Running a business with Autism…

Hello, I am Ami and I am Autistic.

Proudly so. I received my diagnosis in 2022 after 36yrs of struggling in this confusing world. I used to think that there was something deeply wrong with me and I would work incredibly hard to maintain masks that helped me function and try to fit in. Since my diagnosis I have been slowly getting to know myself and rebuilding my life to be a lot more gentle so I can minimise the crippling burnout.

Because I can’t function in so called normal life. I struggled in school and ultimately failed, I could never keep a job, I couldn’t develop healthy relationships or find community, I was always confused, tired and suffered with terrible anxiety & depression alongside chronic pain.

I also overexerted myself to validate my existence and built up a very financially successful photography business at a great cost to my wellbeing.

There are a lot of positives though… I am extremely sensitive, which can be seen as a negative but I feel like it’s a super power, I have so many special interests which makes life really joyful, I can’t do small talk so no conversation is ever dull and I am also creative. I wouldn’t want to not be Autistic. The community is pretty cool as well.

Which brings me on to why I am writing this post.

There has been a burst of late stage Autism diagnosis in the last few years ESPECIALLY within the small creative business community. There has also been a lot of ADHD diagnosis and while I think I might also have that I haven’t been officially diagnosed so going to stick with Autism. However, self diagnosis is valid.

My theory around so many of us creative businesses being Autistic is quite simple. We are unable to function or have healthy lives in the normal working world. And while I say normal, I actually believe that all people struggle in our working culture but for Autistics it’s almost impossible.

I personally get sick. Noise, lighting, 8hr blocks of work, the constant struggle around communication and social navigation. It’s exhausting.

Now I am not saying that self employment is the answer… we do damage to ourselves here as well BUT I do feel that as Autistic humans we get drawn to creating a business that gives us the freedom to manage our own days and environments. As well as the fact that most of us are deeply creative.

I also find we often have special interests that we discover we can monetise, like photography for example. The problem arises when we lose that interest ;) if you know you know.

Running our own businesses can and do make our lives easier but I think initially we can struggle to find ways to navigate our neurodivergence and keep things ticking over. So I thought I would share some of the ways I make it work… my way isn’t perfect and I am always tweaking but these suggestions might be good to add to your own tool kit.

Firstly I need more space. In order to not suffer with burnout, have a melt down or damage client relationships I have recognised that I need more space. This something to consider throughout everything in my life. From wedding gallery delivery timelines to when I do emails. I have made a few changes in my life and business to accommodate this and manage expectations.

Things such as putting prices up and limiting how much work I take on. Communicating clearly and managing expectations with clients. Being in tune with my own rhythms so I know how long things might take me and I can create a buffer. Making sure I save a portion of my earnings so I can take at least two months off a year as my summers can be really intense.

This is probably the most important thing I have done. It’s also having boundaries and knowing what my needs are. For example I know that I need some daily routines to stay healthy, these are not a nice to have but a must have. Things like at least one daily walk, yoga, eating well, enough sleep, sea swimming and journalling. They are the anchors that keep me happy and well. It’s not always possible to maintain all of them but I make an effort to block out time for them.

While I need something of a daily routine executive dysfunction can be crippling. This is why creating space is key. Some days I can’t do the things I planned to do but on another day hyper focus will see it all get done super fast. I need to manage my time flexibly and be very kind to myself when I can’t function the way I want to.

I also do body doubling. One of the things I struggle with the most is editing. It’s extremely under-stimulating for me so staying at my desk can be impossible. If I body double on zoom though I find it a lot easier to get it done. Something about the accountability of another person but also company really helps.

Procrastination is also not always a bad thing. Sometimes I can’t commit to completing a task in one go and I have worked out that actually it’s ok if I edit for a little bit or only do 30mins of accounts and then go and do something else. It’s how my housework gets done. I move room to room starting tasks then rotating around them until they are all done. It looks like chaos but it’s sometimes the only way I will get shit done.

We seem to have this bizarre idea that work is linear, that how we should complete tasks should be linear when actually neurodivergent people do not see time as linear so it can be a real struggle to fit into that way of doing things. So this is your permission to do things your own way. The key here is to find the path of least resistance so you can get what you need to get done, it doesn’t have to be the way you were told or thought you had to do it.

I hope you have found this helpful! Another incredible resource is the book Unmasking Autism by Dr Travis Price, it honestly changed my life for the better. Please try to buy it from an independent bookshop rather than amazon but only if that’s accessible for you.