Hey, if you’ve clicked on this article, you’re already doing well! Looking up “How To Be An Introvert Entrepreneur”, or just clicking on the article to read, you’re already starting to look for answers. Congratulations! Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you that you’re doing something wrong, or that you have to just “snap out of it”. I’ve been in your shoes; I was extremely introverted! I hardly talked to anyone except a few friends, and did my best to stay out of the limelight.
Now, I’ve learned how to deal with my introverted-ness, and even use it to help in business. Best of all, I’ll teach you what I learned!
1) Choose A Business That Suits You
What kind of an introvert are you? Are you one that likes to be left alone while you’re working? Or one that’d prefer to work with a small group of people maybe? Are you someone who loves to be behind a computer keyboard? What about a musical keyboard?
Whatever it is that you’re good at, or just straight-up prefer, is what you should go into business for. “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” -Mark Twain. Don’t worry; the term “job” is used loosely. This can mean any activity you enjoy, from photography to computer building.
Part of how to be an introvert entrepreneur is finding what you love, and sticking to it. That’s why I’ve stuck to cars for the most part, because that is one of my passions. With every car I drive, I get closer and closer to my dream cars, and the fun never stops!
If your passion is music, then maybe making online tutorials is where your fun lies. No matter what your passion is, there will always be a business out there that suits you. You can make money, and have fun!
2) Choose Your Team
Depending on the type of introvert you are, you may not want one of these. I totally understand, I’m not one for having big teams either. Regardless, having at least one other person there with you could prove extremely useful. Choosing someone that is an extrovert could be really annoying.. But they could handle the PR and marketing side of your business, while you handle the back end systems.
Choosing a partner is one of the first, and most important, steps on how to be an introvert entrepreneur. You also could choose another introvert, and host a business that is mainly back-end (not showing your face or doing in-person deals). This has been done before, to great success.
While choosing just one person as a partner could be useful, having a team of five or six could quintuple, if not sextuple, your productivity. If finding these partners is difficult, I totally get it. Try making a table, with the members’ strengths and weaknesses, and try to make sure you have enough people to cover all the strengths you need.
Let’s Build A Team
Try something like this, for example. If we have four members. We’ll call them Sean, Jake, Aaron, and Tyler. Sean is a pretty okay coder, but nothing too special. He also has a little bit of design background, but again, nothing special. He can work with others, at least until somebody upsets him. Jake is also an introvert, doesn’t mind working with others (as long as they’re quiet), but has a knack for design and styling. Aaron isn’t the best with computers, but he’s a people person. He’s charming, a smooth talker, and likes being out front. Tyler, he’s okay with people, but usually leaves his earbuds in. He’s a really good coder, too. Now, let’s build a table to analyze this team:
| People | Coding | Design | Public Relations | Works With Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean | / | / | - | / |
| Jake | - | X | - | X |
| Aaron | - | - | X | X |
| Tyler | X | - | - | X |
Looking at this table, we can see we have our four categories: Coding, Design, Public Relations, and Works With Others. Our goal is to get a well-balanced team that can stick together. While Sean is good at coding, he doesn’t bring anything else to the table. Jake, Aaron, and Tyler all work with others well, though. This is a negative towards Sean. Jake is good with design, Aaron does PR, and Tyler can do coding.
That covers our strengths that we wanted for our group. Since Sean doesn’t work well with others, and Tyler can do his job just as well, Sean is an unnecessary addition to the team. Your balanced team, now, is made up of Jake, Aaron, and Tyler. It’s that easy!
3) Build A Safe Environment To Work In
This doesn’t have to mean literally safe. I don’t mean like padded room. I mean emotionally safe. Somewhere that you *feel* safe in, that you can work in and feel relaxed, maybe even happy.
For me, I keep two places at home, and one away from it. One is in my bedroom, at my desk, using my PC in there. My other is lying on the couch with a laptop. The one away from home is my local Panera Bread. While their internet connection is nothing short of awful, that’s still cheap, unlimited refills on soda, and hot meals. Whichever of those places I choose to go to, I’ll be comfortable and happy working.
If you aren’t comfortable and happy while you’re working, your productivity will decrease drastically. Even if it’s your own home, finding a safe environment to work is a crucial part of being an entrepreneur, despite being introverted. Just make sure the rest of your team would be happy doing the same. Just because you’re happy working in your bed at home doesn’t exactly mean the rest of your team wants to work in your bed at home.
If your business allows for it, you could all work from your respective beds using something like Google Hangouts for communication. That would be my absolute preferred way to work, as I don’t like talking in public (for Hangouts), but that’s just me. Find out what is best for your team, and go from there.
