Can you be a business owner and be an introvert?
When you think of famous entrepreneurs, you might think they’re all extroverts. They have no problems talking to people, going out and selling their products and services, and getting to know more people who can push their business forward.
But I promise you, you don’t have to be an extrovert to succeed in business.
In fact, some hugely successful entrepreneurs are self-declared introverts – Bill Gates, Elon Musk, even digital marketing experts like Amy Porterfield.
It is totally possible to be a successful entrepreneur and rewrite the rules for what you think it’ll take to be successful.
Be Authentic to Who You Are
When it comes to putting yourself out there online or otherwise, it can feel really overwhelming. But the first thing that you have to keep in mind when you’re starting and wanting to grow a business, especially online, is that you have to be authentic to who you are.
Authenticity is honestly just the ultimate way to build trust. People want to work with people they feel like they know, like they can trust. Like it’s a friend of theirs.
When you are authentic to who you are, you’re not only gonna connect with the right audience for you and your business, but you’re going to grow your business faster because you’re going to be 100% you.
Questions to Find Your Authentic Self Online
If you’re not really sure what being authentic means to you and your business or even how to show that I have a few questions to help you out with that.
- How do you want people to feel when they work with you? When they meet you?
- What matters to you?
- What feels right to you?
When you’re presenting your personal brand and you’re trying to be an entrepreneur in business, you have to do what feels right to you. You cannot go out there and build a business on a foundation that just doesn’t jive with who you are. Because believe me, speaking from someone who’s been there done that you will be miserable and you will be incredibly annoyed with yourself.
Introvert Advantages
You’re probably thinking “Wow, so now I can be authentic, but what possible advantage do I have when I don’t like going to networking events? When I don’t like doing the things that extroverts are doing to succeed in business?”
Well, let’s just break down a few advantages that introverts have. Think about these and how they apply to you and your business.
Creative Thinkers
We tend to be creative thinkers. Introverts tend to spend a little bit more time thinking through different variables, different options. We don’t jump immediately.
There’s a lot of times that I’ve been in meetings and I’ve had clients that wanted instant answers. And I always tell them, I’m really sorry. I’m thinking through this. Let me do a little bit of research. Give me a little bit of time to kind of mull this over.
I’ve never had anyone be mad about it, not the kind of client that I wanna work with anyway, because they understand that that’s part of my process.
Good Listeners
We also tend to be good listeners because we don’t talk as much. We don’t make small talk the same way other people do. We tend to listen better to what somebody is looking for. We tend to listen to their problems, to their pain points, and it’s a whole lot easier for us to understand where they’re coming from because we give them the time to emote. And we give them the time to explain what they’re trying to find and what they’re trying to do.
So practice your introversion listening skills and use that as a huge advantage. Use them to help you build deep relationships with clients.
Passionate
And number three, we tend to be pretty passionate people. We get really excited about the things that excite us. If you’re gonna create a business, create a business you’re passionate about.
Take that passion and apply it to your business and follow something that you really, really want to be doing and outsource the things that you’re not passionate about.
Make the Most of Online Marketing
We live in a world that is kind of an introverts dream. Keep that in mind as you work on building your business. Because with online marketing, you can make the most of it and be at a complete advantage with your introversion.
Network Virtually in Online Communities
The great thing about online marketing is that we can network virtually in online communities on Facebook, Discord, and other places.
Virtual networking isn’t as draining as in-person networking because you get to turn it off. You can go back and jump into a conversation in a couple hours when you have the time and the bandwidth, and you’re not being bombarded by that conversation in the same way.
Take some time, find some Facebook groups, find some online communities where your dream clients are hanging out, asking questions, apply those listening skills and your passion to answering those questions and building relationships with people.
Write Articles
Another thing you can do is you can write articles. Those can be articles on blogs on LinkedIn, on medium.com, guest blogs, where other places find a place where you can publish and write content.
That content can be a really great way to showcase your expertise and bring people back to you and your website. It is a whole lot more introvert friendly because you’re not even using your voice. All you’re doing is writing a few things down on the page.
Focus on Social Media
Social media is another great place you can utilize as an introvert, though I feel like this one is harder.
If you struggle to put yourself out there like I have in the past, practice by just taking one or two story pictures and videos a day, put yourself in more pictures more often and slowly over time, it’ll get a whole lot easier. Eventually, it won’t feel like an intrusion on your introversion because you’re used to it. And you gave yourself time to adapt.
Optimize Your Website
And of course, one of the best ways that you can make the most out of online marketing as an introvert is to optimize your website. When your website works as an actual sales tool for your business, you have a whole lot less talking to do, fewer sales calls, more people who are ready to sign on and more people who are already convinced before they pick up the phone.
You Can be a Successful Entrepreneur
The number one thing I want you to keep in mind here is that you can be a successful entrepreneur and be an introvert.
Do not let looking at what other people are doing make you feel bad about the fact that you process things a little bit differently. That you require different things.
Honestly, as introverts, we have huge advantages over our extrovert counterparts. We just have to learn to find our voice a little bit better and share that with the world.
