ADHD That Drives Results: Neurospicy Success in Marketing
I am Raven Youngblood, owner of Ravenized CMO Consulting LLC, and my ADHD made my clients over 18 million dollars last year.
How is that for an opener?
In 2024 my small but mighty consulting firm opened its doors and it hit the ground running. I had experience and a supportive network, but the thing I attribute a lot of the success to is that no one thinks like I do. My brain is the very definition of unique, for better or worse.
(There is a TL:DR of this whole article at the bottom of the page)
ADHD is not uncommon, in fact, according to the CDC 15.5 million adults have been diagnosed at some point in their life with ADHD and over half of those diagnoses happened in adulthood.
And that is what happened to me. I was 22 years old the first time a doctor suggested I might have ADHD and 35 years old when I was formally diagnosed. It probably should have been a good indicator the day I backed into my own car. Or when I could work for twelve hours straight without a single bathroom break or eating. By the time I was diagnosed the doctor told me my systems for working against myself were “impressive”-- I have some experience with that word and in the medical field it's rarely positive.
ADHD, and honestly most neurodivergent brains, is a vastly misunderstood thing. Heres a breakdown of conception versus reality before we talk about that snappy opener:
(Note: Everything I am about to list has been said directly to me in regards to the disease. Everyone experiences this differently and I can only speak with confidence of my own experience)
How People with ADHD are Viewed:
Messy
Forgetful
Hyper
Disorganized
Loud
Late
Scatter-brained
Can never focus
Unmotivated
Unintelligent
Impulsive
How People with ADHD Actually are:
Intricate big picture thinkers
Energetic
Unconventional thinkers
Resilient
Rejection sensitive
Hyper-focused
Task avoidant
Task initiation issues
Excessively talkative
Typically creative
Quick Learners
Excellent pattern recognition
I have worked many jobs where some of my best ADHD gifts were seen as character flaws but once I learned to treat, channel and systemize the things that didn’t work, those very same traits built my success.
Marketing and ADHD: Why it Works so Well
I am not a telemarketer, a data entry specialist, a mid-level manager, a churn and burn content developer, medical biller or paralegal. And, true to my nature, I tried them all first just to be sure. For years, I struggled to stay on task, to do the day to day, to slough through the next thing. I would work until I was the best of the best and the highest performer and once I was there… I was done.
Thankfully, being the best looks pretty good on a resume so I coasted like that for a while.
But then I discovered the multi-faceted gem that is marketing. It has the two things my brain craves– coordination and chaos. I fell in love with it instantly and for the first time in my life, I felt like I was actually doing something made for me and something I could truly build.
Let’s talk about why it matches so well:
Hyperfocus = Marketing Flow
One of the biggest love/hate relationships of the neurospicy brain is called hyperfocus. The pure irony of a disorder with “attention deficit” in its name is that its hallmark is too much focus. I love it because I can lock in on a task and it will get done 110% and done right now. But the devil of it is that my brain gets to pick where we apply that particular superpower, so instead of monthly reporting we are going to finish a pirate ship Lego build until three in the morning (real example).
However, medicated and managed ADHD gives me a whole lot of that hyperfocus with a whole lot more control. I work mostly with roofers and home services so if a storm rolls in we need targeted ads, social posts, vendors activated and door knockers out in the world and we need it faster than the other guy. No one works as fast as me at as high quality and magic happens—campaigns get written in a flurry, insights spark fast– and it is all because my brain is different. And that difference is directly correlated to my clients' marketing success.
Creativity and Big-Picture Thinking
There is a chemical every human has and needs and it is called dopamine. Dopamine impacts our happy brain signals. In a neurotypical brain, people get dopamine from finishing a task, getting a hug, doing exercise, etc. People with ADHD typically have a deficit of dopamine so our brains are constantly searching for that “reward” feeling.
In practice this means that we may struggle with paper pushing but our minds are idea factories—perfect for branding, storytelling, brainstorming, and campaign building. We are better at efficiency than most people because we can see the big picture of how everything impacts each other thing, and we are creative enough to fix it.
Comfort With Chaos
In a glorious marriage of dopamine-chasing and hyperfocus, most people with ADHD thrive in controlled chaos. A new task is a new challenge and we will get that “reward” bump once we’ve dialed in and figured out how to master it. Because marketing is dynamic and unpredictable, a brain made for new adventures is made for managing it. On any given work day I might be working out a billing issue, taking on a new SEO advancement, creating a design that moves the needle, or teaching someone how to operate Meta. Every new email is a challenge and a new avenue to keep me busy and I am here for it.
