RUNNING A BUSINESS AND GRAPPLING WITH THE FACT YOU MIGHT BE NEURODIVERGENT IS A LOT
Systems and operations partner for neurodivergent people in leadership positions
If you are running a business and you feel like your neurodivergence is sabotaging your work, I’m here to help you create the workplace systems and ways of working that will support you.
You’re capable, but there’s a wall between knowing what to do and doing it
So you missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime because you got the deadline wrong.
Others don’t see that you’re struggling because you put so much effort into hiding it, and that makes you afraid that it’s only a matter of time before you’re found out as incompetent.
HMRC is sending you fines because you were too overwhelmed to sort out your accounting.
The project you started years ago with so much passion sits untouched but lives rent-free in your head because you cannot face restarting it, because so much time has passed.
You tried so hard to get organised and it never worked, so you accepted that it never will.
And you want to know if, maybe, your neurodivergence could be why you could never get work done unless the deadline was the next day.
I’m here to help you figure out what works for you
I can help you understand your neurodivergence so you get answers to questions you had all your life, even if you could never put them into words. You’ll be able to finally properly explain the gut feelings you always had, but could never talk to anyone about because you didn’t have the words.
I’ll help you build systems that work for you so you can actually get work done, long term, yourself. So you can feel proud of the work you do instead of being ashamed of how you work.
I’ll be there to gently sense-check you so you can do the work that actually carries you forward because you don’t get carried away with things that don’t really matter.
Together, we’ll call out your patterns so you can see the bigger picture and find practical solutions to how your behaviours are sabotaging your work.
Because I believe that making your working life easier is less about changing you and more about changing your systems.
I’ll hold you accountable, so you don’t lose track of the reason you started doing this work because of the next thing that felt more urgent or was more new and shiny.
And over time, you’ll realise that it was never your fault that traditional settings never worked for you.
I do this because I’ve Been Where You Are
Hi, I’m Max Wayne (they/them). I bring my own lived experience and a 5-year background of supporting neurodivergent-led businesses with operations and management, creating meaningful change when they already accepted that nothing will ever work for them.
It took me until the pandemic to realise I’m autistic. When I started working from home because of the lockdowns, it was like I could relax my shoulders for the first time in years. What nobody until that point realised (including me!), was that I was really just decades of bad coping strategies dressed in a trenchcoat, pretending to be a functioning adult.
I was severely struggling with autistic burnout at that point, and I didn’t even have the words for it, let alone the support that could have prevented it. That was where I started my journey of self-discovery. From there, I made myself a promise to accommodate myself better, and that’s exactly what I built out over the years.
I know how much work it is to reflect on a lifetime of being dismissed and misunderstood, figure out your own needs, try things, go through trial, error, and disappointment, all the while continuing to carry on with your life.
Now, I help other neurodivergent folk who are just figuring out their neurodivergence do the same to save them these years of effort. I have worked with leaders, self-employed business owners, and neurodivergent-led teams, so I understand the common themes and patterns that come up and have ready techniques to try, and the experience to come up with unique solutions that work.
Spending the last 5 years working with neurodivergent leaders who came to me drowning in work they just couldn’t deal with taught me to recognise these patterns and get to helping effectively that much quicker.
You’re not starting from scratch with me. You have someone who’s been there, done that, and made it their mission to get late diagnosed/suspecting folk effective help without years of waiting.
What we tend to work through
You’ve been running your business for years and managed to get along. But recently, you got a diagnosis or began suspecting that you might have ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or another neurodivergent condition, and suddenly, your patterns and behaviours have a name.
Which is fantastic and very liberating, but you have no idea what to do about it.
