Successful branding is the most powerful way to accelerate the growth of your starting company. Building a recognizable brand that is valued by the customers and is very attractive to the targeted audience is not an easy job, but with the right approach and with the use of the appropriate tools and strategies any startup team, created by forward-thinking people, can achieve great results. Undoubtedly, the company brand is important and can determine the future success of the whole business.
The personal brands of the entrepreneurs behind the successful brands, on the other hand, are also very important. It is essential for the entrepreneurs to work towards becoming more recognizable in the entrepreneurship ecosystems in order to promote their businesses and be the face behind the innovation they bring to the world. To be what Steve Jobs was to Apple, Mark Zuckerberg is to Facebook, Elon Musk is to Tesla, is a dream for many entrepreneurs.
The stronger personal brand you have, the more likely it is to reach bigger audience and to do so gives you the tremendous opportunity to expand your network and increase your chances of growing your business through attracting more customers, great potential employees and interested in your business and you investors. So, even though moving out of your comfort zone may seem very intimidating, the benefits of building strong personal brand will make you believe that all the effort was worth it.
Many people think that extroverts have better advantage when it comes to building their strong personal brands. Extroverts are great communicators and are able to position themselves well in most social situations. On the other hand, the introvert entrepreneur finds it overwhelming to be surrounded by many people and to have to talk to them in order to establish connections. Introverts are relatively shy people, who like to spend their time in privacy.
To help introvert entrepreneurs get a different perspective on the way they can build their personal brand, here we offer three ways that can help them achieve better results without to feel the pressure of it.
Use the advantages
It may sound surprising to many, but being an introvert has its advantages. Introverts are more self-aware and have the ability to analyze themselves better. They know their strengths and weaknesses, which is of great advantage when it comes to building a personal brand. When someone is being aware of their own positive and negative traits, it becomes easier to emphasize on the things that have good impact and the things that can be useful for building their successful personal brand.
Take it one step at a time
Social media is very powerful and gives the ability to many introverts to communicate easily with others, without to actually meet face to face with these people. Half of the anxiety and discomfort of communicating in person with someone disappears, but the ability to promote yourself and still reach a wide audience remains.
Once you build the confidence with communicating with larger audience online, it is time to begin with the face to face interactions. Begin joining small events with fellow entrepreneurs and try to communicate with one-two people at a time in order to break the ice and to become more confident with the conversations.
By starting small, introvert entrepreneurs succeed to build stronger and more meaningful relationships with people, who have the same interests, and soon they find themselves feling comfortable with attending major events where they feel no longer as strangers, because they go with their fresh group of fellow entrepreneurs.
Plan, Rehearse, Be Present
It is difficult for introverts to overcome the discomforting feeling of anxiety when they have to talk with many different people or to present in front of a bigger audience. If you want to be well-recognized and to leave a great impression to the audience, you may follow the following three steps. Make your plan according to the people you are going to meet – choose topics that should be of great interest and that you feel comfortable talking about, prepare your key points and you will feel more comfortable with the conversations.
Rehearse the way certain situations may go in order to feel more prepared. The more times you do something, the less uncomfortable you become with doing it. The key to becoming a better communicator as an introvert is to challenge yourself as much as you can to get out of your comfort zone and actually network.
Preparation may be everything, but the actual most important moment comes when you get out there and actually start connecting with people and begin promoting yourself. Getting out of the comfort zone may be challenging, but the outcomes are worth it. Prepare, practice and actually begin doing what you have planned and you will soon harvest the fruits of your effort.
It is not necessarily to be always outside networking and communicating. It is important that you find the right balance and the right amount of work towards promoting your brand that gives results, makes a difference and still is not exhausting you emotionally.
