The Sycamore Blog
An Online Business Management Blog on all things Neurodiversity in Business
Recognising Burnout: When Too Much Really Is Too Much
Recognising Burnout: When Too Much Is TOO MUCH As neurodivergent business owners, we are likely to feel a huge responsibility to continue under pressure. We may even take a level of pride in doing so. Particularly in professions which include the...
Paid Advertising: What It Is, How It Works, and How We Can Help
If you've been thinking about running online Paid Advertising, you're in good company. More and more businesses are exploring Google Ads and Social Media advertising as a way to reach new customers and grow. But before committing any budget, it's...
School Holidays: Finding a Way That Works for Your Business and Family
School holidays can throw routines, energy levels and businesses into chaos, especially for neurodivergent families. In this blog, we explore why summer can feel so overwhelming and share practical ways to reduce the pressure, protect your energy and make the holidays work for you.
Finding Your Focus: Why Your Working Environment Matters
Some people need silence to concentrate. Others focus better with music, background noise or the company of other people working nearby. The truth is there isn’t a single “right” way to work. This blog explores why different environments suit different people, how your needs can change from day to day, and why giving yourself permission to work your way can make all the difference.
Meet the Sycamore Team: Q&A with Rachael Best
Meet Sycamore OBM Rachael Best. With more than 20 years’ experience in commercial and marketing leadership, Rachael shares how she helps entrepreneurs bring structure to big ideas, why the right support matters for neurodivergent business owners, and the systems and tools she relies on to keep businesses moving forward.
The Hidden Cost of Saying ‘Yes’ to Everything
Many of us say ‘Yes’ because we genuinely want to help, get involved or support others. The problem isn’t always a lack of boundaries. Sometimes it’s making a decision before we’ve considered our capacity. In this blog, we explore the hidden cost of saying ‘Yes’ to everything and how creating a pause before committing can help you make more intentional decisions.
Digital Course Creation: Where Your Hyperfocus Finds a Home
Ever found yourself deep into a topic and realised you know enough to teach it? This blog explores why digital courses can work particularly well for neurodivergent business owners, how course platforms work, and how to turn your knowledge into a sustainable income stream.
Meet the Sycamore Team: Q&A with Crystal Barron
In this Meet the OBM Q&A, Crystal shares what she loves most about her work, her favourite systems and strategy tools, and why flexible, adaptive thinking makes such a difference when supporting business owners, especially those working in neurodivergent-friendly ways.
Coaching & OBM Support: Know What to Do but Not Doing It?
Running a business is not just about knowing what to do. It is about having the right support to follow things through. Discover how combining coaching and OBM support helps you move from clarity to action in a way that works for you.
Meet the Sycamore Team: Q&A with Francine Hedges
In this Meet the OBM Q&A, Francine shares her journey into the role, what she loves most about supporting business owners, and why letting go of the things that drain you might be one of the smartest moves you can make, especially for neurodivergent entrepreneurs.
Demystifying Website Jargon: A Plain-English Guide for Small Business Owners
If terms like DNS, SSL, and SEO leave you nodding along but none the wiser, you’re not alone. This guide breaks down common website jargon into plain English, so you can make informed decisions about your business online without needing a technical background.
The Benefits of Using Notion for Small Businesses
Discover how Notion can transform your small business operations into an organised, collaborative, and efficient system.
From task management to client collaboration, see why it’s fast becoming the go-to tool for growing teams.
What is AuDHD?
AuDHD, shorthand for a dual diagnosis of Autism and ADHD, is a unique neurodivergent profile that combines creativity, lateral thinking, and a broad skillset with certain challenges, like black-and-white thinking and time management struggles. Whether you’re exploring AuDHD for yourself or seeking to understand neurodivergent colleagues, this blog offers an accessible and personal look at the richness, complexity, and potential of an AuDHD brain.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2026 – Client Spotlight
A collection of our Neurodiversity Celebration Week client spotlights, celebrating neurodivergent business owners and those supporting their communities. Catch up, explore, and connect with the brilliant businesses featured.
