How to start a business when you're an introvert
Don't you sometimes feel like the business world is designed for extroverts? An entrepreneur requires a certain amount of charisma if he wants to charm potential clients, negotiate with partners, and lead a team. In addition to the above, he also needs to network with a new crowd when the opportunity arises as it will help him expand his customer base. For an introvert, however, the above mentioned responsibilities of engaging and interacting with diverse groups of people might seem intimidating and overwhelming. This is because introverts prefer solitary and quieter environments where they aren't required to communicate with too many people. However, if you're an introvert looking to start a business, you can make use of these following tips to kick-start a successful venture.
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Create the environment you crave
As a prospective founder, you need to realise that it is your company and you can build it however you want. Obviously, you can't overlook the limitations of practicality when it comes to running a business. You can't change the fundamental approach of how businesses operate, but you can consider establishing guidelines and adopting policies that will cater to your introverted nature. For example, if you prefer communication over mail or over the phone instead of one-on-one interactions, you can always encourage remote working. This way, your employees will have the flexibility to work from home and you won't have to meet them on a daily basis to get work done.
Look for co-founders who will complement you
If you're an introvert, you should play smart and find partners who complement your personality and skill-set. For example, if you don't like making sales pitches to potential clients, you can entrust that aspect of the business to your partner who is a natural extrovert and has excellent people skills. This way, any activity that requires talking to strangers can be dealt with by your strongly extroverted partner. He can be at the forefront of your business while you work in the background. If both of you effortlessly play on your strengths and weaknesses, you'll be able to create an easy and seamless working relationship.
Network online
If you're not a fan of engaging with people in the real world and having one-on-one interactions, you can always network with people over social networking sites, emails, and instant messaging applications. This way you won't have to step out of your house to specially network with strangers, and you can have in-person meetings for when there is no other alternative. In today's digital age, everyone who matters is on social media. All you have to do is track the person down on LinkedIn or Facebook if you have a business proposition for them and you can take it forward from there.
Being an introverted entrepreneur isn’t impossible. But even so, you still need to be willing to step out of your comfort zone once in a while and interact with people face-to-face if you want your business to be truly successful.
