[00:00:00] Fiona Johnston
We've made a lot of progress as a society in many of the areas that we needed to in the last few hundred years. But one thing that has not changed enough is money. If we want to be able to tip the scales towards the favor of marginalized people, we need to understand the secrets to making money in small business.
The more we talk about money and the secret. That usually stay at the golf club, the more likely we are to be able to make money. My mission is to get more money into the hands of good people, specifically good business people like you. This is Money Secrets, the place to learn about the money secrets of successful small business owners.
Because I believe small business can change the world, and in order to do that, we need to be making lots of money. Let's go.
This podcast episode was recorded on the lands of the Wie people of the KO nation, and I'd like to acknowledge them as the traditional owners and [00:01:00] custodians of this land and water that I live. Work and play on. I'd like to pay respects to elders both past and present. And note that sovereignty has never been seeded.
This always was and always will be. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land.
In today's episode of Money Secrets, I wanna talk about small business. Introverts if we haven't met before. My name is Fee Johnston. I am a chartered accountant, a money coach, and a business strategist. I specialize in small business.
I'm obsessed with small business, and I believe that small business can change the world. So small business introverts. Now those of you who have met me may have clued that I am most definitely an introvert. And I wanna first of all flag that the word shy and the word introverted are very different.
People who are shy tend to find it difficult to talk to strangers. They often also [00:02:00] find it difficult to talk with people they already know. Introverts aren't necessarily shy, although there is a lot of crossover. A lot of introverts are also shy. I wouldn't describe myself as shy. I would describe myself as somebody who really enjoys being around people in both big and small groups.
I love going to live music. I love being at music festivals. I love having lunch with my friends. I love being in my coworking. Base. I love walking with my friends at the dog park on the weekend. I love being around people, and the more people that I'm around, the more tired that I am afterwards. The way that I recharge is to be on my own.
I might just be reading a book or listening to music, or resting, watching tv, walking my dog. Anything that I'm doing on my own is helping me to recharge my energy so that I can be with people again. I know that a lot of extroverts find that they feel more energized after being [00:03:00] around people. In some ways, that sounds like a bit of a dream.
I would love to feel more energized after being around people than I do, but for me it's quite the opposite. So I love people. I love being with people. I love talking with people. I love listening to people, but I find it really. Tiring. So why am I talking about being either introverted or extroverted? I think there's a big assumption out there that only extroverted people can somehow be good at business.
And if you haven't read the book, quiet by Susan Kane, please do so immediately. Add to cart, deliver it to your house and read the book with the tagline, the Power of Introverts in a world that Can't Stop Talking. Now, I want extroverts and introverts to read that book because a lot of introverts already know what it's like to be an introvert, but as the book talks about, the world is set up for extroverts to succeed in most.
Places, school, university, and [00:04:00] the workplace are all geared around extroverts. The person who's able to put their hand up in class, the person who's best able to communicate the answer to a question in university, and the person who's most. Likely to dominate a meeting is often rewarded with progressing, being promoted, or being compensated or remunerated in a different way because a lot of people see this kind of extroversion as being something that should be rewarded when, as the book says, most of the really big problems of the world have been solved by introverts.
So when you look back at some of the really big kind of moments in the world, it was often an introverted person who was behind it. So it's not saying that extroverts or introverts are better than each other, but merely to say that the environments. That we put ourselves in really dictate whether we are able to succeed as an introvert or an extrovert.
There are many places in [00:05:00] the world where extroverts are rewarded and there are fewer places in the world where introverts are rewarded. There's also some cultural context there. So in Western society, extroversion is more kind of recognized and awarded than in other cultures where introversion or other aspects of personality that are.
Similar to introversion, deep thinking, politeness, conscientiousness, those sorts of traits are more applauded and rewarded in different cultures, especially in Asian cultures. So there's a lot of nuance to this topic of introverts and extroverts, but I specifically wanna dive into what it. Like to run a business as an introvert.
So the first thing to consider is that in order to be successful as a business owner, you have to market your business. It is not possible to run your business without doing any marketing, but you get to choose the kind of marketing that you decide to do. So for some people, going to [00:06:00] networking events is their favorite way of bringing in new clients.
I would assume that those people are probably extroverts. Some people really love talking on video, being on camera, uh, sharing things about their business on Instagram through photography and graphics. Some people love to write. Some people do a lot of kind of one-on-one reach outs. There's a lot of word of mouth.
There are so many different ways to do marketing for your business. And as an introvert or an extrovert, I think it's really important to work out which of those marketing activities. Is the one that either feels the easiest, the one that leans into my natural talents the most, or the one that seems to be the one that I most gravitate towards.
So for example, I find it really easy to talk and I find it really easy to talk on camera. I also love writing like. Love writing with every fiber of my being, but it takes me longer to write than it does to talk. So for my [00:07:00] marketing, I have tended to lean into talking and podcasting and being on video as much as I can because it's the quickest way for me to get my thoughts together.