Spring Clean Your Business Without the Guilt: A Guide for Neurodivergent Founders
Spring has a way of highlighting what we have been quietly avoiding. For neurodivergent business owners, that can mean mental clutter, too many offers, messy systems, or finances pushed to the bottom of the list. This is not about becoming more organised in a rigid way. It is about reducing friction, simplifying what no longer fits, and setting up the next 90 days in a way that works and your real capacity.
Why Neurodivergent Founders are Building Their Own Tables
Neurodivergent founders are no longer trying to squeeze themselves into workplaces that were never designed for them. Instead, they are building their own tables, creating businesses that reflect how they think and work. Here is why that shift matters, and how the right support makes it sustainable.
Taking Control of Your Business Finances in 2026: A Guide for Neurodivergent Business Owners
Running a business is challenging enough without last-minute tax panic. This practical guide walks neurodivergent business owners through key UK financial deadlines in 2026, including Self Assessment, VAT, Payments on Account and Making Tax Digital, so you can plan ahead with confidence.
Meet the Sycamore Team: Q&A with Rosalie James
Discover how Rosalie James, Sycamore OBM, combines strategy, systems, and support to help neurodivergent founders succeed. She shares insights from her neurodivergent experience, favourite tasks, and tips for working smarter.
Social Media 101 for Small Business
Social media doesn’t have to be overwhelming. This beginner-friendly guide breaks down the basics for small business owners, from choosing the right platforms to creating consistent content without the stress. Simple, practical, and designed to help you show up online with confidence.
A Neurodivergent Christmas
Christmas isn’t all twinkly magic for everyone. For many neurodivergent people, the season comes loaded with sensory overwhelm, social expectations and a whole lot of too-muchness. This blog offers simple, thoughtful adjustments to help make the holidays calmer, kinder and far more comfortable.
Review, Reset, and Refocus: A Neurodivergent Founder’s Guide to Goal Setting
As the year comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect, and realign your business goals . This guide shares practical tools designed to support neurodivergent founders. Discover how to set goals that improve focus, reduce overwhelm, and genuinely work with your brain rather than against it.
Meet the Sycamore Team: Q&A with Tom Arden
Meet Tom Arden, Sycamore’s Digital Marketing Specialist. In this Q&A he shares his journey into OBM work, his approach to digital marketing, what he loves about guiding founders and how neurodiversity awareness influences the way he works.
Our Guide to Hosting Inclusive Christmas Events.
As explored in our previous blog Surviving Christmas Parties, the festive season brings with it lots of challenges for neurodivergent individuals. Christmas parties are the norm in business, but how can you make sure that everyone’s needs are accommodated?
Go Easy, Go Gently: A Neurodivergent Guide to Seasonal Self-Care
As the days shorten and the cold sets in, many of us feel our energy dip, but for neurodivergent people, winter can be especially tough.
Reduced sunlight messes with mood, sleep, and focus, and the season’s sensory overload can make even simple tasks feel monumental.
Meet the Sycamore Team: Q&A with Sally Houben
Sally Houben has spent three decades turning big ideas into solid foundations. From healthcare to international sport and even running her own cheese business in Germany, her career has been anything but ordinary. Now, as an OBM at Sycamore and an autistic individual, she helps neurodivergent entrepreneurs create systems that truly work for them.
Networking doesn’t have to be scary, you’ve got this
My palms were sweating, my stomach in knots — and all I’d done was walk into a networking event. If networking makes you want to run for the hills, you’re not alone. Here’s how I turned fear into confidence and connection — just in time for Halloween.
ADHD Awareness Month: Managing Tasks in the Workplace
Task management can be one of the biggest daily challenges for people with ADHD, not because of a lack of effort or skill, but because of how the brain handles planning, prioritising and organisation. This blog explores practical, flexible strategies that help improve focus, reduce overwhelm and build momentum at work – from breaking tasks into smaller steps to finding the right tools and systems that work with your brain, not against it.
Meet the Sycamore Team: Q&A with Holly Davies
In this Q&A, we chat with Sycamore Founder, Holly Davies about why she set up Sycamore OBM and what she loves about supporting Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs.
