If the term “introvert” resonates with you as descriptive of your personality, and you find yourself using it as an excuse for not starting a business, or not being where you want to be with your business, today’s strategies will help you turn your thinking around and use your personality to your advantage.
Psychiatrist Carl Jung talked a lot about the differences in introvert and extrovert attitudes. He described the introvert as someone who is more comfortable with their inner thoughts and feelings and sees the world in terms of how it affects him.
In lay terms, we often think of the introvert as the shy, quiet person who prefers being alone, while the extrovert is a “people person” and has all the friends, and therefore the influence, that gives him the advantage in business.
Truth is, there are lots of wildly successful introverts, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet just to name a few extreme examples.
Rather than using the label to limit yourself, consider these six strategies that will allow you to embrace who you are and still be a successful business owner.
1. Choose Your Relationships
You don’t have to turn yourself into the person who goes to as many events as possible, shakes everyone’s hand, and makes all the small talk.
While extroverts see networking as a numbers game where the goal is to add as many names to their contacts as possible, it's okay to be more picky about who you build relationships with.
One good contact is much more valuable than 100 people who know your name but can’t or won’t do anything for you that’s helpful to your business.
Rather than seeing everyone as a potential business contact, focus on the people you meet that you enjoy being around. Develop those relationships on a deeper level. Give these people a reason to remember and recommend you by creating know, like, and trust relationships with them.
Chances are, at least one of your relationships will be with a more extroverted person who can bring the right people to you when you have a need.
2. Partner with Extroverts
You may not want to or be able to find a business partner in the traditional sense, and definitely shouldn’t go out in search of an extrovert partner simply because she’s an extrovert.
But you will find throughout your business journey that it’s always a good idea to stick with your strengths and outsource your weaknesses.
“Partnering” with an extrovert may simply mean outsourcing a project that requires a lot of team meetings and in-person interactions.
It may mean an ongoing partnership with someone, or a one-time agreement with several different partners.
Whatever your needs are, when you feel like something’s going to require too much “peopling,” consider whether it can be outsourced.
3. Write it Down
Most introverts are good writers, whether they realize it or not.
It’s not that you don’t have any genius in your head, it’s just that you’re not comfortable saying it out loud in the presence of others.
While in-person relationships are always the strongest, you can start by writing down what you want to say. In today’s world, email and text messages are much preferred over phone calls in most instances anyway.
So don’t be afraid to be a prolific writer. As you get more comfortable with a person, you’ll find it easier to talk with her.
It can also be helpful to write down what you want to say during a meeting, either by just listing the major points or writing it out as if you were giving a speech. This sort of dress rehearsal will make you feel more confident when it’s your time to talk.
4. Build in Your Me Time
As Jung pointed out, introverts depend on their “me time” to recharge. Fortunately, as a business owner you’re in control of your schedule.
The key is to recognize when and how often you’ll need “me time” and be sure to build it into your schedule.
If you have a business meeting at 3:00, don’t make a commitment to attend a business-related happy hour at 5:30. You’ll end up hating yourself and won’t make any helpful contacts at the happy hour because you simply won’t be feeling it.
Recognize when something’s going to push you to your introverted limits and keep those events to one a day at most. Schedule 15-30 minute breaks between activities that take you uncomfortably out of your introverted shell.
5. Go Where You’re Comfortable
The internet is a beautiful thing, and while thoughts of hiding in your house behind your computer, building a million dollar empire without talking to another soul may be a little unrealistic, having an online business makes it so much easier for introverts than it used to be.
And, what you’ll find is that as your business grows and you get more excited about it and more comfortable in it, your confidence will also grow and you may just find yourself wanting to talk to other people!
Those who study such things have found that between 20% and 50% of people are introverts, which means you’re in good company.
Start by joining Facebook groups or other online forums where you’ll likely find a solid gathering of fellow introverts. Look at Meetup groups near you — there are actually lots of areas that have a Meetup group for introverts.
As we’ve talked about, you don’t want to be restricted to a social circle of only introverts, but it’s a great place to start building your connections and your confidence.
6. Push Yourself a Little
There’s nothing wrong with being an introvert, but resist the urge to use it as an excuse.
Negative labels are never helpful, and they ignore the fact that we can choose who we want to be.
If being an introvert is a negative in a given situation, then change your mindset and shed the label when it holds you back.
Rather than thinking you can never attend networking events because you’re introverted, recognize that not all networking requires you to be the life of the party extrovert.
If a meeting, conference, or networking event would really benefit your business, take the first step and commit to going. And while you’re there, just be yourself, recognizing that you may have to push yourself out of your comfort zone a little to gain the benefits you’re looking for.
Take small steps, and realize that you can hold on to your beloved introverted status and still talk to others and build good relationships. In fact, you probably already have proof in your life that you can do both of these things.
Kids Party Characters is Here to Help
And, as always, remember that Kids Party Characters owner Cheryl Jacobs is here to help you navigate the often rough waters of entrepreneurship.
If you want to learn more about starting a business from scratch, schedule a free chat with Cheryl right here and she’ll give you the benefit of her experience in starting 10 different businesses.
Also take a look at the great opportunity Cheryl’s put together especially for moms who want to stay home with their kids.
Cheryl’s taken her success in the children’s entertainment business and created a membership in Kids Party Characters that allows you to start your own business with all the tools Cheryl used to successfully grow her business. You’ll also get step-by-step training from Cheryl on how to get your business started and into profit quickly.
Want to learn more about Kids Party Characters? Make sure to follow us on Facebook for daily updates about our magical parties and successfully working from home while raising happy and healthy kids.
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