Podcast Summary: ADHD-ish with Diann Wingert

Episode: The ADHD-friendly Business Plan You'll Actually Use

Date: August 12, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Diann Wingert dives deep into why traditional business planning fails ADHD entrepreneurs and introduces her streamlined, ADHD-friendly business plan framework. Using humor, practical advice, and personal stories, Diann breaks down how to create a business plan you’ll actually use—one that fosters creativity and flexibility rather than stifles it. The advice is specifically geared toward business owners and creatives whose neurodiverse brains crave novelty, struggle with rigid systems, and need external structure to thrive.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Why Traditional Business Plans Don’t Work for ADHD Brains

• Resistance to Planning:

  • The host challenges listeners’ aversion to business plans, noting:

    “You didn't start your business to write reports that are going to be outdated as soon as you write them... The ADHD brain sees an opportunity, gets excited and wants to act immediately. It's actually one of our biggest strengths.” (00:10)

  • Traditional plans are boring and rigid, failing to accommodate ADHD craving for novelty and flexibility.

• Cost of ‘Winging It’:

  • Winging it feels fast, but incurs hidden costs—unfinished projects, missed opportunities, burnout, and lack of direction.

    “Winging it isn’t actually faster, it just feels faster in the moment. It’s like taking the scenic route when you're already late for a meeting…” (06:10)

• Need for External Structure:

  • ADHD brains thrive on external scaffolding, not restrictive systems.

    “Your ADHD brain needs external structure to function at its best. That's not a bug, it's a feature.” (09:42)

2. The Minimal ADHD Business Plan Framework

Four Pillars (“because pillars hold shit up” — 12:40):

a. Pillar 1: Your North Star

• The “why” of your business—clear, memorable, flexible.
• Used to guide decision-making and filter out shiny distractions.

  “Your North Star should be specific enough to guide decisions, but flexible enough it doesn’t box you in.” (13:09)

  • Example:

    “I want to help neurodivergent solopreneurs balance their passion and purpose with profit and without burnout.” (13:40)

b. Pillar 2: Revenue Reality Check

• Strip away complex forecasts; focus on three basic numbers:
  1. How much money you need to not be stressed?
  2. What can you realistically charge?
  3. How many clients/sales do you need to reach your goal?

  “Simple math that our ADHD brains can handle.” (16:10)

c. Pillar 3: Your Zone of Genius

• Clarity on what energizes vs. drains you.
• Create two lists: what you love vs. what you avoid; delegate, automate, or eliminate the latter.
• Spend limited mental resources wisely.

  “It’s about finding the sweet spot where your skills, your interests, and market demand overlap.” (18:44)

d. Pillar 4: Your Next Three Moves

• Replace long-term planning with three actionable, concrete steps.
• Not goals or dreams—true next actions, sequential if possible.
• Focused, dopamine-friendly, and achievable.

  “Traditional business plans want you to map out like the next five years. That’s ridiculous for anybody, but especially for ADHD brains... Instead, identify your next three moves.” (21:30)

3. Making the Plan ADHD-Friendly

• Keep It Visual & Simple:

  • One-page, dashboard style, colors, mind maps, Trello boards — whatever engages you.

    “By making it visual, you make it engaging for your ADHD brain.” (23:05)

• Built-in Flexibility:

  • It’s a living document, not carved in stone; update as you pivot.
  • Use tools you know (Canva, Trello, Google Docs, Notion).

    “The best plan is the one you’ll actually use. So make it visual. Make it flexible. Make it accessible. It’s a tool, not a test.” (30:50)

• Sprint Method for Creation:

  • Four 25-minute sessions, one per pillar, ideally on different days.
  • Prevents overwhelm, leverages natural attention patterns.

    “The sprint method is simple. You set a timer for 25 minutes and work on one pillar. When the timer goes off, you stop... This does two things. It prevents overwhelm and it tricks your brain into thinking, hey, this is manageable.” (26:45)

• Voice-to-Text for Verbal Processors:

  • Speak through each pillar, use voice memos, then edit—especially helpful for those who think best out loud.

    “Some people swear by voice to text... works especially well for those of us who are verbal processors.” (29:10)

• ‘Good Enough’ Principle:

  • Ditch perfectionism. Version 1.0 will be rough, and that’s by design.
  • The goal: usefulness, not perfection.

    “It doesn’t even have to be particularly good... Your version 1.0 of the plan is probably going to suck, and that's not only okay, it's expected.” (31:00)

4. Review and Upkeep: Keeping the Plan Alive

• Monthly Review:

  • Avoid the mistake of never revisiting your plan.
  • Calendar 15-minute monthly check-ins.

    “Six months later, they're wondering why they still feel lost and scattered. Your plan needs to be reviewed and updated regularly, not daily. That's too much. But monthly — monthly works pretty well for most ADHD brains.” (33:45)

• Course Correction Without Judgment:

  • Adjust as your direction, business, or focus changes.

    “This isn't about judging yourself... it's about course correcting if and when you get too far off track.” (35:10)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On why ADHD entrepreneurs resist business plans:

  “That's like asking you to choose your outfit for next Tuesday when you don't even know what the weather's going to be like...” (05:20)

• On what the Minimal Plan isn’t:

  “I fucking guarantee you, it’s not 40 pages of financial projections and market analysis that you’re never going to look at again.” (12:13)

• On outsourcing low-energy tasks:

  “If you hate doing something and you're not particularly good at it, that's a prime candidate for outsourcing, automation or elimination.” (19:32)

• On what makes an ADHD-friendly plan sustainable:

  “Remember, the plan is your GPS, not your inner critic.” (36:23)

• On Sprint creation:

  “You're not going to try to do it all in one day. Even if you want to, don't do it.” (27:42)

Step-by-Step Action Items (with Timestamps)

1. Acknowledge that planning is not your enemy; the right plan enables your creativity. (37:10)
2. Follow the Four Pillars:
   • North Star (13:09)
   • Revenue Reality Check (16:10)
   • Zone of Genius (18:44)
   • Next Three Moves (21:30)
3. Choose familiar, visual, and/or verbal tools to make the plan. (23:05–29:10)
4. Apply the Sprint Method: 25 minutes per pillar, done in intervals. (26:45–27:42)
5. Review the plan monthly, not daily. Adjust without judgement. (33:45–36:23)
6. Adopt the “good enough” mindset; version 1.0 is supposed to be messy. (31:00)

Key Takeaways

• Planning done right isn’t restrictive—it enables both creativity and sustainability for ADHD entrepreneurs.
• The only business plan you need boils down to four flexible pillars: North Star, Revenue Reality Check, Zone of Genius, Next Three Moves.
• Make your plan visual, simple, and update-friendly. Use tools you love.
• Build it in small sprints (25 minutes at a time), keep it imperfect, and refresh it monthly.
• “Your ADHD brain deserves the support and structure that will help it do its best work.” (38:20)

Listener Homework

“Pick one pillar and spend 25 minutes on it this week. Just one. Start with whichever one feels easiest or most interesting to you... Because guess what? With this business plan, there’s no right order.” (38:45)

Final Note

Diann invites listeners to share their ADHD-friendly business plan creations via LinkedIn, email, or voicemail on her website.

End of Summary