Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Thea Orozco, Founder of Introvertology, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I run Introvertology, which helps individuals and teams succeed by leveraging their values, identities, and their uniqueness. I do workshops, online classes, and coaching.
Tell us about yourself
My business started as a hobby. I simply wanted to tell my fellow introverts what I had learned — that we aren’t actually broken and that we aren’t failed extroverts. We are simply introverts, and introversion comes with strengths. It’s the society that is broken when it ignores our introverted strengths. Apparently, that message struck a chord, and my social media presence grew pretty quickly.
When my introvert Facebook page hit 10k likes, I decided I wanted to help my fellow introverts in a deeper way than just informative social media posts and memes. I got a certificate in life coaching, and then many years later, I became an MBTI (Myers-Briggs) practitioner and had since added DEI work (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion).
Now I help both teams and individuals leverage their strengths. I help team members recognize and respect the identities and unique abilities of their coworkers. I help individuals get unstuck by understanding how culture may affect how they see their own abilities and how to cultivate the best aspects of themselves in order to reach their goals.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
In early 2020 I became a traditionally published author. Writing “The Introvert’s Guide to the Workplace” was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I’m grateful for the opportunity, and I hope I’ve been able to help the people who read it.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things a business owner can do is to say no. I’ve coached countless business owners that have said yes to too many clients or yes to too many projects that don’t align with their values, and all of a sudden, they find themselves resenting their clients and the business they built. It takes bravery to say no if you’re surrounded by a culture that thinks “enough” is a bad word.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Understand your personality. Are you driven by internal motivation or external motivation? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? What are your values? How do the businesses you are starting or growing help you express your values? If you understand and accept yourself, it makes running a business much easier.
- Understand what you’re selling and why someone might buy it. This sounds incredibly simple, but it takes a little digging into your target audience’s wishes and hopes. On the outside, you may be selling, say, a high-tech iron, but what you’re really selling is the ability for people to look formal and impeccable in their clothes and to make looking that way feel easy. When you understand the reasoning behind why your customers buy, your marketing gets a whole lot easier.
- There are a million ways to do marketing and sales, and the only “right” way is the effective way. So forget about all the business gurus pushing some new no-fail method that will get you tons of customers, and instead focus on the marketing method that works for you and your businesses. It’s possible you might not need a website or social media, or in-person networking. There are millions of ways to do marketing, and you don’t have to try them all.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://introvertology.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/introvertology/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/introvertology/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/introvertology
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theaorozco/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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