Help for Dyslexic Entrepreneurs: A Practical Guide for Brains That Don’t Fit the Box

Being a dyslexic entrepreneur is like playing business on hard mode with cheat codes you didn’t know you had.

Some days you’re seeing the whole chessboard miles ahead.

Other days you can’t remember where you left your keys, your thought, or your sense of purpose.

If that sounds familiar, welcome.

You’re not broken.

You’re wired differently.

And that wiring can be your biggest competitive advantage once you understand it.

I’ve been running businesses for 16 years. Everything from web design agencies to tech projects to my latest fun adventure, a supplement company designed for neurodiverse brains.

I’m 40 now. I’ve failed, succeeded, exploded, burnt out, rebuilt, and come back swinging more times than I can count. And honestly, I don’t think I’m employable anymore.

This guide is the help I wish existed when I started.

It’s not theory.

It’s not fluffy motivation.

It’s lived experience.

And it’s built for people who think in pictures, feel in explosions, and learn by jumping into the deep end with bricks tied to their feet.

 

Let’s get into it.

1. Why Dyslexic Entrepreneurs Are Different

About 35 percent of entrepreneurs show dyslexic traits.

Let that sink in.

Over a third of the people building companies, inventing products, and trying to change the world have brains that school systems tend to misunderstand.

Why.

Because business rewards the things dyslexics do naturally.

• Big picture thinking.

• Visual problem solving.

• Pattern recognition.

• Intuition that hits like a lightning bolt.

• Storytelling and communication.

• Seeing what’s possible before others even know there’s a problem.

The world calls it visionary.

We call it Tuesday.

But there’s a darker side to this.

• Inconsistent focus.

• Emotional intensity.

• Perfectionism born from fear not ego.

• Working memory that leaks like a sieve.

• Struggling with details, deadlines, admin, follow through.

• Disorientation when too much hits at once.

• Avoiding tasks that feel boring or heavy because the brain literally resists them.

This mix creates entrepreneurs who can see the mountain top but keep tripping over their own shoelaces on the climb.

Once you get that, everything changes.

 

2. The Hidden ADHD Layer Nobody Talks About

A lot of dyslexic entrepreneurs actually have ADHD traits as well.

Maybe not enough to get the diagnosis, but enough to cause chaos.

This shows up as:

• Impulse decisions.

• Hyperfocus on the wrong thing.

• Forgetting people exist unless they are in your visual field.

• Starting ten projects at once.

• Needing novelty like oxygen.

• Struggling with consistency unless there is pressure, passion, or panic.

This doesn’t mean you can’t build a business.

It means you need to build the right kind of business for your operating system.

You need dopamine.

You need visual triggers.

You need simplicity.

You need systems that serve your brain rather than punish it.

Most entrepreneurs try to build businesses the way “normal” people do.

That is like giving a horse a spreadsheet and asking it to quietly trot through tax season.

Our brains need a different approach.

 

3. My Story: From Survival Mode to “I Actually Get This Now”

I was diagnosed with dyslexia at ten.

Then I forgot about it.

Life carried on.

Until my early thirties when I discovered ADHD was also part of my wiring.

That was a big awakening moment.

It explained so much.

The inconsistency.

The burnout cycles.

The perfectionism that made me freeze.

The random bursts of brilliance that felt like cheating.

The moments where my mind would run down rabbit holes so fast I’d forget what I was even reacting to.

For the last 16 years, I’ve owned businesses.

Web design.

Tech.

Marketing.

Right now a supplement brand.

I play the game because I love it.

Business is the most interesting puzzle my brain has ever found.

But it wasn’t until I really understood how my mind worked that things changed.

When I stopped forcing myself to “behave” like a traditional entrepreneur and started designing systems around me, not against me, everything clicked.

That’s what this guide is about. Helping you do the same.

 

4. Why Traditional Business Advice Fails Dyslexic Entrepreneurs

Here’s the truth most experts don’t say out loud.

Most business advice is written for neurotypical thinkers.

Step by step.

Linear.

Rigid.

Dry.

And full of micro details that make our eyes glaze over.

We don’t think that way.

We think in leaps.

Connections.

Images.

Possibilities.

Energy.

Give us the vision and we’re off like a rocket.

Give us a 12 point spreadsheet checklist and we’re asleep in the second column.

So when we try to follow traditional advice, we think something is wrong with us.

It isn’t.

The system wasn’t built for you.

Stop trying to run Windows software on a Mac brain.

 

5. The Core Challenges Dyslexic Entrepreneurs Face

Here’s what actually trips us up.

1. Working memory issues

If it’s not in your eyeline, it may as well not exist.

