Struggles of Being an Introverted Business Owner

In this episode, we explore the unique challenges introverted designers encounter when it comes to promoting their businesses. The conversation centers around the critical need to step outside of comfort zones to enhance visibility and foster engagement in a competitive market. Key Highlights:

1. Personal Experiences with Creative Blocks:

   The speaker candidly shares their struggles with creative blocks and how these can impede progress in business promotion.

2. The Importance of Passionate Communication:

   Emphasizing that discussing one’s work with enthusiasm is crucial for financial success, the speaker encourages designers to find their voice and confidently share their creations.

3. Outsourcing Marketing Tasks:

   Given the fast-paced nature of platforms like TikTok and Instagram, the speaker suggests outsourcing marketing efforts to alleviate the stress of maintaining a consistent online presence.

4. Navigating Social Media Ambivalence:

   While acknowledging discomfort with socializing, the speaker discusses the necessity of having a structured posting schedule. They consider using scheduling apps to ensure consistency in their marketing efforts.

5. The Role of Social Media as a Modern Business Card:

   The podcast delves into the dual nature of social media; while success is possible without it, a strong online presence is becoming increasingly vital in today’s business landscape.

6. Platform Specificity:

   Different platforms serve different purposes, and the speaker highlights the relevance of LinkedIn for one business model, while Instagram and Facebook may better serve another.

7. Collaboration in the Industry:

   The episode wraps up with a discussion on the value of collaborating with peers, emphasizing how partnerships can help introverted designers expand their reach and visibility.

Conclusion: Join us as we unpack these essential insights and strategies for introverted designers to effectively navigate the world of marketing, boost their confidence, and ultimately thrive in their creative businesses. Tune in for a conversation that blends personal experience with practical advice, aimed at helping you step into the spotlight!

