The ADD Business Owner: Television

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I've admitted it many times before and I suppose I need to preface this post by saying that yes, I am a reality TV junkie. And even though reality TV has been losing it's steam, there are still a few good shows that are alive and kicking. Kid Nation is one of them.

The premise of Kid Nation is pretty simple: put a bunch of kids with different ages and backgrounds into their own little old-west-style town, and watch how they live and get along with minimal adult intervention. It's kind of Survivor meets Little House on the Prairie.

The kids compete each week for their class status: upper class, merchants, cooks, and labororers. Each class, of course, is paid based on their status in the society. I particularly enjoyed this week's episode because some of the kids got tired of not having enough money, and spontaneously decided to start their own businesses.

Divad opened up a snack bar and cooked some goodies that she then sold for extra cash. Although she was a smart little cookie and I admire her spirit, she did make one mistake. She thought she deserved the "gold star" for her work, a reward given each week to one kid who the town council thinks is doing the most to keep Kid Nation running smoothly. David was working hard in her snack bar, but that's not exactly socialism--it's capitalism. You can't expect to get a prize for being the kid in town with the most money! Hopefully her skills will make her much more than $20K in the near future.

Jared was both annoyed and inspired by Divad's success, and decided to make some souvenir necklaces. They sold really quickly, and he made a bundle of money. Then he declared himself "The Bill Gates of Kid Nation" and proceded to buy himself a pimped out outfit in which he paraded around town. Seriously. He looked like an 11-year old pimp. I wish I had a screen shot. If I had to put money on which of these kids has ADD, Jared would be first on my list.

Update: I have something better than a screen shot of the pimped out Jared--a video!

This Kid Nation episode reminded me of my own "entrepreneurial" childhood. Every time I see a kid with a lemonade stand, I think to myself, I bet that kid has ADD! Just about every ADD business owner can relate. Most of us had entrepreneurial brains from the start, and tons of business ideas long before we were out of grade school.

Personally, I had some good ideas, and some not-so-good ones:

Good idea = Creating about 200 flyers for my babysitting services and putting them in every mailbox in my neighborhood. I was 13 and got 4 regular "clients" from that marketing campaign!

Not-so-good idea = Catching crickets in the back yard and setting up a sales stand at the end of the driveway. I was 8 and I really, truly thought that people on their evening walks would want to buy some crickets for their kids. For pets. Really. And not only that, but I was pissed when my neighbor suggested no one would buy them. (Ah, she was a bitch, anyway. Who deflates an 8-year-old's dream of cricket riches?)

What kind of business ideas did you have as a kid? Good ideas, not-so-good ideas, profitable ideas, or crazy ideas, let's hear 'em! Please post your stories in the comments field.

Last night I watched the season finale of the HBO series Big Love. I didn't want to like this show, but I do. I appreciate a well written show in which you both root for the main character and hope for his world to unravel. All at once, Bill is a nice guy, a righteous polygamist, and a savvy bastard in business.

At the end of the show, Bill sat in his backyard watching his (really freakin' big) family. It was night time, and they were having a religious-themed party. Bill's friend asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Business" was the simple reply.

As many of you know, Erin came to work with me full time about a month ago. She's documented a lot of her experiences on her blog about ADD and relationships. One thing that Erin said to me recently really caught me by surprise.

"You know," she said. "When I would come home from work at night and you would go on and on about the business, I thought it was because you had been waiting to talk to me and run ideas by me all day. Now I realize that this wasn't the case. You NEVER STOP talking about business."

I was a little shocked, and I protested defensively. "It takes me a good two hours to get going in the morning so I know I don't talk about business then!"

"Oh yes you do!" Was her response. "You ask me all about luvmutt. Did I get any new dogs? What was traffic like yesterday? You have a good idea for a new contest, etc."

Hmmmm... I guess I do talk about business all day. This got me thinking. I often encourage my clients to clearly separate business and personal time. So does thinking about business all day make me a hypocrite?

I don't think so.

When you have adult ADD and you are really passionate about your business, it can be very difficult to turn off your business brain. Your business provides you with positive challenges, and you churn out ideas without even trying. It's a good thing!

But that doesn't mean that you should be in the office all the time. Clearly separating business and personal time means taking days off. It means getting out of the office sometimes for meals, and even skipping out of the office for the afternoon once in a while. It means planning in enjoyable personal activities with friends and family. It means taking vacations, and having interests outside of your business.

If you clearly separate your time, and still find that business ideas pop up in your personal time, so be it! Let your family roll their eyes as you light up about a new business idea you thought of while going through the roller coaster loops. Just don't leave your family all alone at the amusement park while you run to an Internet cafe to start putting your plan into action.