Running a successful business with ADHD, with Latrice Prater

Latrice Prater 0:00

I just feel like there's so many women, especially like you said, in their 40s, their 30s, the 50s, like are finding out that they have this issue, and all that time, they thought it was just something wrong with them, and they didn't know what was wrong with them, and they're trying to fit into boxes that they're given in order to be successful, and it doesn't work, because that's not how they work.

Leah Neaderthal 0:26

Welcome to The Smart Gets Paid podcast with me, Leah Neaderthal, I help women land higher paying clients in their independent consulting businesses, but I've never been a salesperson. My background is in corporate marketing, and when I started my first consulting business, I learned pretty quickly that it's about 1000 times harder to sell your own stuff than it is to sell someone else's. So I taught myself how to do it, and I created the sales approach that I now share with my clients so they can feel more comfortable in the sales process, get more of the right clients and get paid way more for every client contract. So whether your client contracts are $5,000 $100,000 or more. If you want to work with more of the clients you love, do more of the work you love, and get paid more than you ever thought you could, then you're in the right place. Let's do it together. Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to rate review and share.

Hey there. Leah, here, and thanks for tuning in. I hope that wherever you're listening to this, wherever you are right now, I hope you're having a great week, making some good progress in your business and taking some time for you. So today, we're going to have a real heart to heart about something that I've become more aware of recently, more aware of than I ever really have before, around being a business owner and running a consulting business when you have ADD or ADHD, because we've been having some really good, like profound, eye opening discussions within the academy, especially with the incredible women in our program who are navigating the world of running their business with ADHD. And then separately, a few of the women in my world, a few friends of mine, have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD recently, like they've been diagnosed like in their 40s.

And really the insights and the experiences that they've shared with me about their diagnosis and what it's meant for them, those have been really eye opening for me. And so between all of those things, I thought to myself, it's really time that we brought this conversation to you on this podcast. And so when I thought about that, I knew exactly who to call Latrice Prater. Latrice is the founder of the digital solutions team, and not only has she built an amazing agency of specialized vas, but she's also on a mission to raise awareness about being a business owner with ADHD and providing some really important and meaningful support to other women business owners who also have ADD and ADHD. And I just gotta say, Latrice is one remarkable human being. I mean, we go way back, because the reason I actually know Latrice, and the reason I know how she works, is because many years ago, Latrice was actually my VA. I hired Latrice when my business was at kind of an inflection point, like I had had my very first VA ever, and he and I were at the point where we were just ready to part ways, and I did a big search, and I interviewed a bunch of people, and I just was so impressed with Latrice, and just sort of fell in love with her, and so she became my VA and she had just started what was going to be her agency, but at the time, it was just her and I was her first client. So we worked together, and she streamlined, like my entire business, and she implemented all these systems and all these processes. And at the same time she was also growing her business, the Digital Solutions team, agency. And as my business grew, she sort of stepped into this head of operations role. And then as her business was also growing, she needed to step into more of the CEO role in her business, so she rolled off the day to day management of my business, and now I work with two of her team members, and they are just incredible.

And so since that time, I've not only been watching her grow her business, but I've also been seeing how Latrice has just stepped into this space of entrepreneurs with ADD and really like, grown her voice and grown her impact in that space to really reach so many neurodivergent women and women business owners, and I gotta tell you, seeing how she's navigated the challenges And the opportunities of being a business owner with ADHD, it's been awe inspiring. So I'm so happy to have Latrice here. In this episode, she's going to open up about how her ADHD has not only shaped her approach to work, but it's really influenced how she has run and how she has grown her business. And you're going to hear how she changed her approach to work, so it fits how her brain works and how she's been able to build this really successful business. So if you have ADD or ADHD, or you know, someone who does this is going to be a really eye opening episode. And of course, you know, share this episode, post it, you never know who's gonna hear something in this episode that might really unlock something for them. So take a listen to my conversation with Latrice, and at the end, I'll come back and share a lesson that you can apply to your business.

Latrice, I'm so happy to have you here. Welcome back. Welcome back to the Smart Gets Paid universe.

Latrice Prater 5:40

I miss it. I miss you.

Leah Neaderthal 5:42

I miss you too. Latrice, tell the good people about yourself. Introduce yourself.