This includes clients, tasks, invoices, food, your own birthday.

2. Disorientation under stress

Your brain goes offline when too much hits at once.

You lose clarity.

You lose sequencing.

You lose words.

3. Emotional spikes

One email can ruin your whole day.

One win can make you feel unstoppable.

We feel in colour, not grayscale.

4. Perfectionism

Not because we’re egotistical.

Because we fear judgment and rejection.

“Not good enough” is the childhood soundtrack most dyslexics don’t know they still hear.

5. Inconsistent focus

Hyperfocus or zero focus.

No middle gear.

6. Boredom intolerance

Repetitive tasks feel like death by paper cut.

7. Difficulty finishing

The 80 percent curse.

You start strong.

You vision big.

Then your dopamine drops and the wheels fall off.

Understanding these challenges lets you build workarounds instead of shame.

 

6. The Superpowers You Forget You Have

Let’s flip it.

Here’s what you bring to the table that most founders would kill for.

1. Big picture clarity

You see patterns before they exist.

2. Intuition

You just “know”.

And you’re usually right.

3. Creativity

Not in the paintbrush sense.

In the problem solving sense.

In the “I can connect these three random ideas into something powerful” sense.

4. Resilience

Dyslexic kids learn to be tough early.

That grit serves you in business.

5. Communication

Storytelling.

Pitching.

Reading people’s energy.

This is top tier entrepreneurial skill.

6. Risk tolerance

We’ve lived through so much uncertainty that business feels normal.

When you learn to lean into these strengths, everything changes.

 

7. Practical Help That Actually Works for Dyslexic Entrepreneurs

This is where most guides fall apart.

So here’s the real stuff.

1. Build your business around your strengths, not your weaknesses

If admin drains you, remove it.

Hire someone.

Automate it.

Use AI.

Stop pretending you’ll magically become good at bookkeeping.

You won’t.

2. Use visual tools only

Whiteboards.

Kanban boards.

Mind maps.

Sticky notes.

If you can see it, you can do it.

3. Create an 80 plus 1 rule

Eighty percent boring consistency.

One percent novelty to keep your dopamine alive.

It’s how I lost 18 kg.

It’s how I built my podcast.

It works.

4. Don’t work alone

You need people who act as your external working memory.

A VA.

A project manager.

A business partner who loves detail.

Call them your anchor.

They stop you drifting into the Bermuda Triangle of your own ideas.

5. Set up systems that ping you visually

Use reminders everywhere.

On your phone.

On your desk.

On your mirror.

If your brain can’t “see” it, it won’t do it.

6. Build in recovery

Neurodiverse burnout is real.

If you run at 120 percent, you will crash.

Plan recovery like you plan meetings.

7. Double down on your health stack

Good sleep.

Supplements that support dopamine and calm.

Movement.

Hydration.

This is not a nice-to-have.

It’s your operating system.

8. Speak your mind clearly

Dyslexics tell stories.

People who work with you need clarity.

Use shorter sentences.

Say what you want.

Say what you don’t.

Avoid baked-in misunderstandings.

9. Celebrate your wins visually

We forget fast.

Track progress in ways you can see and feel.

A wall of wins.

A progress board.

A dopamine jar.

Momentum matters.

 

8. Why LinkedIn Is a Secret Weapon for Dyslexic Entrepreneurs

Most people don’t know this.

On LinkedIn you can list “Dyslexic Thinking” as an official skill.

This is massive.

It validates the creative, intuitive, strategic thinking that dyslexics naturally have.

It also helps build visibility around neurodiversity in business.

Use it.

Own it.

Be proud of it.

 

9. What AI Means for Dyslexic Entrepreneurs in 2026 and Beyond

This is the game changer.

AI will help:

• Write proposals.

• Automate emails.

• Structure your thinking.

• Turn ideas into actions.

• Reduce admin.

• Keep you consistent.

• Keep things visual and simple.

It’s like giving a dyslexic entrepreneur a personal assistant that doesn’t get tired, annoyed, or confused by your ping pong brain.

The entrepreneurs who embrace AI will win.

Not because they work harder.

Because they finally have a system that works with their brain.

 

10. Final Word: You’re Not Alone and You’re Not Behind

Here’s the truth.

You’re not late.

You’re not slow.

You’re not scattered beyond repair.

You’re not missing something everyone else got at birth.

You’re wired to see differently.

And difference is the birthplace of innovation.

If you take nothing else away from this guide, take this.

You don’t need to fix your brain.

You need to build your business in a way that matches it.

That’s when things finally click.

And if you’re reading this thinking, “I want more help with this,” you’re exactly why Truth About Dyslexia exists.

You don’t have to build the next chapter alone.