These are the kinds of things that usually bring people to me:
Feeling like you have to move mountains just to get going, even for things you find important
You’re not sure where to start, so nothing gets done, so things keep piling up
Always forgetting about important things, and the guilt that comes with that
Your decisions feel reactive instead of planned, always firefighting
Delaying important tasks, even when you actually want to do them
You usually get by on intelligence, but as soon as work gets busier, everything falls apart
Feeling like your brain can’t handle switching from one thing to a different kind of work
Feeling paralysed when tasks are not prioritised or when the next step is unclear
Your whole identity is based on hiding your struggles and failures from everyone around you
Inability to do something, unless the pressure is real
There’s too much happening at once, and everything feels urgent and important
Starting things with lots of energy, but feeling like it’s impossible to finish them
You don't need all of these to be true
But if some of them are, it’s usually a sign that your needs deserve to be looked at properly, and we’ll do great work together.
This Is What People Often Start To Say A Few Months Into Working Together
“I’m not lazy or slow or stupid, I literally process information differently. I finally have words for things I always felt and knew, but could never verbalise.”
“I’m much kinder to myself, forgiving of myself, and have healthier limits and boundaries now.”
“It feels like I finally have a job with autonomy that aligns with my values and lets me stay in work. Before this, I wouldn’t have believed it was possible to have systems I can stick with.”
“It’s so much easier to see where my limits are and recognise when I’m getting overwhelmed.”
“Learning about executive dysfunction, masking, burnout, and the comorbidity of neurodivergence and other mental health conditions literally changed my life.”
“I finally realised that the answer to a lot of my problems wasn’t to bootstrap my way out of being lazy or disorganised. I had to change my environment to make my own barriers lower.”
“As soon as I realised my problem was actually with task initiation, not my memory, I knew what I needed to change.”
“I no longer feel like I’m drowning. I have a ‘user manual’ for myself that makes it so easy to make decisions.”
Here’s How We Can Work Together
Different situations call for different levels of support. These are the ways I currently work with clients.
Option 1
Strategic consultation
Best for you when…
You usually get along fine, but something came up, and you want guidance, advice, and your next steps.
What you get:
A 90-minute call where we identify where you’re getting stuck, so you can let go of what’s holding you back and strengthen the processes that are supporting you.
Together, we work through what’s going on for you, whether you’re facing a challenge and you have no idea where to start, or there are too many thoughts swirling in your head that you desperately need to get organised.
You’ll leave the session with an action plan with concrete steps you can work through so you’re not stuck in overwhelm and decision paralysis.
Ideal when you need an outside perspective to cut through your overwhelm and point out what would be the next most valuable thing you could work on.
Investment:
£299/session
CLARITY & RELIEF
Option 2
Weekly strategy sessions
Best for you when…
You want a trusted advisor by your side so you don’t have to figure out your systems all alone.
What you get:
A weekly 1-hour session where we’ll build out the systems for your work so you have tried-and-tested options in your toolbox to manage your work and actually finish things.
During our work together, we’ll iterate on what’s working and improve what doesn’t, so you keep growing and better understand the strengths and limits of your neurodiversity and its effects on your operations.
Your weekly sessions are designed to be an empathetic, non-judgmental environment where you’re safe to be yourself. They create accountability so you can actually get things done instead of allowing things to continue to pile up.
All the learnings and resources from your sessions are collected for you in a dedicated Notion hub, so everything is in one place and you never have to start from scratch again.
Investment:
£950/month
Three-month minimum
STRATEGY & ACCOUNTABILITY
Option 3
Full partnership
Best for you when…
You have so much on your plate that you need hands-on support on top of strategy.
What you get:
The strategy and hands-on support to allow you to do the work you’re so passionate about without all the things that add to your overwhelm holding you back.
With this option, you get everything from the Weekly strategy session tier, plus the support to keep things running for you by taking things off your plate.
You’ll always have access to support. On top of our weekly strategy sessions, you have access to advice from me if anything comes up during the week and you need someone by your side in the moment.
You also get expert operations support from someone who gets neurodiversity, so you get help in a way that works for you instead of spending effort on managing someone.
These skills are most in our wheelhouse:
General admin | Tech support | Financial admin | Website support | Social media | Event planning
Investment:
Price on enquiry, dependent on the level and type of operations support needed
Three-month minimum
STRATEGY & HANDS-ON SUPPORT
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