Leading teams, negotiating with partners and engaging with them on a regular basis, leading meetings and dealing with speeches are some of the characteristics that define business leaders. However, entrepreneurship should not always be synonymous with extroversion. In fact, according to Entrepreneurs.com magazine, introverts have a good chance of successfully starting a business, as their attitude also has additional advantages.

Break Out of Your Comfort Zone

The first thing an introverted person who wants to succeed as an entrepreneur and leader should keep in mind is to get out of the comfort zone. If you are introverted, it’s not about changing yourself for someone else, it’s about discovering exactly who you are, your advantages and disadvantages and focusing your energy on improving and making the most of what you have to offer.

If you want to succeed in the business world by being introverted, remember that there are some skills, advantages and tips you can use to your advantage: 

• Wise choices: The first skill is to wisely choose the business category in which you plan to start your career. To do this, it is necessary to develop an idea and relate it appropriately to your personality, taking into account your mental and emotional needs. Most introverts tend to think more than once, analyze the possible repercussions and be more objective when making decisions.
• Competent companions: It is essential to find partners that complement the entrepreneur. This is one of the most important points since it will allow to compensate for the social deficiencies of the introvert. Therefore, it is advisable to have people who speak in public, are responsible for forming teams and have conversations with suppliers. This is more common than you think, and you can find CEOs of successful companies that have an extroverted partner or right hand.
• Pleasant working environment: One of the most important points is the comfort in the introvert’s work space. Adapting the work environment will make the entrepreneur feel more comfortable, helping to reduce the burden of leaving the comfort zone, so the energy not spent interacting in an uncomfortable workspace can focus on improving other aspects of the personality. In other words, create for this type of personality a comfortable environment that doesn’t feel stressful or threatening.
• Use the net: While it is highly recommended that introverts attend meetings and are at important events, they can also minimize other interactions at certain times. Interacting over the Internet is the fourth key to success for introverted entrepreneurs. This generation of conversations can be both through emails and instant messages with customers, partners and suppliers.
• Focus on improving your weaknesses: It’s also essential to practice socialization in situ because to be successful, you have to get out of the comfort zone and develop skills you don’t have. This is because sooner or later you have to interact face-to-face with the same customers, partners and suppliers, so you have to work on developing these skills.

Final Thoughts

Today, introverts are underrepresented in executive teams, but they are as effective as extroverted leaders; even introverts can be more skillful than their counterparts when it comes to succeeding as an entrepreneur.

Consulted sources

https://www.nber.org/papers/w22435