Latrice Prater 5:49

That's always loaded to me, because I am many things to many people. So I am Latrice Prater. I am the CEO of the digital solutions team. I came into Leah's universe as her VA and many, many moons later, many moons It was many moons ago. Yes, we discovered that, uh, systems and operations is actually my thing. So I have grown an agency that does just that. But I mean, outside of that, I am an ADHD girly who thrives on just following the dopamine. So I tend to do a lot of different things. I follow my passions, whatever I'm interested in, and I see what happens, and they take me to some great places. Be honest, yeah,

Leah Neaderthal 6:39

like here, like here, well, and, and you're also a mom of three.

Latrice Prater 6:45

I'm a mom of three. I have a 17 year old who is getting her driver's license next month, and a 16 year old. And then my son is seven.

Leah Neaderthal 6:55

Oh, my God, I can't believe he's already seven. Wild well, and it's so funny. You said that, you know, you mentioned you, you follow your passions, and you do a lot of things. And I remember when you and I first got connected and we had our first interview, and I was like, blown away, because you were like, and I've done this, and I've done that, and I've written a book, and I've done this thing, and I was like, whoa, this woman can handle a lot?

Latrice Prater 7:22

Yeah, I am multi passionate, for sure. And it's funny that you bring that up, because it's true when I think about my life. You know, I was in the military for four years, and I did write a book. I also wrote a second book that just came out. And I have been a life coach. I have been a Certified Life Insurance Agents. I have officiated weddings. My God, I have done a lot of things. Well, that's

Leah Neaderthal 7:48

why I was like, if she can do all of that, then she can figure out what is going on in my business. And, yeah, we started working together, and you basically, like, streamlined and, you know, fixed all the things. And at the same time you were building your own agency, and when it came to the time that you needed to step into, like the agency role, I had been working with other people on your team, and I'm still working with them running the operations of my business. So, yeah, you do know surprise systems is your thing.

Latrice Prater 8:23

It's my thing. I thank you for that.

Leah Neaderthal 8:27

Well, so and I invited you here because I, you know, I've seen some of the stuff that you've been putting out over the past couple years now, around being a business owner with ADHD and building a community around that. And because I work with, of course, as you know, women consultants, and a lot of women that I work with have ADD or ADHD, and what's interesting is, I'm finding a lot more women who are diagnosed with that, like in their 40s, and, you know, all of a sudden they're like, grown ass adults being like, Wait a Minute. I know this about myself now that either answers so many questions or asks so many questions, right? And so can you talk a little bit about, you know, your personal experience of just being diagnosed with ADHD and how that's sort of impacted your journey as as a business owner?

Latrice Prater 9:18

Yeah. I mean, for me, I found out I had ADHD in my 30s, so I wasn't 40 yet, but in my 30s, and it made a lot of things make sense. However, my ADHD also sent me down a rabbit hole learning about ADHD, because in my brain, when you say ADHD, I think of a hyperactive little boy, not a 37 year old grown woman. And I discovered, you know, with women or girls in general, ADHD just presents itself differently. And it's honestly, it has a lot to do with societal norms and how we treat our children like we raise our girls to be more like fire. It and, you know, reserved, and boys are allowed to be rambunctious and crazy, so it shows up a lot different than us. Like we tend to be more of the Day Dreamers, and we can't focus as much, but we're still high achievers, like I did well in school. I didn't have any problems with school, but I used to always say I didn't know how to study, and I didn't realize what that meant at the time, but I used to always be like, I don't know what it means to study. I don't know how to study. How do you sit down and study? So it helped make things make sense. When it came to business, though, yes, it made things make sense, but it also, in the beginning, made things difficult, because I had to learn to work with my brain because I was so used to being in environments, of course, where you're just expected to achieve these these goals, or hit these goals and do these things, and you're told that there's one way to do all these things, not realizing that most of most of society is not set up or created for my brain at all, and trying to adapt how I function, how I think, or how I consume information to how I do business, it took a little while, like it definitely took time to put things in place and also to understand it was I had to Give myself grace. You know, I'm easily overwhelmed. Task overwhelm is a thing, like too many things at once. I'm like, I don't know where to start. And it's not because I lack productivity or I'm lazy. It's really because, in my mind, time blindness is a thing. And in my mind, everything seems urgent, everything seems like it needs to be done right now, so I don't know how to prioritize. So I go into this whole thing of like, I'm overwhelmed. It's too many things. I don't know where to start, and I end up doing nothing. So ADHD paralysis is also a thing. And I sit there and I either like Doom scroll on my phone, or I am laying in the bed looking like I need to do 100 things, and I can't seem to do any of them, but it took me a while to figure out how to work with that, how to engage my brain to get things done.

Leah Neaderthal 12:13

Yeah, well, and you mentioned time blindness. Can you jump? What is time blindness, and how does that play out?

