Ep 109: Don’t be a sheep, be a zebra

<p><strong>How can you build a </strong><em><strong>disability-led, neurodivergent-friendly business</strong></em><strong> that actually works for your brain and body instead of forcing yourself into corporate-shaped boxes?</strong></p><p>If you’re a business owner craving something more real, raw and relatable (and less “6am cold plunge hustle bro” nonsense), this episode shows you what that can <em>really</em> look like in practice. </p><p>In this episode, I am joined by brand designer Bethany Jewkes, who creates bold, personality-packed brands for disability-led, chronically ill, and neurodivergent business owners. We unpack toxic work culture, unmasking, and building a business around comfort, capacity, and actual joy—and find out all about Bethany’s signature pyjama approach to business! As an AuDHDer with chronic illnesses myself, I found this conversation so refreshing and affirming. As Bethany says, so rightly:</p><p><em><strong>“If it costs your happiness and your health, it’s not worth it.”</strong></em></p><p>We dive into:</p><p>🧬 What makes Bethany unconventional? From bright hair to introvert energy, Bethany has made a lifelong habit of questioning rules rather than accepting them at face value.</p><p>🔥 From toxic workplace to self-employment: How a hostile manager, blocked promotions, and worsening mental health pushed Bethany to “accidentally” start a business.</p><p>🎯 Niching into disabled &amp; neurodivergent clients: why she now intentionally designs brands and processes around access needs, energy, and communication differences.</p><p>🛌 The pyjama approach to business: binning off performative professionalism and designing work around real bodies, brains and capacity.</p><p>💪 Disability, work, and the strengths-based lens: Challenging deficit narratives: <em><strong>“Technically, I’m less able to do some things, but that doesn’t mean my entire worth diminishes.”</strong></em></p><p>🧠 Unmasking and redesigning your services: Noticing “I have to do it this way because that’s how it’s done” and gently dismantling it—like dropping services you don’t <em>actually </em>like doing.</p><p>🎓 School, conformity, and the roots of people-pleasing: How uniforms, appearance rules, and bullying prime us to become “sheep” in adulthood and business.</p><p>👪 Work, parenting, and the question of ‘having it all’: Celebrating our choice to design work around family, health, and presence rather than chase conventional success metrics.</p><p>🌱 Communi