Entrepreneurship and Introversion: The Perfect Match

If you’re an introvert who’s been dreaming of starting your own business, but are afraid that your quiet nature closes that door for you, this episode will reframe your thinking and get the fire going in your belly. Just because your strengths may not naturally include networking, presenting, glad-handing, or sales, that does not mean you can’t be a hugely successful entrepreneur. In today’s episode, I talk with Beth Buelow, author of The Introvert Entrepreneur, about the limiting stories we tell ourselves, how to overcome them, and how to identify and leverage the natural strengths that propel us down the path to entrepreneurial success.

Let’s Bust This Myth About Introverted Entrepreneurship

Despite the significant strides made in recent years about recognizing the gifts and power of introverts, the stubborn stereotype remains: the one that say that truly impactful entrepreneurs must be extroverts. After all, starting a business from the ground up entails a whole lot of typically extroverted activities – meeting new people, reaching out to old and new contacts, attending events, pitching to investors, selling to customers, leading meetings, and on and on.

I’d point out that all of those skills can be learned and mastered by introverts; in fact, introverts can be even better at them than extroverts, with a system and a process. But as Beth points out, think about all the other elements of successful entrepreneurship – the ones that may be a bit more hidden, but every bit as important. These include preparation, research, careful listening, understanding your prospects and customers, analytical thinking, creativity, focus, writing skills, and so much more. These entrepreneurial qualities may not get as much recognition as those that are more public-facing, but can you imagine a successful business without them?

The only thing that holds introverts back from entrepreneurial success is the stories we may tell ourselves. The simple secret is not to try to change who you are; it’s the opposite. Embrace your introversion, be true to yourself, and harness your amazing natural skills.

Key Strategies for Introvert Entrepreneurs

By now, you may be saying to yourself, “Ok, I’m an introvert, I embrace it, and I’m excited to use my strengths in entrepreneurship; but I still have to do the extroverted activities too, right? How can I get good at those?” I firmly believe that you can not only acquire these skills, but even enjoy them. To start, Beth recommends thinking of these activities in terms of energy rather than time.

For example, do you get worked up at the thought of making several calls in a row? For Beth, she knows that the best way to manage phone calls is to batch them and do them all at once, rather than “getting one over with” and working on a different task before moving on to the next call. By doing all the calls at once, Beth is able to build momentum and get into the groove, instead of splitting them up throughout the day and being forced to summon that energy over and over from scratch.

It’s helpful to apply this “energy” idea to all of your daily business activities; strike a balance between the tasks that stress you out and the ones you enjoy. Terrified about hosting that webinar? Consider spending some time beforehand on writing a blog post about the webinar topic, or working on your registration email campaign – tasks that are related to the webinar, and will help you prepare, but that don’t fill you with dread. Then gather your energy and go for it, knowing it won’t last forever and that you can soon return to the tasks you prefer.

Think of it this way: When you take those steps outside your comfort zone, you can then reward yourself by getting safely back in it, until you next venture out. That is the key to growth – taking risks, working through fear, and then recharging your batteries so you’re ready to do it again.

Some Questions I Ask:

• Do you find that introverts automatically assume that successful entrepreneurs are extroverts? (5:20)
• What strategies would you offer introverts who struggle with limiting self-beliefs around business success? (8:25)
• What are some examples of barriers you’ve seen introverts set for themselves? (12:56)
• What should introverts ask themselves in order to overcome their self-imposed hurdles? (16:30)

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why owning who you are and being true to yourself is crucial to successful entrepreneurship (5:30)
• Why you should think about your tasks in terms of energy requirements, rather than time blocks (8:35)
• The importance of balancing the comfortable and uncomfortable jobs (10:51)
• How to start stretching outside your comfort zone so it keeps getting bigger (11:22)
• How to let go of trying to do everything yourself (10:20)
• What “FUDs” are, and why you should care (16:42)
• How to be conscious and deliberate about the business activities you engage in (19:53)
• The importance of asking, “What does success look like for me?” (21:22)
• How to reframe your views of what you “can’t” do (23:10)

Resources Mentioned in the Show

• Beth’s website
• The Introvert Entrepreneur Podcast
• The Introvert Entrepreneur Book

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