Latrice Prater 12:20

Time blindness? Most people with ADHD tend to be late to everything. I think the only reason why I I'm not late is because I was in the military. So, you know, you can't really do that, but you tend to be late because five minutes to you is a different to me. Because what happens is a couple things happen, either, like, I have an appointment coming up, like, this call, for instance, is coming up. I can't do anything before this, because I'm scared if I do anything before this, I am going to get so wrapped up in it, I'm going to lose track of time, like, literally, I'm not going to realize what time it is, and I'm going to be late. And that happens often, like, I'll get wrapped up into something, and then next thing you know, where did the time go? It's been three hours, and no one has said a thing to me, and I've missed appointments because of that. So it's usually because once we get focused, because it's hard, once we are focused on something, time is we don't feel any different. We're just plugging away. I will miss lunch, and my husband hates it, but I will miss lunch because I've worked through lunch because I'm so just focused on what I'm doing, just

Leah Neaderthal 13:30

getting like a flow and like and you said that ADHD presents differently for women than men. How else might ADHD present in, you know, adult women,

Latrice Prater 13:44

to be honest, it can be it's usually misdiagnosed. It's like anxiety or depression, because there is a whole thing about us and emotional regulation, we actually don't do well with regulating our emotions, because we are we feel everything. We're very like, I don't want to say sensitive, because I don't consider myself to be sensitive. I just feel things, and I feel them intensely. So ADHD people, especially women, we tend to feel it more deeply than most. So I get really passionate about a lot of things. And like, when I'm passionate, it almost seems like I'm upset, and sometimes I'm not upset, I'm just passionate. So it comes out as, like, I don't know how to explain it, like, attack, like I'm coming at you, but I'm not. I'm just trying to tell you, like, Oh, I'm excited about this thing, and this is why. And it's things like that. And when we have issues with emotional regulation too, there's a lot of like outbursts. We tend to have, like random emotional outbursts. And I've seen that in my own life, where I could be just having a day and one, one little thing, like, it's just out of No. And we also have moments of, I don't want to say not want to be bothered, but it almost feels like depression, of like wanting to be secluded or isolate. That's the word, want to isolate, right? But it's very different, because it's hard to regulate our emotions, yeah.

Leah Neaderthal 15:17

And I've also heard about because some people in my world have gotten diagnosed with what's called inattentive. Add, how is that the same or different than some of the symptoms you're you're talking about so inattentive?

Latrice Prater 15:32

So there's three types. There's inattentive, there is the what they call impulsive, hyperactive, and then there's combination, I my friend, and combination, I am a little bit of both, so I have the best of both worlds. But inattentive is usually the ones that have a hard time focusing daydreaming. You know, they're probably a little more quieter, not on the hyperactive side, they just kind of internalize more than so it doesn't show outwardly, like you can't really tell, but most of the time, they're also fidgety because they're trying to focus. So when they can't, they bounce in their legs or playing with their hands or their hair, or they do stuff like they want to take notes because they really, really want to focus, so they have to do something else instead of just listening to you. So that's usually what it looks like with inattentive, hyper. Impulsive is literally what it sounds like, you know, bouncing off, not really bouncing off the walls, not as an adult, but like impulsive for an adult can be like spending, uh, sometimes, and even I do it too. So that's where that impulsiveness kicks in, because it's a dopamine hit. For some reason, something about shopping is a dopamine hit. Arguing is a dopamine hit. ADHD, people will pick an argument. Sometimes we like to debate dopamine hit.

Leah Neaderthal 16:51

Oh man, well, so I'm curious. I mean, what are some traits of ADHD that that you feel like are advantages for business owners? Like I was talking to this came up in one of the academy calls where somebody was saying that. I think the question was like, What is your superpower? And she said, my ADD, my ADD, is my superpower in running a business. So when people say that, like, you know, what does that mean? Or what do you what do you see with the women that are in your world, who are business owners and have ADD or ADHD, how is it a superpower? Well,

Latrice Prater 17:31

there are always, to me, there's a is a two sided coin, right? There's advantages, for sure, because even with impulsiveness, with impulsiveness, it means that I also make decisions quickly. I'm a quick start. I will get things done. And I'm also not afraid to try new things. So when it comes to business, because I'm not afraid to try new things, I found success because I do things my way. The moment I have a thought or an idea, I'm going to execute it, because at that moment, my brain is lasered in on this. This is what I've hyper focused on. So I can do what most people do in a day, I can do in a couple hours, so literally. And the thing about that is we also have that hyper focus, like when an ADHD person hyper focuses, there is getting them in that state is hard, but getting them out is just as hard. Literally, it makes us mad. Like, if I'm in a flow and you try to talk to me, I am angry. Do not talk to me. Because it's like, I

