in 2 ways:

1. As the owner who is responsible for getting everything done and grow your business, some ADD symptoms will hold you back until you learn to manage them. So next week I'll identify some of the ADHD symptoms that hinder the growth and success of your business and offer some suggestions on how to manage them.


2. Because those in your target market also have some symptoms of ADHD, you must learn some of the techniques that will overcome their symptoms. So in Part 3 I'll discuss some of your site visitors possible symptoms and share some of the methods used by online marketers to reduce the loss of conversions from those displaying ADD symptoms.

Knowing the 2 ways that ADD/ADHD affects your business is important because ADD isn't just for children anymore.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. You'll find the link for the quick online test I took to find out if I had ADD symptoms here. Feel free to share how you did on the test. I scored 23 and you'll see what that means when you check your own score.

Tags: internet marketing, ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder