Written by: Katherine Mackenzie-Smith, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Just like school and the workplace, most business strategies and systems are set up to suit more extroverted people, without consideration for the different needs and strengths of introverts.
If you’re an introvert and you’ve been trying to build a business following the strategies and steps of more extroverted leaders, you might have found yourself feeling overwhelmed, burnout, comparisonitis, and constantly trying to implement strategies that just don’t suit you. Or worse, spending thousands on programs and courses hoping that we can just become more extroverted.
Here are 5 things your introvert-friendly business needs to be sustainable and successful (on your terms).
1. Know your mission, vision, and values.
As much as we all want to make money and most likely achieve some level of what society has told us success should look like, most introverted types aren’t actually as motivated by external achievements (the usual markers for success).
We need to tap into something more internally aligned, and having an awareness of our own needs, strengths, mission, vision, and values for our business is incredibly important to stay connected and inspired in the work that we do.
Take some time to establish the mission, vision, and values in your business, the strengths and skills you have (and who you might need to hire to help you with things that aren’t natural for you), and what your role needs to be in the business to stay aligned with these important factors.
2. Make Time For Deep And Meaningful Connections
One myth of introverts is that we hate people but, in fact, it’s very much the opposite. Humans, in general, are hardwired for connection - it’s just that the traditional version of networking and connecting can be exhausting for those who get their energy from time spent alone.
What introverts often need is deep connection and meaningful conversations with like-minded people. This is true in business as well and can be a great way to build a network and community of customers and collaborators.
Instead of following the advice of extroverts when it comes to networking (in person or online), work out what is most energising to you. Do you prefer meeting one new person a month, or connecting with people in a different way? Figuring out what works for you is the most genuine way to connect with others and avoid the burnout that comes from trying to do it in a more extroverted way.
3. Create Introvert-Friendly Systems and Space In Your Business
Overwhelm and burnout usually comes from trying to operate as the extroverts of the world do. And whilst some people can do back-to-back meetings, see clients every day of the week, or even work 10-12 hours a day, introverts really need to create time and space to re-energise.
This might look like batching calls onto one or two days so there are days for quiet business activities, thinking, and space from being ‘on’ all the time. It might look like having systems or people in roles that take some of the busy work or back and forth communications so that you have the energy to focus on the most important tasks and calls.
Work out the tasks and roles that drain your energy, don’t play to your strengths, or cause procrastination and exhaustion, and delegate or systematise those tasks so that your energy can go where it's most needed (and most effective). Not there yet? That’s okay, keep a record and start creating SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) so that as soon as your business is ready for it, you can hand those parts over straight away.
4. Review and Renew During The Year
Every business needs to check in throughout the year and review how things are going, what’s working, what needs to be changed or done differently next time, and what’s coming up for the next month/quarter/year. But this is especially important for introverts in business.
More introverted types can definitely get up in our heads and sometimes find it difficult to see the woods from the trees, so taking time to step back, get some perspective and set a plan for the next phase can be especially helpful to stay on track and in alignment with our bigger mission and vision.
In an extroverted world, we can get sidetracked from what others are doing, what’s trending in our industry, and whether we should change course to keep up with that. The important thing for an introvert-friendly business is that we stay in our lane and in alignment with the inner guidance system instead of getting distracted by what others are doing.
Schedule in review times throughout the month and year and keep checking in with that bigger mission and vision before changing course. Block out times before and after big business events like launches and travel because it’s not energizing to keep pushing through without the downtime to rest and renew.
5. Introvert-Friendly Strategies
It’s all good and well for Internet marketers and business strategists to tell everyone to follow their ‘steps for success’ but - at the end of the day - they are usually a one-size-fits-all methodology that just doesn’t necessarily suit a more introverted leader.
Does that mean that introverts can’t be successful?
No. Think of incredibly successful introverts such as Oprah, Shonda Rhimes, Brene Brown, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet (to name a few). The most important thing is finding what works for you, instead of trying to do it someone else’s way.
We all have different strengths, abilities, and skills that we bring to the roles we play in our businesses but we can forget, get caught up in what we THINK we should be good at, and assume everyone else can do what we can (they can’t).
Take some time to list things that feel easy and natural for you, and maybe even things you find more difficult to get some self-awareness around strategies that may or may not work for you. What do you love to do? What do your friends, peers, and clients always ask you for help with? Tapping into your innate strengths and build strategies around them in your business instead of trying to follow the latest business trend or hack is going to make a huge difference in your energy and your impact.
Katherine Mackenzie-Smith, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Katherine Mackenzie-Smith is a business coach and strategist for introverts and highly sensitive souls, an ideas alchemist, energy and soul medicine practitioner, and host of the popular League of Extraordinary Introverts podcast.
Through her 1:1 mentoring, Emerge and Expand business membership, speaking and writing, Katherine supports quiet leaders to create successful, sustainable businesses through their own innate wisdom and strengths, without feeling like they have to change who they are.
Katherine has been named a ‘self help guru’ by Elle Magazine, featured on the covers of Happiness and Wellbeing magazine and Inspired Coach magazine, as well as being featured in a number of publications, podcasts, and websites including Cleo Magazine, Collective Hub, The Introvert Entrepreneur, and One Woman Shop.