Speaker 1 18:30

think I've actually, I think I've actually experienced that, because it takes

Latrice Prater 18:34

me, it feels like it takes me forever to get here. So when you take me out of it, it's like, I don't know when this is going to come back, leave me alone. Let this flow. I

Leah Neaderthal 18:43

think it was like, I was like, the trees, like, do a few minutes to talk about this thing, and you were like, in the zone on something else. And it was like, No, I do not have time to talk about that thing, which is also a really good boundary for me, right? Like, just because I have a thought about something doesn't mean I need to take you off track from doing the work that you were already doing, right? And so I think it's actually in that respect, you may not realize it, but you sort of, like, trained me as a business owner to, like, manage my own thoughts and stuff, you know, to better work with you. So anyway, keep going.

Latrice Prater 19:19

Yeah. So it was, it's a lot of great advantages. I think because I'm able to make decisions quick, I have a very high emotional, you know, intelligence, my my EQ, is extremely high. So I am very good with, like, my team, and picking up on how they feel and their emotions. I'm like that with people in general, but as a leader, it helps and because I know you know what it's like to be in my skin and deal with the things that I deal with, I give people a lot of grace, and that helps me, you know, as a good leader. But there are several advantages, I think, so many. Me, I'm not afraid. You know, I don't know if you ever read there's so many articles about like the ADHD advantage, or how people with ADHD Make, make the best entrepreneurs. And I think what it all boils down to is the simple fact that we're just not afraid to just do the thing. Once we have it in our brains to do like we're going to do it, and whether we fail or we succeed, at least we did it. Because the biggest thing for me is I don't want to regret. I don't want to sit and think, Well, what if? What if? No, I don't live in the what ifs if I thought about it. Let's do it and see what happens.

Unknown Speaker 20:33

So, yeah,

Leah Neaderthal 20:34

I know that that pays off, right? It's really like running a business is is taking a risk, and it involves small, really, like, risk all the time, right? And so somebody like me who's, like, a recovering perfectionist, that's, like, really hard, you know, because I want to know that I'm going to get an A, you know, and there's no guarantees on that. And I definitely know that from my perspective, like, I've waited too long on things, I've held off doing something that I could have done and kind of gotten, you know, great results from I've, you know, chronic over thinker. And so I think the other side of that and being, you know, what you're calling, like the impulsiveness or whatever, but just the ability to do it, because you need to do it, I can absolutely see, yes, why that makes a good business owner, why most successful people in the world are have ADHD,

Latrice Prater 21:29

we don't like to work for other people, to be honest. Like it's we don't we tend to not like authority. And I never like the whole manager to employee dynamic, because I always felt like people didn't value people. And I'm all about people. I'm about relationships. I'm a relationship builder. So for me becoming a an entrepreneur, it had to happen at some point, because I was just so overworking for people who I felt like really didn't care about me, so to speak. And I feel like when you take care of your people, your people, they'll take care of you, and that's how I function. And I think another thing too, with people with ADHD, we have, like, the strong sense of like, justice. Like, if you do somebody, if you do somebody, I care about wrong, like, there is, you're going to pay for that. Like, and we because, not even for ourselves, we struggle with boundaries within ourselves or for ourselves, because we do have a little bit of people pleaser in us, but when it comes to people around us, we will protect them at all costs, like at all costs. And I feel like you've kind of seen it, and you've kind of seen how I've protected you there and your time, and how absolutely, how much I used to be on top of you about stop booking yourself back to back. You need time, you need a break. And I do the I do the exact opposite. I will book myself back to back, like, it's no tomorrow, but I would be in your calendar like, Nope, I'm blocking this time. And I usually will put something like, go to the bathroom, go eat or something

Leah Neaderthal 23:03

you totally would, yeah, oh, I've seen, I've definitely gotten the benefit of that, that loyalty, and, you know, just really fighting for the people you care about. Yeah, absolutely. So we've talked about some, you know, the some of the superpowers, right, of of ADHD, or having ADHD and running a business, but I'm guessing that there are probably some things that make it a little more difficult, right? Let's talk about some of those. I