Empathy and Emotional Intelligence
Another love/hate relationship I hold with my brain is emotional reactivity and rejection sensitivity. In a nutshell, I read people like no other and I will be in my feelings about it. I am chronically easy to talk to because I am hyper-aware of the emotional environment around me. This is a double edged sword because we will work to burnout to avoid causing disappointment but we understand customer behavior at a very deep level. We can adjust for comfort.
Pattern Recognition & Strategy
The heaviest hitter in the bag of neurodivergent positive traits for me is right here. ADHD brains can rapidly connect disparate dots and identify marketing trends and opportunities others miss. If something happens with my clients, I can usually figure out not only the problem– but where it originated and why. When you can understand patterns and human behavior, marketing strategy comes as an extension of self. And because I know why it happened, it doesn’t happen twice.
It Isn’t All Sunshine and Rainbows: The Real Challenges of ADHD in Marketing
At this point, I am sure this sounds like a positive spin on chaos so to be truly transparent there are, of course, real challenges to being neurodiverse and working with neurodiverse people. However, I have yet to find one of these challenges that did not have a reasonable solution in business. Check it out:
Challenge: Time blindness
What is it?: I have no sense of if a task is going to take five minutes or three hours, I will work until it is done. No matter what other things needed done more.
How to Overcome it: My day is ruled by calendars, reminders and color coding. Every single task is on a list and it gets color coded based on priority and time. Below is what my ASANA looks like. And the system isn’t perfect, the example there is this blog slotted for 30 minutes…. I have been writing for an hour.
I also help time blindness by setting timers for tasks. When they go off I have to pause wherever I am and evaluate if this is still the top priority.
Challenge: Overcommitting
What is it?: “Of course, I will get that to you today!” and other lies I tell myself. Or work until I have no family life, or work myself right out of scope and profitability
How to Overcome it: I have gotten much better on this one. My clients know I am quick and good but I have no issues saying “I can absolutely get that for you, I am booked up today but I am sure that can be done by [the day after the day I really think I will get to it]. I also turn off my email at night and on the weekends to make a boundary I would have trouble giving myself. I also hired the right people so if it needs done, there is usually a way to delegate it and still stay on task.
Challenge: Distraction and Productivity
What is it?: Wasting time and energy where it doesn’t serve me, failing to stay on track.
How to Overcome it: This one has a two-fold solution. First, to avoid distractions, I eliminated distractions. Two days a week I work from the office and I body double with another marketer. We sit side by side, bounce ideas off of each other, and remind each other to drink water and stay on task. Then, I use AI strategically. AI can help do an outline for a meeting or a blog, generate some social pillar ideas, or help me with quick scripts. I use it for anything that is small or menial and save my brain for the good stuff.
Challenge: The One Man Band
What is it?: Holding everything myself so it is done to my standards.
How to Overcome it: This can also be called the vine philosophy or the monkey philosophy. And this is a challenge that is very common in neurotypical leaders as well. Once our name hangs in the balance, we want to hold onto every aspect and make sure it's perfect. Every vine connected to my business I want to hold and snuggle close, every monkey someone brings into my office I want to immediately be mine. But it isn’t my monkey, it isn’t my circus and all these vines are strangling me. In this one, I had to learn to let go.
So the philosophy around Ravenized is “a standard of independent excellence and a culture of why”. My people get tasks and I maybe spot check the big ones as they go out the door, but I don’t hover or micromanage. My task list is marked with “Delegate, optimize, automate, or eliminate” and that can apply to 80% of the things that tie up an owner's day.
TL;DR: Why People With ADHD are Assets in Business
ADHD helped me build Ravenized CMO Consulting and drive $18M+ in results for my clients in just one year.
My brain doesn’t work like everyone else’s and that’s the point. Neurodivergent traits that others saw as flaws became my biggest business assets.
Marketing and ADHD are soulmates. The field thrives on big ideas, fast pivots, empathy, strategy and all skills people with ADHD often have in spades.
Hyperfocus means I get in the zone and create magic fast. I am the man in the storm, literally and figuratively. Fast, quality, performing work.
Creativity + big-picture thinking = marketing magic. ADHD brains chase dopamine and spark innovation across entire strategies.
Chaos? We call that Tuesday. ADHD folks often excel in fast-paced, unpredictable environments exactly like modern marketing.
Emotional intelligence is part of the package. Rejection sensitivity and high empathy let us deeply understand customer behavior.
Pattern recognition turns into strategic insight. We don’t just solve problems, we trace them to their roots and fix them for good.
Yes, there are challenges but they’re manageable. With systems, delegation, and self-awareness, ADHD drives business success.
You Can Sit at My Table
This is just the start of a series we will be doing on neurodivergence in marketing with voices from the full spectrum and how they navigate in a world where they are built differently. If you are interested in sharing how different brains have elevated your business, we would love to hear from you. Click here to talk to us!
