How Introverted Entrepreneurs Can Be Great Business Owners

Do you know what’s the biggest fear of the introverted entrepreneur? Running out of cash? Facing competition? Losing customers? No! It’s talking to their customers.

There are frequent misconceptions about introverts not being a good fit to lead a business due to their reluctance to communicate with others. While this indeed is a disadvantage that can be mitigated, other qualities make introverts great entrepreneurs:

• Deep focus and attention to detail: Introverts are more inclined to do deep, uninterrupted work with limited distractions.
• Strong listening skills and empathy: Introverts usually play a more passive role in conversations, which turns them into good listeners. Listening with understanding gives the foundation for developing empathy for customers and their needs, which is a key ingredient for building a strong business.
• Self-driven: introverts are often driven by intrinsic motivation and don’t require external stimuli to give the best out of themselves.
• Minimalistic approach to communication: the natural desire of introverts to avoid communication makes them efficient communicators. Effective business networking doesn’t always mean meeting hundreds of people during an event. It might be enough to build meaningful relationships with 3-4 key people that you need to propel your business forward. Also, give yourself time to recharge if you feel overwhelmed after a social gathering.
• Systematic and structured: Because introverts tend to minimize their communication, they prefer building systems and structures that minimize the need for communication. As a side effect, strong introverted leaders develop the skill to create efficient business processes and structures.

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and J.K. Rowling are famous examples of successful entrepreneurs. They are known to be introverts who appreciate focused work away from crowds.

Types of Businesses Ideal for Introverts

Solopreneurship

Building a successful product company requires a strong team, but there is a ton of work that a solo founder can do by themselves before bringing other people into the business.

A single person empowered with the right tools can validate a customer's problem. The best method is a customer interview, which can be naturally offputting for introverts.

Using Icanpreneur, founders can rely on IVA to brainstorm and provide contextual feedback on their work on the platform. In the next couple of weeks, we are rolling out a new feature of IVA that will allow it to conduct customer interviews on behalf of the founder, saving them the time, effort, and discomfort of talking to customers while still providing the same strong validation.

Freelance and Consulting

Freelancing and consulting businesses usually allow employees to work independently with limited customer interaction. Projects that start with well-defined requirements and expect and deliver output at the end are great candidates for freelancing by introverts.

Affiliate Marketing

Building your brand based on high-quality content and capitalizing on it is an excellent foundation for building a business where you will work independently and rely primarily on your skills.

Teaching and Courses

Online education has been on the rise for several years, and platforms like YouTube and Udemy allow independent educators to create valuable content that helps others improve their skills.

With the available technologies, the bar for creating a well-crafted educational course is lower than ever. Most of them are already on your mobile phone.

Practical Steps to Get Started a Business as an Introvert

1. Planning

Planning the development of your business is the most important step in building a successful company. For introverts, it might also be the most enjoyable.

The key during the preparation is to gain a deep understanding of a few aspects of your business.

• Target audience: who you will be building your business for, and what are their key characteristics
• Customer needs: what problems will you be solving for the target audience that are important enough to sustain a healthy business.
• Unique Value Proposition: what will you be offering to the target audience for addressing the customer problem that will be compelling for them
• Channels: How do you reach out to your target audience with messaging and timing that resonates with them?

2. Structure

If you decide to be the sole owner of your business, you will have complete authority over every business decision, which can be empowering but also overwhelming. Pick a legal form that reflects how you want to run your business. Your location and local regulations might heavily influence the right decision.

3. Marketing

Based on your customer interviews, design a marketing plan that leverages the most effective channels to reach your target audience. These are the places where your target audience typically looks for solutions to the customer problem you are addressing or clever ways to exploit new channels that competitors underutilize.

Product messaging and positioning are equally crucial in grabbing their attention. By listening to and empathizing with the target customers, you should define a product message that bridges your identified needs with the proposed solution.

4. Finding First Customers

Cold calling is among the hardest sales strategies, especially for introverted founders. Not just because of reaching out to strangers but because of the high rejection rate that is expected but induces high levels of stress for introverts. Happily, cold calling isn’t the only strategy, and others are more suitable for introverted founders:

• Leverage existing network: Your existing connections can be a great source of potential clients and a great place to start. Thanks to your existing relationship, these people have a natural inclination to work with you. They are also a great way to find new connections through referrals. If you ask 10 of your friends to recommend 2-3 people who might interested in your product or service - this is a quick way to get out of your network quickly while still having warm introductions.
• Online Presence: Your website and social media channels are your main means of communicating with your target audience. Make sure your website clearly communicates your value proposition and has a prominent call to action. Delivering value-packed content on social media channels is a sure way to build a loyal audience and expand your reach.
• Online Communities: Social media groups like Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn group people by their interests. They are an easy way to get in touch with self-selected representatives of your target audience. One strong advantage of those groups compared to cold calls is that you know these people are more interested in communicating with others; otherwise, why would they join a community group?

Business Tips for Introverts to Thrive as Entrepreneurs

Embrace your personality

Introvertness is a core part of your profile and one of the hardest traits to change. Instead of going against your instincts, accept who you are and use your strengths to your advantage. If you don't like crowds or meeting new people, limit your participation in such networking events to the bare minimum and focus on deep work.

Mitigate your weaknesses

Technology can solve many of the activities you would hate to do as an introvert. If you are reluctant to interview your customers, don’t skip this step; it’s a key part of building your business model. Use platforms like Icanpreneur that can do the heavy lifting for you and allow you to focus on the parts of the process you feel confident in.

Delegate

When possible, find another person to do the work for you. One caveat with delegation is that you give up responsibility for the success of your business to others. If you are delegating a critical task for your company, make sure it’s executed up to your standards and that the outcome does the job.

Turn your introversion into an unfair advantage

Instead of hiding and suppressing your personality - put it under the spotlight and turn it into your secret weapon.

Conclusion

If you are building your own company, it has been your dream; don’t let your introversion prevent you from making it happen - introverts make great entrepreneurs.

Bringing your whole self into this journey can be your unexpected advantage. Focus, deep work, and minimalistic but efficient communication are qualities that have been in deficit lately, and if that’s you, you are in a great position to become a successful entrepreneur.