Latrice Prater 23:32

think the biggest one as a business owner is the fact that I can't control what my brain wants to do. That's the biggest thing as a business owner, especially as someone who works with clients, if I am not moved to do the work, I cannot do the work, and that's hard because it I have to have extremely transparent conversations, especially when it comes to deadlines. Now, granted, I've been doing this for a while so I can get things done, but it takes time for me to prep myself and get myself in a state of like, okay, I have to do this now. So I usually procrastinate and wait to, like, the deadline, and that's when I'm like, okay, fire. Time to put the fire out. Like, I create those fires in order for my dopaminer levels to go up. Because if not, if I'm not motivated, I will find something else to do, and I will do that, because that's what my brain and my dopamine is moving me towards. It's like, oh, we want to do this novelty, or we want to look into this. We want to go down a rabbit hole about this subject, you know? So that's the biggest struggle, I think, is being a business owner, is you can't always control where your focus goes. Yeah,

Leah Neaderthal 24:43

well, and so here's a question, because as you're sort of saying some of these things, I mean, when you say like, I don't want to do things I want to I don't want to do, I would leave it to the last minute. I think a lot of people listening would have that is their experience as well, even if they haven't been diagnosed with ADHD. So what's the difference between the. That in somebody with ADHD and somebody who's who's neurotypical,

Latrice Prater 25:04

the difference is most neurotypical people. You may not want to do it, but you can make yourself do it like you could sit down and be like, I really hate this task, but I know I need to do it, so let me just go ahead and do it and get out the way, because that makes sense. ADHD, I'm gonna sit down like, I know I need to do this, but I really don't feel like doing it, and I can't make my I literally cannot make myself do it. When does it do again? Oh, I have two days I'll wait. Like, literally, like, we physically cannot make ourselves do it if the focus is not there, if we are not moved to do this work, I can't make myself do it. Yeah,

Leah Neaderthal 25:45

totally. I mean, I can definitely see the difference there. So as you've learned about your brain and learned about yourself, how have you changed how you work, or what sort of like tools or techniques or strategies have helped you in running the business. To

Latrice Prater 26:04

be honest, for me, I have, I've done several things. The biggest thing is I've learned to give myself grace, because we tend to beat ourselves up a lot, but I've learned to give myself grace and the days where I just I can't, I won't, like my body is telling me we need a break today. So that's what we're doing today. We taking a break. Um, but when it comes to like strategies and systems, I, like everybody else who comes into this world of entrepreneurship, have invested in courses and coaches and things like that, but I am the type of person that I've learned to take away from it what I can like I know a lot of the times, what is being taught is not being taught for the way I think or the way I function. And I don't hold that against anybody, but I know that I go into it, taking out only the pieces that I know I will apply or that apply to me. And I think when it comes to people with ADHD, especially in the beginning, when you find out a lot of the times they go into this whole something's wrong with me. Why can't I do this? Or why can't I catch on, like, is it me? Am I the problem? They're they're telling me how to do it. I can't do it. That's because you're trying to do it in a way that works for them and not for you. And I've learned that I had to do business my way. I had to do things in a way that only I can do, but that works for my brain, you know? And if that is I'm not big on social media. I'm not consistent at all with social media, but you know what? I'm great at my job, so I get a lot of referrals because I'm great at what I do. So that's how my business has been going for almost five years now, because nobody can tell me, Oh, you need to do more marketing. You need reels and throw out because I'ma look at you like who won't do it? Because I'm not, because it's not authentic to who I am. I just I don't want to, so I'm not so I'm going to find another way. Because you're not going to tell me that success is linear, because it's not. So for me, it's understanding that I can take all the different routes, the detours, but I'm still going to get to where I need to get to at my own time and my own leisurely pace, and I'm gonna be good. And also delegation. Because, to be honest, somebody with ADHD, having somebody to delegate to is extremely important, because there are so many times where you either can't do the thing or you need time away. So having a backup is vital. Like, I'm so glad now that I have an agency that I can depend on, because when I need my time, I do not want any clients feel like they can't rely on me. So having people there that I can be like, Hey, can you take this on and finish this is is great. So delegation is amazing. Yeah,

Leah Neaderthal 29:00

yeah. Well, and you said, you know, I'm going to get to where I want to go. I will just get there my way. Where is that? Now? Bring us up to speed. So like, when you and I first started working together, it was just you and me, right? It was you and me. It was just you and me. How many people are on your team? Now

Latrice Prater 29:17

it is 10. I have a team of 10.

