It's tough at times. When we have a million and one ideas, a thousand experiences and many interests. AND we want to run our own business (or 2, or 3...)
It's the entrepreneur's curse.
I find the entrepreneurial brain fascinating, so much so that I've been following research in this space since being a teenager.
Entrepreneurs are multi-faceted. And with this comes eternal struggles to fit in, in one way or another. We have to find our way of operating, test and test again as we come across hurdles and failures, until we find our way to success.
It wasn't until these last few years that I finally found my way, The Introvert Way®.
Before then, I had kept running away from elements of myself. - Susanna Reay
I was always being the chameleon, changing colours to suit the situation that I found myself in. And moving through 20 cities and 3 continents over my life, I can tell you there were a lot of colours to switch between!
I adore all colours (and I've never been able to answer the question, even as little kid of "What's your favourite colour Susanna?"), but changing colours the whole time is EXHAUSTING.
If you are anything like me, you can only operate for so long, to the tune that other people sing.
Eventually it hits you.
Whether with full blown burnout or just an ongoing feeling of unease and never being settled.
But along the way, I have learnt a few things too, and these learnings became the basis of the Introvert Way® approach to business. Real growth and success in business happens when we have aligned and connected all our elements together. And be proud of them too.
I'd spent a long time pretending to be someone I was not. I was trying to fit myself, my expertise, my experiences into a pre-fabricated box.
Now I recognise and honour that we are all unique, and rarely fit into any box. And to run your own business, you need to find your way of operating, of being, of serving. Only at the age of 45, did I manage finally pull all these differing elements together.
And this is when The Introvert Way® of doing business online was born.
I'd been fighting my introvert needs for a long time, even though I'd known I was introverted since I was fourteen years old.
The core need for all introverts is to consider what gives you energy and what takes your energy away. We have to be careful, focused and strategic in where we take action, for how long and then to evaluate what was successful, and what wasn't.
However we do have a tendency to get stuck in endless research and perfectionism which stops many activities happening in our business. We need to own this and then move past it!
As introverts, we are superb at listening, noticing, reflecting and responding
These are the essential traits for carrying out market research, where we ask questions and listen to the answers we get to validate our business ideas and then take action creating offers that really answer our customer's needs.
People do not buy the information we know, instead they buy our take on it, how we explain it, the way we serve it - Susanna Reay
Thinking back to your school days, about your favourite teacher, you know the one that lit a fire inside of you, as they shared their curiosity and engagement bring you in closer. But this does not come naturally to all of us, and there are tips and tricks we can learn along the way, processes that we can follow that can guide our growth.
The start of any business is about being a good leader, trainer, or coach and holding onto that fire in your belly, the passion that stays within, what I like to call the "Owner's Spark".
When you create your business, it is like a baby that you need to nurture and grow, and give guided advice to. The only way we can grow and scale online is to listen closely to our people, listen to their needs and wants, then bring them the solutions in only the way you can. You have to have an endless desire to continually answer the same questions in a particular niche.
"Building your own business is about owning all the elements of you, and being proud of them too." - Susanna Reay
For me, this involved embracing my way of working, encouraging others to create a business in alignment with their personalities. And it's this area I focus on today, helping fellow introverts (and burnt-out extroverts!) package their expertise to scale in a sustainable way.
The Introvert Way® is about planting the seed to become an established expert who underscores everything they say and do with integrity and authenticity. It is possible to have success online, without running around like a headless chicken.
Stick around and I'll show you how.
Susanna
PS. If you are ready to scale your business online, and want to be seen and heard every step of the way, take a look at your options here, then reach out for a chat, on email, message or a call, whichever is most comfortable for you.
Last Updated, September 17, 2023
Published by Susanna Reay, January 21, 2022
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