00:00 – 00:04 Welcome to the designers plants and coffee podcast, where we discuss how to succeed as a designer   00:04 – 00:09 while staying true to yourself, finding peace in the process and making money doing what we love.   00:09 – 00:12 Subscribe on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.   00:12 – 00:20 For today’s topic, I was talking to a friend of mine’s and she went to a conference about businesses and entrepreneurs.   00:20 – 00:27 And she stood up and she said, well, the thing is, I have to come out my comfort zone because I am an introvert.   00:27 – 00:32 And the person replied and said, I am too, but my business is not.   00:32 – 00:40 Really made me think about the podcast, especially for creatives and how we can really utilize that.   00:40 – 00:46 How can we truly say, yeah, you may be a introvert, but your business is not.   00:46 – 00:53 One is really funny that you said that, because I also had a similar conversation with one of   00:53 – 00:56 my sisters and I’m, you know, I’m talking to her.   00:56 – 00:57 I’m like, I’m having creative block.   00:57 – 00:58 I don’t know what to make.   00:58 – 01:01 She’s telling me all these ideas and I was like, well, I don’t want to make that.   01:01 – 01:05 She said, you have to change if you want to make money. That’s number one.   01:05 – 01:12 And the other thing I like to tell people is yes, I’m an introvert, but I could talk about my business all day long.   01:12 – 01:15 I could talk about teaching all day long.   01:15 – 01:20 And then once I’ve expired and worn myself out from talking about my business and talking about   01:20 – 01:26 teaching, I’m going to go right back into my and lay under the covers and watch trash TV.   01:26 – 01:31 And it’s a different way of looking at, you know, say, Oh, I’m an introvert. Yeah, you are.   01:31 – 01:34 But at this point, when you’re trying to run a business, it doesn’t matter.   01:35 – 01:41 So, I mean, I think some, some remedies for that is like to hire out like the marketing or maybe   01:41 – 01:46 hire out the social media and basically tell the, give them your brand voice.   01:46 – 01:53 I mean, if you don’t like to do that kind of thing that I’m actually in the step forward, because   01:53 – 01:54 you can’t run a business.   01:54 – 01:59 If nobody knows who you are, you know, One of my other sisters pointed out to me, she said,   01:59 – 02:07 I had on the duster you made me and, and the person that I was with wanted to buy one.   02:07 – 02:10 But when I went to your Instagram, there wasn’t anything on there.   02:10 – 02:14 She said, the only thing on your Instagram for the past few months is your podcast and your events.   02:14 – 02:16 You don’t have any products on there.   02:16 – 02:18 And I was like, you’re absolutely right.   02:18 – 02:27 And so it puts you in that mindset of in this time that we’re living in, where everything is   02:27 – 02:33 very fast and three seconds on TikTok and 10 seconds on Instagram, and you’re real got to catch   02:33 – 02:35 their attention and you got to have the right music.   02:36 – 02:42 It will take me three days to do a real, like I can do it, but I do it when I want to, or when   02:42 – 02:46 I’m making something I’m like, this is hot, but it only happens when I’m making stuff for me.   02:46 – 02:48 So I got to get out of that too.   02:49 – 02:53 It has to be a consistent push to do it, right?   02:53 – 02:58 So I mean, honestly, I just got, I forgot the name of the app.   02:58 – 03:03 I know you can find it anywhere, but you can schedule your, your postings ahead of time, but   03:03 – 03:05 you can just start posting it to that.   03:05 – 03:08 And then it goes out, you know, so it’s consistency.   03:08 – 03:12 And as, as, as an introvert, you have to be in the mood to socialize.   03:15 – 03:17 It’s like, I tell my, my students all the time.   03:17 – 03:19 It’s not that we can’t do it.   03:19 – 03:23 And it’s not that in our case, it’s not that we don’t know how to do it.   03:23 – 03:26 It’s that we don’t want to do it.   03:26 – 03:28 And by we, I mean me.   03:28 – 03:31 And you know, I have hired a person, it didn’t quite work out.   03:31 – 03:36 So now I’m a little gun shy about spending money on somebody who’s not going to give me the   03:36 – 03:41 results that they because the other thing with being a small business is money is precious.   03:43 – 03:50 And if I hire you to do something and you are still coming to me every week and asking me for ideas.   03:50 – 03:54 Yeah, it is a want, it’s like, I don’t want to do it, but at the same time, I’m not comfortable   03:54 – 03:57 doing it because I don’t do it enough.   03:57 – 03:58 You know what I’m saying?   03:58 – 04:00 So it was just like, you have to get out of your comfort zone.   04:00 – 04:03 And every time you post, you say, okay, I have to get out of my zone.   04:03 – 04:05 I have to do this because this is my business.   04:06 – 04:12 My business is not, you know, and you, so people can see what you do, see your products, see all of this stuff.   04:12 – 04:16 So it was just like a reminder that you have to really get out of your comfort zone to start   04:16 – 04:18 doing stuff, even when you don’t want to.   04:18 – 04:26 I mean, there are so many things online, like how to schedule your Instagram posts.   04:26 – 04:30 And, you know, we just got to do it, carve that time out.   04:30 – 04:35 We all live by a calendar and say Monday from 9 to 9.30, I’m going to do one Instagram post.   04:36 – 04:40 Wednesday from 9 to 9.30, I’m going to do one Instagram post because now it’s all integrated.   04:40 – 04:44 If I put it on my fearless threads Instagram, it’s going to automatically go to my personal   04:44 – 04:48 Instagram, which is going to go to both threads, which is going to go to Facebook, which I don’t   04:48 – 04:50 even go on Facebook anymore.   04:50 – 04:55 And Twitter X, I don’t, I don’t even know my password for Twitter X.   04:55 – 04:58 So I just don’t love social media in general.   04:59 – 05:04 I just feel like if we are going to be successful business owners, it’s necessary.   05:04 – 05:07 I still don’t have TikTok. I don’t want TikTok.   05:07 – 05:10 I don’t have the brain capacity for TikTok.   05:10 – 05:15 But on the other hand, it’s like, if I get TikTok, I’m going to be blowing up when I get all these views.   05:15 – 05:22 So, you know, but you have to do so much work to get to that number of views where you’re blowing up.   05:22 – 05:24 I mean, I wouldn’t say, I mean, to get successful.   05:24 – 05:26 I mean, we do have a level of success.   05:27 – 05:30 It’s just to get to the next level of success.   05:30 – 05:31 You know what I’m saying?   05:31 – 05:36 So it’s just to that consistency because, you know, word of mouth, all this, I mean, you don’t   05:36 – 05:38 necessarily have to be on social media to run a business.   05:38 – 05:40 You can be successful without it.   05:40 – 05:46 But you know, social media is like a linchpin in a lot of things.   05:46 – 05:46 You know what I’m saying?   05:46 – 05:52 Cause if you don’t have any following or you don’t have that platform, some people look at you   05:52 – 05:57 sideways, you know, you, it’s actually the new business card.   05:57 – 06:03 I will have people say, what’s your Instagram before they say, what’s your website? Absolutely.   06:03 – 06:05 I’m on all of those platforms.   06:06 – 06:14 I’m on every platform, TikTok, LinkedIn, even though I don’t, I think I’ve only posted the podcast on TikTok. Yeah.   06:14 – 06:17 On LinkedIn, I think I’m like, you’ve got to do better.   06:17 – 06:21 You’re like, you’re on episode, like number three, and we just passed 25.   06:22 – 06:28 So, um, I know like that it has to be consistent because that’s where my clientele is.   06:29 – 06:34 And my clientele is on Instagram and on Facebook and on TikTok.   06:35 – 06:40 TikTok is like watching a child just run in circles all day long until they get tired.   06:40 – 06:42 That’s what TikTok feels like to me.   06:42 – 06:46 I think this will go into our accountability session.   06:46 – 06:52 It puts on the business because, um, for Region Design Lab, LinkedIn is my, you know, my go-to.   06:52 – 06:56 I mean, I have Instagram, but it’s not really, but LinkedIn is where I need to be.   06:56 – 07:03 Um, but with Cover Me Chic, it’s just, it’s like Naima said, it’s Facebook and Instagram, you know?   07:03 – 07:09 And I mean, of course, threads when I sign up. Oh, okay.   07:09 – 07:14 I’m Zaheer from Cover Me Chic and Region Design Lab along with Naima from Fearless Threads and   07:14 – 07:17 Letitia from Keeping You in Stitches. See you next time.