Your Business, Your Voice: Mastering the Elevator Pitch for Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs
Struggling to explain your business in 60 seconds flat? As a neurodivergent entrepreneur, the dreaded elevator pitch can feel overwhelming. But with the right approach, you can craft a pitch that works with your brain, not against it!
False Starts and New Beginnings
September often gets dressed up as a “fresh start,” but for many business owners, especially those who are neurodivergent, it’s more burnout than breakthrough.
After a summer of juggling childcare, disrupted work, finances, heatwaves, and the pressure to “make memories,” September can feel like an ambush rather than a launchpad. art.
Being Your Neurodivergent Best at Work
Being neurodivergent at work means playing by a different rulebook. This blog explores practical, honest strategies to help you lean into your strengths, set boundaries that actually stick, and create an environment where you can thrive on your terms.
Why Backing Up Your Data is Essential for Your Business (Before It’s Too Late)
We get it, backing up your data doesn’t feel urgent… until you lose a week’s work, your client files vanish, or your website crashes.
In this blog, we share why backing up your business data isn’t optional anymore – and how to do it properly without getting a tech headache.
Meet the Sycamore Team: Q&A with Liz Holmes
In this Q&A, we chat with Sycamore OBM Liz Holmes about her path from theatre to operations, her love of getting sh*t done, and what makes great support for neurodivergent-led businesses.
Meet the Sycamore Team: Q&A with Sarah Nitchkey
Our diverse team brings unique skills and perspectives, all united by a shared passion for supporting neurodivergent small business owners and entrepreneurs.
Meet Sycamore OBM and Social Media Specialist – Sarah Nitchkey
How Neurodivergent Freelancers and Business Owners Can Actually Enjoy a Holiday
Holidays aren’t always the relaxing break they’re cracked up to be, especially if you’re a neurodivergent freelancer or business owner. From burnout baggage to logistical overwhelm, that dreamy Santorini sunset starts to feel like another thing on the to-do list. But with a little support (hello, Sycamore OBM), it doesn’t have to be that way.
I’m a Small Business Owner with ADHD – How Can a Sycamore Online Business Manager Help Me?
An introduction on how Sycamore’s team of Online Business Managers can support business owners with ADHD
I’m An Autistic Business Owner – How Can a Sycamore Online Business Manager help me?
Running a business as an autistic entrepreneur can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. At Sycamore, we take a genuinely neuro-affirming approach, meeting you where you are and supporting how your brain works best.
Here’s how our Online Business Managers help reduce stress and build a business that works for you.
Making Tax Digital for Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs: What You Need to Know & How Sycamore OBM Can Help
If the thought of digital tax records, new software, and quarterly deadlines feels overwhelming, you’re not alone.
Making Tax Digital (MTD) is set to change how self-employed business owners and landlords report their income—but with the right approach, it can also simplify tax management.
This guide explains what MTD for ITSA means for neurodivergent entrepreneurs and how Sycamore OBM can help you stay on top of your finances without the stress.
Delegation for Neurodivergent Business Owners: How Sycamore Can Lighten Your Load
Struggling to delegate?
Learn how to lighten the load with personalised support that works for your neurodivergent brain.
No shame, no blame—just solutions!
Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025 – Sycamore Client Showcase
Neurodiversity Celebration Week may have ended, but we’re still reflecting on the incredible businesses and individuals we had the privilege of showcasing. Here’s a roundup of the entrepreneurs we featured and the incredible things they do.
Transform your online presence with a social media content planner!
For Neurodivergent Small Business owners, managing social media can often feel like juggling too many balls at once. Between posting consistently, engaging with your audience, and staying on top of trends, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
Our free Social Media Planner that you can download and start using right away!
It’s free, easy to use, and highly collaborative, allowing teams to work together in real time.
Sycamore Focus Sessions: How Co-Working and Body Doubling Can Transform Your To-Do List
Do you ever struggle to find the motivation to start or finish tasks?
You’re not alone.
Many neurodivergent freelancers and business owners face the challenge of staying focused, especially when working remotely. That’s where co-working and body doubling come in—a powerful combination to boost productivity and accountability.
At Sycamore OBM, our weekly virtual co-working sessions, called Sycamore Focus Sessions, provide a supportive space to work alongside others, share goals, and find the motivation to get things done
Thrive in 2025: Goal-Setting Guide for Neurodivergent Business Owners
2025 is your year to thrive!