Leah Neaderthal 29:20

Oh my gosh, that's amazing. Let me ask you, so why? Because maybe it's just the age that I am, or the as long as I've been in business, or whatever, or maybe it's just like, what's going on in in the culture, but like, I feel like there's so much more conversation around add ADHD, you know, the neurotypical brain. Why is it so important to talk about this in the context of business? Because also, I've seen that you're really fostering this conversation. Yes, you know, in your world and among women business owners, why do you feel like this is so important right now? Because

Latrice Prater 29:56

the world is toxic, and I mean that. Right in a way of like, even when it comes to being an entrepreneur, and when you're out seeking support, and you're looking at these courses or these coaches, there are so many people telling you you have to do it this way. This is the way it needs to be done in order for you to get the success you're looking for. I've done it, so why can't you do it? And I say toxic, because someone who either doesn't know they have ADHD or are in the early stages and really don't know what it means to have ADHD, that could really tear them down. You know, that takes them into a place of, I can't do this. I'm not good enough. Something's wrong with me, this should be easy and it instead of just understanding, like it's not a you thing, it's it's more of this wasn't creative specifically for your brain, and you need to do something that works for your brain. But it's important, because I feel like there's so many women who feel alone in especially in entrepreneurship, in the sense of like they know they're different, and they want to feel okay, and they want to know that they're okay. When they say, I can't seem to bring myself to do the thing. And they don't want to hear somebody say, Well, you have to do the thing that's more like

Leah Neaderthal 31:21

change your mindset, yes, or like, time block. Yes,

Latrice Prater 31:25

you have, you have, you have a mindset issue. You're not managing your time well. You know, like those things, it's understanding that we need acceptance. People need to understand that everybody does not think the same, and everybody's goals aren't the same. Everybody's goal isn't to be multi millionaires. Some people just want to be able to sustain and be happy. You know, my idea of success is very different from the next person's, and to me, I've reached the level of success that I am happy with. I am great where I am because I am not overly stressed. I am not wanting for anything, but I just feel like there's so many women, especially like you said, in their 40s, their 30s, even 50s like are finding out that they have this issue. And all that time, they thought it was just something wrong with them, and they didn't know what was wrong with them, and they're trying to fit into boxes that they're given in order to be successful, and it doesn't work, because that's not how they work.

Leah Neaderthal 32:27

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, back to what you said about, you know, there's one way to run a business, or there's one way to do a thing, or, you know, if you have only reached, if you have, the only way to be successful is to reach this certain level, right? I mean, I think that, I think, especially as women, neurodivergent or not, like, there's there's more, there's so much that's on our plate, and in ways that we could being conditioned, that we can't we. I mean, even if we wanted to, we don't have the luxury of just going for that money, right? And so, you know, one of the things we talk about in in the academy and in like our world now is, it's called 3x profitability. You know, it's financial, professional, emotional in that, you know, like a little triangle, a little pyramid, and the goal is in the balance, you know, if you have tremendous financial profitability, but at the expense of your emotional profitability, right? Or professional profitability, that's not going to work. And so getting to a place that where it's in the balance, and you, you have, you have something great that's working for you, that's, that's what we need. I mean, that's what, that's what we're going for, right? And it's going to be a little bit different for everybody in their business,

Latrice Prater 33:39

yeah. Honestly, I really think, too, is there are so many things that happen in business and in entrepreneurship that people feel like they can't say and they want to say, you know, like I want I like transparency, and I want to be authentic. I want to show up exactly as I am, who I am all the time. That was another reason why I wanted to be entrepreneur. I didn't want to subscribe to anybody's idea of what professionalism, professionalism is or should be. I just want to be me, period. And with many women, I feel like they especially women that have ADHD. We tend to we're very good at telling if people are authentic or not. So it makes it harder for us to find our our circle of people, our circle of trust, because we can look at we can look and see if you are authentic or if you're just playing a part, and that's not fun, because for me, I want to have a be surrounded by other women who Can Tell me about their successes, but can also be real about how hard you know it was to get to that success, how hard it is on a day to day basis, how some days you want to throw the whole business away. Because I say it often. I don't mean it. It's just how I feel in the moment. So having those types of conversations and being amongst women. Who I can say that too, and they get it. They understand it. And they're not telling me, oh, you have a mindset issue. They they know where it's coming from. You know, it's important. And balance, in my opinion, is great in the in the aspects of what you spoke of, the emotional, the financial. What was the third one? Professional,