For you, you might be somebody who loves writing. So lean into it. Make your marketing about your writing. You could blog, you could really work on your SEO and your website. You could write a lot of direct emails to people talk, telling them about your products and services. So there are other people who are much better at audio than they are at video.
There are people who love schmoozing and going to events and networking, and that's how they meet potential clients. There is a place in small business for every type of person. I think that introverts can be amazing marketers, and it's got nothing to do with whether or not we're shy or whether or not we like being around people or not.
But introverts are more like. To be really deep thinkers [00:08:00] and we tend to listen more than we talk. That is one of the key skills in marketing is to listen. So marketers and business owners who market themselves, who are able to really listen to what their clients and their potential clients are saying, and then translate that into marketing material marketing activities that is so likely to resonate with you.
Your ideal client. So being able to listen, being able to do deep thinking, and being able to really kind of get down into the zone. Being able to create really quality thought leadership pieces. Being able to write or speak to, you know, deep topics that are tricky, but you are able to kind of break it down into words.
That make sense for others? Those are the sorts of things that introverts do really, really well. So if you are an introvert and you are sitting there using that as an excuse to not market yourself, this is the sign. This is [00:09:00] my invitation to you to consider. What are the ways that I can market my. Self that feel easy or feel like I can do them in a timely manner.
Am I somebody who wants to write? Am I someone who wants to speak? Am I somebody who wants to create or use photography or design to communicate my ideas? Do I want to get in? Front of people live. Do I prefer phone calls as opposed to being on Zoom? Do I want to get to networking events where it is actually set up for introverts to win?
Right. There's so many ways that you can create an event that is suitable for both introverts and extroverts just by thinking about the format, the environment, the setting, you know, having a variety of different group sizes. Even something as simple as if you are running an event where people are putting their hands up to ask questions, you could also have a place where people could submit questions anonymously or virtually.
A lot of introverts don't wanna [00:10:00] put their hand up and say the question out loud, but they might have the best question that anyone has asked. That day. So allowing introverts to be able to participate in events in ways that don't make them feel like a world is about to open up underneath them is a really great thing for both introverts and extroverts.
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We have no more than 40 members, so you get lots of really tailored and focused attention from me, and the doors are open right now, so head to my website, peach. bm.com au to find out all about Good Money Club. And if you are a good egg, a business owner who [00:11:00] really wants to do great things for the world and make money and pay yourself more, good money Club is for you.
Can't wait to meet you in there. Another topic that I want to talk to about being an introvert in business is that introverts are also great speakers. So sometimes people might see me speak on stage and think, oh, you know, she's so great at speaking, or, I really love the way that she communicated. They don't realize that I'm an introvert.
But actually being an introvert or being an extrovert doesn't either make you a good speaker or not. I think what makes you a good speaker is number one practice. But I also think that one of the things that makes a really great speaker is being able to connect with the audience. So being able to actually participate with the audience and be with the audience as opposed to speaking to the audience.
It's something that really changes the dynamic for the people in the room. Another thing that makes for a great speaker is somebody who has really, [00:12:00] really, really deep knowledge on the topic that they are speaking to. And again, this is something that introverts do really well. We tend to be deep researchers and deep thinkers.
So introverts can make fantastic speakers. We can be energetic, we can be dynamic, we can be anything that an extrovert can be whilst on a stage we can be upbeat, we can be funny, we can be sad, we can be clever, we can be inspiring, we can be entertaining. It might just mean that after we speak we might need to go into a a dark.
Room and close our eyes for a couple of hours to kind of replenish our energy. Whereas an extrovert might feel really sort of energized and inspired after speaking. And the way that they want to sort of keep going is that they might wanna be in a room with. Lots of people, 'cause that's gonna make them feel even more energized.
So the point of this episode was really just to bring forward this idea that small business is for introverts and [00:13:00] extroverts, although there are lots of places where the world is set up for extroverts to win, and it is more difficult for introverts to win in those. Particular situations, especially school, university, and the workplace.
But small business is a place where anybody can win. All of us have introverted and extroverted tendencies in different sort of scenarios and circumstances. And being introverted means that you feel tired after spending time with others. Whereas extroverts tend to feel more energized by being around other people.
A lot of introverts love being around people, and particularly being in smaller groups of people, it's just that they find the experience of being with those people, uh, you know, beautiful and amazing, but then they need a rest afterwards. So if you are an introvert, lean into the ways that you are going to be able to kind of draw on your introverted [00:14:00] tendencies to win in business.
And if you are an extrovert, again, you can pull on the different ways that being extroverted helps. You to win in your business. But I think we can all agree that we need small business to be a place where introverts, ambiverts, extroverts, and everybody in between, all has a place where they can win. I hope you found that episode helpful.
I am definitely an introvert. I love introverts. I love extroverts, and I love being in a place like small business where everybody gets a chance to win.
Thank you so much for listening right up to the end. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Money Secrets, where we talk about the money secrets of successful small business owners.
If you enjoyed the episode, I'd love it if you subscribe to the podcast, but leave us a review or share this episode with one of your friends. I hope you learned something. I hope you got a new perspective and I really hope you enjoyed the listening [00:15:00] experience.
