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Do you identify as being an ‘introvert’? Do you struggle with constantly feeling that you need to ‘put yourself out there’ and wonder if you’re confident and ‘cutthroat’ enough to run a business?!

You’re not alone.

But you’re wrong if you believe that being an introvert is a disadvantage when it comes to building your dog training or animal behaviour business. In fact, being an introvert can be a huge advantage - if you know how to turn your introverted nature into your biggest business strength.

And guess what? That’s exactly what I’m about to show you how to do!

What introversion actually is…

As I’m sure you already know, the word ‘introvert’ gets thrown around a lot, without much consideration about what it actually means.

Scientifically speaking, introversion is defined by psychologists at the American Psychological Association as:

“Orientation toward the internal private world of one’s self and one’s inner thoughts and feelings, rather than toward the outer world of people and things. … Introverts are relatively more withdrawn, retiring, reserved, quiet, and deliberate; they may tend to mute or guard expression of positive affect, adopt more sceptical views or positions, and prefer to work independently.”

Being an introvert means that social situations where interaction with other people is required are generally quite draining, while spending time alone and doing solo activities is preferable.

Does that definition fit for you? I imagine most of us can point to times where being around other people has exhausted us - but if you’re feeling drained by external stimuli more often than not, you might fall into the category of ‘introvert’.

Of course, being introverted doesn’t mean that you can’t interact with other people or be the life and soul of the party when you want or need to be - but it does mean that those situations, rather than boosting your energy and creating a sense of personal satisfaction, are tiring for you and can’t be an everyday occurrence without feeling the need for solo time to ‘recharge’ your social batteries.

Why people think being an introverted business owner is a disadvantage.

Going back to that definition….

Words like ‘withdrawn’, ‘reserved’ and ‘quiet’ aren’t the first words that spring to mind when you think of a traditional business owner, right?

Instead, you think of the polar opposite: bold, confident, outgoing, decisive.

Because of that, there’s a tendency to believe that introverted people can’t make good business owners. They’re too quiet, too withdrawn, too introverted to make good business owners.

Being an introverted business owner must be a disadvantage, right? The world of business is designed for extroverts, not introverts, after all. That’s just the way the world works isn’t it?

WRONG! Very wrong.

How to use your introverted personality as your biggest business strength

The ‘traditional’ business world is dominated by people like Alan Sugar, Richard Branson, Peter Jones, Philip Green, Mike Ashley and a whole host of other people (mostly men, let’s face it) who definitely do seem to fall into the ‘decisive, determined, cutthroat business-person’ category.

But that’s not the world we’re in as animal behaviour professionals!

Our businesses are based on the desire to serve and support our clients, not the desire to take over the world and make millions of pounds every day for the rest of our lives.

That doesn’t mean we’re playing small. We have dreams and goals and aspirations - but we’re getting there in a way that suits us, which is definitely not the same way the Sugar-Branson-Jones-Green-Ashleys of the world would.

We’re doing things differently, but we’re still building businesses that make us and our clients happy - and you’re about to see why your introverted personality is actually a business advantage…

1. You’re an observer

While extroverts are often more focused on the external world than their internal world, that doesn’t mean that we introverts ignore the outside world completely.

In fact, it often means the opposite.

Being introverted means that we observe the world around us in a more calm, collected and considered way than extroverts may do. We take things in, we assess them in our minds, and then we react or act accordingly.

For your dog training or animal behaviour business, that means not only can you assess the market, the industry and your position in it with a clear, objective head, but it can also be a strength as a pet professional. I mean, how much of our jobs is about observation?!

2. You’re a listener

Just like how you observe the world around you, take it in, absorb it and then make decisions, as an introverted business owner you’re probably pretty good at listening too.

That means you’re constantly learning, constantly taking on board every piece of feedback you get, every bit of information you receive from your clients (human and non-human, verbal and non-verbal) - and using all of that data to make thoughtful, informed decisions.

As a business owner, the power of listening is hugely underrated. While there may be a place for fast, bold, ballsy decision making, there’s an even bigger place for people who really listen.

Thoughtful business leadership means making decisions that feel right to you, right for clients, and right for your business - and if it takes you a little bit longer to decide because you’re listening, observing and processing, that is absolutely fine.

In fact, if more of the big corporations of the world listened more, I’m sure the world would be a much better place!

3. You’re persistent

You’ve decided you’re going to be an animal professional, so that’s what you’re going to do. You’re determined, even when the imposter syndrome rears its ugly head and you doubt every little step forward, you know that you’re going to make it work somehow.

That doesn’t mean you’re always feeling 100% confident in your direction or absolutely sure you’re doing the right thing. Because we all second-guess ourselves and question our gut feelings pretty much daily (or at least, I do).

But what it does mean is that we’re in this for the long haul.

We’re constantly learning, constantly bettering ourselves and our businesses, and we’re dogged when it comes to finding solutions for our clients. And that makes for incredibly solid foundations for your business - whether you want to grow it to brand new heights or are happy with how you’re working now, having your clients and your long-term success as guiding values in your business is a huge advantage for you.

4. You’re a realist

You don’t expect (or even want) overnight success. As an introvert, you’re likely pretty good at delaying gratification, which means that you can spend the time building the foundations of your business, learning, testing and trialling new things, without a constant need for quick wins and instant results.

Combined with your persistence and commitment to the long-term, this realism allows you to grow your business sustainably. It allows you to do the work that’s necessary now, even though you might not see the results for a few months. It means you can build a business that works for you for the long run, not just one that gets you clients clamouring down your door right now.

Basically, being an introvert is a good thing!

How to grow your business as an introvert

Ok, so now we’ve got that straight, here are some top tips for helping your introverted personality thrive on a day-to-day basis as a business owner:

Protect Your Energy: as we’ve seen, introverts need solo time to recharge their batteries. Working with clients might feel exhausting for you - if it does, try to schedule your weeks so you’re only seeing clients 3 or 4 days a week, instead of 5. If showing up on social media gives you that same feeling of exhaustion, planning and scheduling your social content in advance and limiting your screen time to 10-20 minutes per day will help too.
Manage Your Inner Critic: when that voice of doubt or imposter syndrome pipes up again, you need to have the tools to handle it. Try practising mindfulness, meditation or keep an album on your phone full of screenshots of positive feedback from clients…. whatever works for you. Remind yourself that you are capable so you can shut that inner critic up when you need to!

Find Your Community: while introverts often crave alone time, we also do need social interaction - but on our terms. If you can find a community of like-minded people (even like-minded business owners) who feel the same, it can be a huge advantage for you. On the days when things aren’t going right or when you just need a little pep talk from a fellow introvert, having a positive community to go to will be hugely beneficial.

Overall, one of the best things you can do to start harnessing the power of your introversion is to accept yourself as you are and find opportunities to explore your own thoughts.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed, ask yourself why - not just in the literal sense, but really ask yourself why that thing that happened has caused this feeling in you. If you’re able to understand why you tend to react in certain ways to particular things, you can start to build a business that either removes those situations from your life, or that gives you the time and the space to process those situations, whilst protecting your energy.

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