How to Start a Business As A Highly Sensitive Person

Do you sometimes feel like the business world is not designed for Highly Sensitive People?

We often have this image that being an entrepreneur requires a certain amount of charisma if you wants to charm your potential clients, negotiate with partners, and/or lead a team. We also believe that as an entrepreneur you need to network with a new crowd when the opportunity arises because that will help to expand your customer base.

For a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) however, the above mentioned responsibilities of engaging and interacting with diverse groups of people might seem intimidating and overwhelming. This is because the introverted 70% of HSP's prefer solitary and quieter environments where they aren't required to communicate with too many people. Only the Highly Sensitive Extravert likes to engage and interact with a diversity of people as long as the conversations are meaningful and they have plenty of alone time afterwards to recuperate.

Not sure if you are Highly Sensitive? Take my quiz and find out!

If you are an HSP looking to start a business, the following tips will help you to kick-start a successful business that gives you energy as well as pleasure:

1. Choose your business category wisely

Your first step is to choose very carefully what type of business you want to have. Before you start writing your business plan, think carefully about your idea and how it relates to your personality and your mental and emotional needs:

• Play to your strengths. HSP's often like to bury themselves in specific, individual tasks. For example, you might like to design a website, or you might really enjoy fixing up old furniture. In either case, you need to build a business that caters to your particular strengths. There’s almost certainly something you can do or something you know that other people won’t be able to match. So pinpoint it and exploit it.
• Think about interaction demand. If you are a Highly Sensitive Introvert you might want to opt for a business model that doesn’t require much personal interaction when you start planning your business. For example, you might want to avoid one-on-one consulting or training if you don’t enjoy socializing. You might also want to rely more on helpful tools to build and automate (parts) of your business than do Highly Sensitive Extraverts. But if you are a Highly Sensitive Extravert like me, chances are that you enjoy one-on-one consulting with your ideal clients and this gives you energy and inspiration. You probably also like giving workshops and webinars and feel in your element when you can teach other people valuable tips and tools.
• Start small. Whatever the business is you want to start, start small. Hire only the people you really need; that way, you can get used to your role gradually and avoid overloading yourself with new people and situations. And if you don't need an office, start from your attic or your living room or visit your clients at their home like I did in the beginning. Avoid spending money you don't (yet) have on thing you don't necessarily need.

2. Find partners who'll compliment you

If you’re a Highly Sensitive Introvert, you'll be better off finding business partners and employees who complement your personality and skill set. For example, if you hate the idea of making a sales pitch to a stranger and don’t like talking to people in general, team up with someone who’s strongly extraverted and straightforward and who likes having conversations.

If you are a Highly Sensitive Extravert talking with people will be less of a challenge and will come more natural to you. Does this mean this will be easy for you? No, not necessarily, but it will be easier than it will be for the Highly Sensitive Introvert.

Introversion is a collection of strengths and weaknesses and extraversion is too. You’ll need a blend of both if you want your business to perform its best.

3. Create the environment you want

This is your company. This is your brand. You get to define it and build it in any way you choose. Obviously, you have to consider the limits of practicality and what will work best for your business, but consider adopting policies and values that cater to your Highly Sensitive nature.

For example, if you prefer written communication to spoken communication, consider making your business fully remote, with all your employees working from home. If you don’t like the idea of one-on-one sales meetings, opt for more inbound marketing strategies to reach your revenue goals. If you are an evening person like me, opt for starting your business day a little bit later to accommodate your personal rhythm and energy.

Your business is yours and you get to decide what you can and will do and you don't have to do what (you think) everybody else is doing. Adapt it to your wants and needs. For me this is one of the key benefits and reasons of having your own business as a Highly Sensitive Person.

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4. Think of networking and interaction strategies

If you are a Highly Sensitive Introvert and you don’t like to engage with people in the real world, maybe you can find your stride in online interactions. Instead of going out to networking events, for example, you can do the majority of your networking over social media. You can rely on emails and instant messages for the bulk of your interactions, and reserve in-person meetings for when you really need them.

But keep in mind that there are some benefits to talking to people in person, so don’t be exclusive with online interactions.

And if you are a Highly Sensitive Extravert, even though you prefer meaningful conversation, you are actually pretty good at making light chitchat when you have to. Extraverted HSP's enjoy meeting new people but can only endure so much socializing. After a networking event, you may feel the need to disappear and recharge by being alone or with just one other person. Certain people and interactions drain you while others recharge you. Keep that in mind when planning your work week and make sure you have allocated the required alone time after a networking event.

5. Practice socializing

While it’s definitely possible to be a solo entrepreneur for Highly Sensitive Extraverts, I don’t recommend it for Highly Sensitive Introverts. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to socialize with other people, whether it’s partners, clients, employees or mentors. If you aren’t good at socializing, or prefer to avoid it, you’ll need to practice, to get your social game up. Conversation and interactions are skills and like anything else, you can refine them if you spend time working on your abilities.

Start by attending more networking events, and talking to other attendees there. Also, develop new tactics for guiding conversations the way you want them to go. This may seem intimidating at first, but you’ll get the hang of it.

6. Learn to be uncomfortable

There are a couple of important things to remember here. First, your sensitivity isn’t a curse -- it’s a strength, if you know how to use it, and you need to be able to play to that strength. Second, no matter what, you’re going to face situations that make you uncomfortable and it does not matter if you are a Highly Sensitive Introvert or Extravert. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to become more comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable.

Being a Highly Sensitive Introverted Entrepreneur isn’t impossible. But you need to be willing to step out of your comfort zone once in a while and interact with people face-to-face if you want your business to be truly successful.

And while it may be a bit easier for a Highly Sensitive Extravert to be an entrepreneur, you too need to step out of your comfort zone once in a while. This can be because you need to hire a coach and invest a (for you) huge sum of money to work with them or because you are going to start giving webinars, start speaking or begin doing live videos for your audience.

It’s only through discomfort that we challenge ourselves to grow, learn new things and earn successes that only people dream of. It is only by getting out of your comfort zone that you are able to make that BIG Dream come true and create the life and business for yourself that you always wanted.

Could you use some help, either with determining if you should start your own company or with actually starting your own company?

Book a FREE Breakthrough Clarity Session with me today.

Which one of these tips was most valuable to you are an eye opener you had not thought about? Share it with me in the comments.

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