4) Practice Talking With Your Team
If you build a team of introverts, then it would be a good idea to practice talking with one another, get to know your teammates. Hell, even if you build a team with extroverts, still practice. Getting to know your team will strengthen the bonds (and trust) between your members, as well as give you practice for dealing with people outside of your group.
Maintaining communication with your team is vital anyways, so why not use it as practice for the rest of the world? If you have at least one extrovert on your team, they could help promote conversation and socialization within the group as well, further helping with your practice. Really, it’s a win on three fronts!
5) Leverage Your Quiet Nature
Do you remember back to your school days? Wasn’t there at least one quiet kid in class that rarely said anything? Now, remember that *one time* that they answered or asked a question.
Everybody stopped, because it was so unusual for them to speak, they commanded the attention of the whole room. That was pretty cool, how that one kid could command the room, just by speaking infrequently. There wasn’t anything to gain from that scenario, though. Imagine if there was..
That’s where your quiet nature can carry on, and you could command the room in a business meeting, or an important deal. Being able to control the room, sound authoritative, and convey a clear, concise opinion is one of the most important social skills you will need as an entrepreneur.
Another thing you can use quiet for is awkward stalls. This is a tactic that I use all the time when I’m doing deals, because of how effective it is. The simple explanation is that you say something thought-provoking, and then stay quiet. First one to talk, loses. The long explanation is that you point out something detrimental, ideally something that devalues the other side’s argument or item. Then, once you’ve finished with your observation, stay quiet. If you keep talking, that point doesn’t sit in their mind and resonate as much.
Leave that as the last thought in their mind, and let them stew on it. Usually, that will put them on the defensive, but on the inside, now *they* have devalued their item as well. If you can plant that seed, then switch to being friendly to break that defensiveness, and then go back to negotiations, you’ll find a much lower price than before.
Living Proof These Work!!
I used that when I traded my Honda S2000 for my 240sx. He wanted $1500 on top of my car to trade (which was more than fair, if I’m being honest. That car was so much fun), but I wasn’t carrying any money, nor did I want to pay.
So, with this tactic, I pointed out a few things (I would be daily driving the car, so welded diff and racing seats weren’t good), then stayed quiet and just looked at the car, paying him little mind. Once his mind realized that he was no longer the party with the desirable item, he went on the defensive, saying this wasn’t made for being a daily.
I knew I had him then, using this method. I was friendly with him for a bit afterwards, got him talking about his passions (that’s a really easy way to break the defense), and went back to the deal, and got the cash part of the deal entirely off the table! We both still drove away happy, because we each got what we wanted.
It turns out he was trying to flip cars too, actually, because I saw my S2000 on Craigslist the next day. I had the last laugh, however, because I kept tabs on that car, and he ended up selling it for less than I bought it for (over $4000 less than I got for the 240). I came to the table prepared, knowing our cars’ values. It turns out he did not, and ended up with the short end of the stick.
The point still stands with my tactics though. Part of how to be an introvert entrepreneur is using your quiet, and surroundings. If I hadn’t used the quiet of 2AM big city suburbs, I wouldn’t have gotten that car.
6) Don’t Overwork Yourself!
This isn’t exclusive to introverts, but is still a part of how to be an introvert entrepreneur. Keeping yourself refreshed is huge in the business world. Being alert, focused, and ready to take the world on is crucial. As an introvert, using other people to keep yourself refreshed is not as much of an option as it might be to an extrovert.
Keeping refreshed might mean that you take a day to yourself, or going for a relaxing drive, or some other activity. Whatever it may be, don’t be ashamed or afraid to do it regularly! Doing so and missing out on a little bit of work is always better than suffering the effects of burnout.
7) Play To Your Limits, Not Past
The most important lesson on how to be an introvert entrepreneur is easily to know your limits, and respect them. As a human, we aren’t able to do anything we want. We have physical, as well as mental, limitations. If you don’t respect those limits, you risk permanent damage to yourself or those around you.
There is a fine line between exceeding your limits and growing them. Growing them is gradual, increasing what your mind and body are able to accomplish. Exceeding your limits is attempting to do something well beyond your limits without adequate preparation. Both can be dangerous, but at least with growing your limits, you’re able to control what you do. If you go too far with exceeding them, there’s no going back. Steadily growing, you can go back to your limits when going gets rough. While growth is important, staying safe is even more so.
Conclusion
Whether we’re talking about who to hire, or how to maintain yourself, they’re all crucial parts of how to be an introvert entrepreneur. Now that you’re armed with the knowledge, go forth and set fire to the world!
