Can Introverts Be Great Entrepreneurs?

Stereotypes can be devastating, especially when you apply them to yourself. One of the most persistent within entrepreneurship is that founders must be true extroverts: gregarious, outgoing, and always ready to press the flesh. If the image of glad-handing your way through a crowd sets your teeth on edge you might assume that running a business is not for you.

If so, put that thought out of your mind. According to Sophia Dembling, author of The Introvert's Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World, argues that introverts not only can be effective in business, but also that they have traits that support good leadership. The important thing is to understand how to make your psychology work for what you want.

What is an introvert, really?

The first step is to realize that shyness and introversion are not the same. "As one researcher explained it to me, shyness is a behavior in reaction to conditions and introversion is a motivation," Dembling says. Natural extroverts can actually be shy. Whether introvert or extrovert, it's important to know that shyness can be overcome. "Introversion is hard wired and there is no reason to want to overcome it."

As she describes it, introverts lose energy from being around people and gain energy from being alone, while extroverts are the opposite. "It's simply a different way of functioning in the world and no better or worse than extroversion, although we've all been told that extroversion is better," she says.

How to work with what you are

When you know how you best function, you can come up with tactics to take advantage of your inclinations. For example, if you must be at a conference and interact with many people, be sure to keep evenings free for some downtime by yourself. "Maybe you don't want to go to group events where you're trying to throw elevator pitches out," Dembling says. "Maybe you need to schedule one-on-one meetings." The entrepreneur might also look for odd moments to recharge during the day, whether taking a walk around the block or lunch by yourself.