Leah Neaderthal 35:19

professional, yes, doing the work you love with with clients. Yes,

Latrice Prater 35:23

that in that aspect, it makes sense. But balance outside of that balance, when I think of balance, like as an entrepreneur, as a mom, as a wife, and all the other things that I handle in my life, as someone with ADHD, I have learned that balance is a myth. I will never balance it all. I will never do everything great all at once. What's going to happen is each day I'm going to do something great. Something is going to fall behind, though, but I'm going to do something great. And you know what? I'm celebrating that success, because at least I did the one thing, great tomorrow, if I was tomorrow, if I didn't do business great today, tomorrow, I'm going to be amazing. If I wasn't the best parent today, tomorrow, you're gonna have super mom like, that's the only way that I know, because there is no way for me to balance all of the roles that I have to live within in my life perfectly. I can't, so something's gonna fall short. So I wrote about that a little bit in the book too, that you know, we all, we try to be super women, but I can't, to be honest, the biggest strength that we have is our boundaries and learning when to say no learning when it's not beneficial for us. And as someone with ADHD, our bound, our boundaries are essential, like we have to have them and stick to them. Mm, hmm,

Leah Neaderthal 36:39

yeah. Well, tell us a little bit more about the book. I feel like this is like such a gift books coming out today. So tell me about it.

Unknown Speaker 36:49

It's called Chaos queen.

Latrice Prater 36:52

CHAOS queen, because everything about me is a little bit chaotic, little chaotic, a little fun, you know, all the things, but it was meant to be somewhat of a guide, so to speak, a guide of just how to manage life and business when you have ADHD. So the chapters kind of speak to like how to deal with chaos because chaos is your new superpower. Because honestly, as someone with ADHD, chaos is all you know. And it's not really an external chaos, to be honest, a lot of the times it's internal chaos. It's dealing with everything that you're going through on the inside, talking about the whole like super woman thing, trying to do everything for everyone, and understanding how important it is to stay in your lane, create your lane and stay in that lane. You can't do everything that everybody else is doing. You literally have to do your own thing. You have to create your own path. And I am definitely like an advocate of that. It's a lot about imposter syndrome and boundaries and balancing kids and business. So that's the whole book. Like how to manage.

Leah Neaderthal 38:05

I love it. Oh my gosh. And I'm so I'm so happy you get to talk about it here. Um, where can people find this book?

Latrice Prater 38:13

It is on Amazon. I'm so excited. It's on Amazon right now. So

Leah Neaderthal 38:17

search for chaos queen, or search for the trees. Prater, yes,

Latrice Prater 38:22

you'd be better off searching for Latrice. Prater, probably,

Leah Neaderthal 38:26

yeah, we don't know what chaos queen is gonna open up in the results, right? So I was gonna ask you what advice you have for business owners with ADHD. It sounds like it's all in the book, but I can you give us a just one, you know a nugget of what would you say to a business owner with ADHD?

Latrice Prater 38:45

What would I say to a business owner with ADHD?

Leah Neaderthal 38:48

I know big question, but what's one piece of advice that you would give her?

Latrice Prater 38:55

Burnout isn't a badge of honor, rest or quit.

Leah Neaderthal 39:00

So important, yes, and, and what would you say then to business owners who don't have ADHD on, you know, working with or collaborating with with other business owners who do have ADHD? What advice would you give

Latrice Prater 39:17

communication is vital, and I say that to say, the more you communicate, the more you understand one another, and grace, because understanding that, because we are wired differently, that I'm going to receive things differently, but I will tell you how I receive it, so that you can understand. But um, yeah, it's being open to having those transparent and honest conversations about okay, in order for us to work together, you know, this is what you should understand about me, and I am like that with my clients. So that's what I would say, real conversations, guys, that's. Yeah,

Leah Neaderthal 40:01

so it's like, so fun to talk to you after all these, you know, all this time, and I want to give the listeners a little bit of a gift. What's something I know I'm putting you on the spot. What's something about working with me

Speaker 1 40:15

that you think people might not know?

Latrice Prater 40:21

Oh my gosh.

Leah Neaderthal 40:23

I know I should have sent you this beforehand,

Latrice Prater 40:25

yes, because now I'm like, what?

Leah Neaderthal 40:28

Okay, what do you what do you think people would be be surprised to know about working with me?

Latrice Prater 40:34

I don't know. How far do you want me to go with this? Because I know you.

Oh because, Leah can be feisty, but not like, not in a bad way, but Leah can be feisty. She got, she got a little fight in her, and I like it. Like, what? Where did I get that from? Okay, okay, so remember back in day I was your corporate clap back queen, because I can, I can write, I do.

