Do you prefer to go shopping alone, hate speaking to large groups of people, and would rather stay at home and watch TV than hit up happy hour? If your answer was yes, then you’re probably an introvert. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t run a small business just as well as anyone else. Of course, entrepreneurship and introverts don’t seem like a smart combination, but you have just as many strengths as weaknesses as those more extroverted than you. To help you deal with your weaknesses, here are a few tips on how to run your business.
Choose Your Business Wisely
Like anyone else, you need to really consider your strengths and weaknesses before deciding the type of business you want to run. For example, as an introvert, you won’t like talking to people for long periods of time, which means that you should probably avoid starting any sort of counseling or coaching business. Instead, you could think about writing, selling crafts online, working with animals, or gardening.
Hire Extroverted Employees
You have just as many strengths and weaknesses as extroverts, so it makes sense to hire people with this nature so that you can each do what it is that you’re good at. To make this task easier, you could consult with executive headhunter firms and ask them to find the types of people you’re after. You might also want to consider bringing on an extroverted business partner so that they can deal with any of the managerial tasks you hate the thought of doing.
Cater To Your Nature
As the boss, you can build your company however you want, which means that you can adopt values, policies, and practices that cater towards you and your introverted nature. Of course, you are going to think practically when you do this, but there are lots of ways to make your business more suited to you. For example, you could completely get rid of whole team meetings, and instead, meet with individuals if and when you need to, and update other staff using emails.
Act Like An Extrovert
Unfortunately, no matter what you change, there are going to be times when you have to meet with large groups of people and interact for a few hours or more. It’s understandable that you would want to run away from these situations, but it’s just not possible, so you need to find ways to deal with them. A great idea is trying to act extroverted, even if it feels completely strange. The more you practice this, the easier it’ll get, so give yourself a pep talk and get out there.
Take Time To Recharge
In time, you’ll learn to act like an extrovert, but that doesn’t mean that you are one, so talking to large groups is still going to take it out of you. Because of this, it’s important that you have some time alone to recharge after you’ve been socializing for a while. This will give you a chance to build up your energy levels before you have to get back out there again.
Hopefully, these tips will help you to run your business successfully, even with your introverted nature.
