Introvert entrepreneurs are giving extrovert entrepreneurs a serious run for their money in the business world, proving that it’s not necessary to be gregariously outgoing to have a huge corporate influence.
Technology is a major factor contributing to this rise of introverts, eliminating many of the struggles that previously could have held them back.
Automation
In the past, companies relied on workers much more to complete various repetitive tasks.
Today, machines and software can perform at least some of these jobs.
Subsequently, companies can retain fewer staff members. This situation gives introverts an environment where they can do more one-on-one collaboration or management and focus on building fewer but higher quality work relationships.
Susan Guillory’s article can help you decide what can be automated if you need some direction so you can start leveraging automation for your business.
General Communications
No one will argue that the value of working face-to-face with someone has been lost.
Even so, as the market has become more competitive and adopted a global approach, it has become much more acceptable to use technologies that reduce or completely eliminate the need to be physically present.
Instead of scheduling a meeting to review business documents with team members, for instance, an introvert entrepreneur can simply send out an email to the group with the documents included as attachments. Chat and text function similarly.
Although these technologies function in real time, longer pauses between responses is more acceptable, meaning that introvert entrepreneurs have the chance to analyze and respond to what’s said more thoroughly, as comes more naturally to them.
Additional technologies such as video conferencing also make business less stressful for introvert entrepreneurs in that, even though they can see the others they’re communicating with, they don’t have to be in close proximity to the audience, which can be overwhelming.
Video conferencing enables introverts to present to potentially thousands of people with no one else or just a few people in the room where they really are.
Marketing
Introvert entrepreneurs still have all the traditional marketing methods–print ads, letters, radio/TV commercials or interviews, etc.–at their disposal.
Unlike business professionals of the past, however, they can market on the Internet in a number of ways:
- Websites, for example, let customers get a slew of information about the entrepreneur’s company without forcing the entrepreneur to engage with the buyers more directly.
- Introvert entrepreneurs also can connect with customers through click-through advertising and email campaigns.
Proximity Technologies Are Popular as Well
These technologies use an opt-in feature to detect customer locations based on mobile device data, thereby allowing introvert entrepreneurs to send marketing messages to customers via text or email when the buyers are close to the entrepreneur’s business.
Many introvert entrepreneurs find this emotionally easier to do than physically going out to invite people in to their storefront.
Perhaps the most valuable marketing platform, though, is social media.
Through websites or applications such as Facebook, introvert entrepreneurs can alert customers to sales, answer questions or resolve customer service issues.
Customers commonly share information about businesses through social media as well, so introvert entrepreneurs can take advantage of word-of-mouth advertising at little to no cost.
Testing and Development
Extrovert entrepreneurs still brainstorm and analyze during the business development process, but they often let their excitement and eagerness to take the stage bring their companies forward before they’ve truly thought through or explored their ideas.
Introvert entrepreneurs, by contrast, are in no particular hurry, although they understand some concepts can be time sensitive. They quietly brainstorm and research as much as they can, trying out lots of different possibilities before making a final call.
Modern technology supports this approach.
Software programs, for instance, allow introvert entrepreneurs to manipulate virtual models with ease or run analytics algorithms before building a single prototype.
Once the introvert entrepreneur has a few “finalist” product options to try, contemporary machinery allows them to create prototypes very quickly and inexpensively. If the prototypes don’t work, the introvert entrepreneur can continue to explore other options without losing a ton of time or money.
Ecommerce Platforms and Automated Product Fulfillment
Starting up a product based business has never been easier for an introvert entreprenuer than today.
With online sourcing platforms like Alibaba allowing anyone to connect with manufacturers online, to sites like Upwork that enable an introvert to hire product designers, site developers and more–all from the comfort of their keyboard.
Selling your products to a market and interacting with customers only via online channels is now a reality for the introvert entrepreneur.
The following a few of the ecommerce platforms and fulfillment providers making this possible:
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), many products on Amazon.com are sold by third party vendors via the FBA program. FBA has a simple process to get started and once you have your account set up and your products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers, your products can be sold on one of the world’s biggest marketplaces.
- Shopify is one of the most widely used hosted solution for creating an ecommerce store online. In October 2019, the platform announced that more than one million merchants were using Shopify to sell goods worldwide.
- Prestashop is an open source solution that takes more technical know how to get started on than Shopify but that also powers hundreds of thousands of successful ecommerce shops worldwide.
When using platforms like Shopify and Prestashop, you do not need to pack and ship all the items yourself.
There has been a rise in ecommerce fulfillment providers to make product fulfillment for online sellers a cinch, examples include Fulfillment Bridge for global ecommerce fulfillment, ShipBob for speedy US fulfillment, Shipwire for larger volume ecommerce shops and many more, which specialize in shipping for every niche.
The rise of easy to use ecommerce platforms and outsourced fulfillment providers are enabling a world where an introvert entrepreneur can be the leader behind an online business without ever needing to ship products themselves or meet a buyer face-to-face.
Conclusion: The Power of Introverts
Introvert entrepreneurs are gaining serious footing in the business world, giving extrovert entrepreneurs healthy competition.
Technology is driving this shift, supporting introvert entrepreneurs in multiple areas.
If you consider yourself an introvert and want to bring your business concept to reality, incorporating technology very well might be the secret weapon you need.
Today’s technology enables any introvert who wants to start a business the opportunity to compete on a level playing field.
Are you an introvert entrepreneur? How has technology impacted your work? Let us know in the comments below.
concentrated businessman – DepositPhotos