Discover how neurodivergent entrepreneurs can overcome executive function overwhelm, set achievable goals, and stay motivated—even when things get tough. Download your free goal-setting worksheet and get started.
Surviving Christmas Parties: The Neurodivergent Edition
A Festive Party Survival
Guide Just for You
(No Hiding in the Bathroom Required!)
For those of us who are neurodivergent, with spiky sensory profiles, the festive season has the potential to be a nightmarish hellscape of hyper-stimulation and overwhelm.
Access to Work: Everything You Need to Know
Access to Work… Access to what now? A surprisingly frequent question! This incredible government scheme isn’t nearly as well-known as it should be. Who qualifies for Access to Work? Access to Work (AtW) is a UK Government grant scheme. If you’re...
Rosalie Writes: Autism Awareness Month
I’m not someone who goes in for all these national and international celebratory dates in a huge way, particularly if they have a ‘fun’ name like Veganuary or TaylorSwiftember*. I can sympathise with people who say things like, “You can’t swing a...
Do I need an Online Business Manager?
As Online Business Managers, of course we’re inclined to say yes, you’d definitely benefit from the help of an OBM!
But we think that it’s important to consider two things:
– Can you access an OBM?
– And what can an OBM do for you and your business?
What’s it like to work at Sycamore OBM?
Whether you’re a client or a prospective Online Business Manager, you’ve probably wondered what we at Sycamore OBM do on a daily basis! First of all, what is an OBM? OBM stands for Online Business Manager, which is a role designed to fill in the...
To-Do: PENSION
Do you have a To-Do list? Is one of the things on the To-Do list - PENSION? Now, be honest. Has - PENSION been on your To-Do list for over six months? You’re not alone. The Institute for Fiscal Studies’ last study on pensions (2014-15)...
Navigating the Neurodivergopause*
As a young person I learnt everything I knew about the menopause by observing middle-aged women fanning their faces, saying, “Sorry, I’m having a moment”. And that’s it. Wild, right? Little did I know that perimenopause and menopause can cause a...
Making the Best of Being Your Own Boss
Some benefits of self-employment for neurodivergent folk Our understanding of what employment looks like has never been broader or more diverse, with one positive of living through the unsettled start of this decade being a realisation that there...
Neurodiverse or Neurodivergent: Why words matter
The world of neurodiversity has been around for a while, thanks to Judy Singer's coining of the term ‘neurodiversity’ over two decades ago, and Kassiane Asasumasu’s addition of ‘neurodivergent’. But here's the thing: we're still not quite nailing...
Why quitting is key for you and your small business
It's a common feeling. You’re entangled in a web of tasks, dreading the notion of quitting anything. Fear of failure? We know all about it. Quitting can be a scary concept, but turned on its head, it can be a profound strategy for growth in...
‘Dig your well before you’re thirsty’
I read this quote a few years ago in a well-known business book and it made me think how anxious some of my clients would be if they read it. Most busy founders and entrepreneurs are already neck deep in the water; fuelled by their amazing vision...
Do you hate self promotion?
I want you to stop thinking about self promotion in terms of saying how great you are. Start thinking about it in terms of the customers out there who you are currently denied the improved life they could be leading because you’re not promoting your services so they don’t know about you and your product.
Do you need a 5 year strategy?
A business plan gives you focus, clarity and confidence to deliver on your vision, providing clear instruction and small concrete goals that work towards your larger objective.
Celebrate Success: Do you feel like you are ALWAYS climbing a mountain?
Improving your business can feel like climbing a mountain that is never going to blinkin’ end. Remember to stop, get your breath back and look at how far you have come. Look at all those challenges you have already overcome.
Do you know what your operating costs are?
If the idea of working out your operating costs fills you with dread, then get in touch. We can work through questions together and I’ll create a detailed spreadsheet that tells you exactly what your operating costs are.
How to ensure you are able to win at social media
The best way to be on top of social media if you plan it out. No one can deliver brilliant content off the hoof each day, it’s impossible. If you don’t plan, you’ll fail, simple.