Leah Neaderthal 41:02

You were my corporate clap back Queen when I didn't know how to when I when I didn't know how to respond to somebody in a way like I was, I was frustrated, yes, Boyd or whatever, um Latrice has this way of just like writing the email that sounds so lovely. And anyway, I don't want to tell your whole story. Keep Yeah, yeah, tell it

Latrice Prater 41:24

that that was pretty that's when I knew like that you were feisty, like, because your message to me would be like this, you know, like, your frustrations, and you be over it, and you like, can you do that thing you do? Can you do that thing you do? Can you write me? Just, just write me a perfect email. Because you are so sweet, and I think everybody knows that you're sweet, and your whole personality is bubbly, lovely, a little introverted, but, you know, but from working with you, I'm like, No, there is some spice. There's some spice there.

Leah Neaderthal 42:02

I mean, everybody needs some spice. And I'd be

Latrice Prater 42:05

like, I got you don't even worry about it.

Leah Neaderthal 42:08

Seriously. You were, like, you were chat GPT before chat GPT existed. I'd be, you know, you would make it. You would just make it so lovely and perfect, and communicate exactly what had to be communicated. But, yeah, no, I'm not gonna fight that. I'm not gonna argue it. Absolutely. That's so you're so right. I totally forgot about that. You were like that. Yeah, you were the clap back queen, but you were, it was, like the corporate clap back. Yes, that's what it was. Yeah, Latrice, where can people find you? Oh, gosh,

Latrice Prater 42:41

I am on LinkedIn these days. Latrice Prader, I am on Facebook these days. Latrice Prader, if you want to, it depends on what you want from me, though, if you want the real and raw Facebook, if you want a professional version of the real and raw LinkedIn, but that's usually where I am,

Leah Neaderthal 43:02

and what's where can people find your business? Oh, my

Latrice Prater 43:05

website is actually www. Dot the DST agency.com,

Leah Neaderthal 43:12

DST, standing for

Latrice Prater 43:14

digital solutions team. Yes, awesome.

Leah Neaderthal 43:18

Well, Latrice, thank you so much for being here,

Latrice Prater 43:21

of course, anytime, anytime.

Leah Neaderthal 43:26

I love that conversation with Latrice, and if she said anything that really spoke to you, I hope you'll reach out to her and thank her. And I really want to thank Latrice and all of the women in the academy who have ADD because thanks to you. I mean, we've been motivated to make some big changes to our program, just in recognition of the fact that not everyone learns the same way. And the way it works for me or for one person may not work for everybody. And so we've really tried to create a space that works for women with ADD we've taken all of our long training videos and cut them down and made them really short. You know, we have accountability built in. Our Slack community is open all the time, so if you need anything at any time, you know, you can post and ask questions outside of, you know, official working time and other things like that. And you know, all of that's been part of our commitment to helping you be more successful using the strategies that you're learning. So really, thanks to our members for that.

And so I wanted to pull out a lesson that you can apply to your business, and it's what Latrice shared about just a new way of thinking about balance, you know, balance in the business, and also balance around being a business owner and other parts of her life, because we all have parts of our lives that are important to us. And traditionally, when you think about balance, you think of it as, like, stasis, right? Like just steady. Let's think about work life balance, for example, which I know a lot of us understand now is a myth, but at least it's the idea of like, giving the right amount to both, to both work and life, right? And when we think of balance, you know, in your mind, it's like the goal is to get you to a place of balance, and then just try really hard to keep it there. But I really like this new definition of balance. It's this idea that it's not equal from minute to minute, right? It's not that you get things equal or even and you keep it there. It's that you know one day, the business owner, part of you might really shine, but maybe you sort of feel bad that you couldn't show up as a parent that you wanted to that day or the next day. You might feel like you've really got it together as a parent, but maybe there wasn't space for you or your partner in your relationship, or then another day or another week, or whatever, you feel like a great partner or great spouse, or your relationship's great, and you feel like a great parent, but maybe you didn't show up as a business owner in the ideal way that you want. And you know that's okay, because in this new definition, it's not about making it equal all the time, but rather over time. You know, knowing that there is room for all the parts of you and you're gonna let those parts of you shine that need to shine, you know that day and other days or other times, other parts of you will really shine. And I love this because it's just so much more realistic and it's more forgiving than trying to have all the parts of your life together all the time. So, you know, give yourself grace. And of course, I'm taking this advice too. Let's give ourselves grace, and let's rethink our definition of balance so that we can show up as we need to and really be our authentic selves in all the parts of our business and all the parts of our lives and.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai