An Interview With The INF Club
After I registered this business, one of the first things that I did to get the word out was go to local networking events. From an outsider’s perspective, it was interesting to identify how the introverts navigated the situation. And then how the extroverts navigated.
I fall into the first category. And throughout my life, I’ve often been the first in a group to notice when somebody doesn’t seem to feel included. I also tend to notice small details before others (or details the some never see).
A kind soul who I met at one networking event told me that the best thing he did for himself when he first started his business was learn about his own inherent personality type. After he told me that, I was quite motivated to learn more about myself.
The research I did let to me learning that I’m an INFJ according to Meyer’s Briggs. Then according to the work of Dr. Elaine Aron, I’m a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). And according to the work of Dr. Judith Orloff, I rank as an Empath in a myriad of ways.
This puts me into a select category of individuals who generally occupy places in society as the artists, writers, and adviser types. But it’s these very qualities that have pushed me to go into business for myself.
So, I went into a Facebook group for HSPs and asked to connect with anyone who was also an entrepreneur. In true HSP fashion, I got nearly 100 comment responses. Of all of these people, I connected most strongly with Jas Hothi, who runs the INF Club.
After chatting in real time, he invited me to be interviewed both on his blog and his podcast. That’s how these two pieces came to be published:
I talk a bit about my business with him. But mostly I talk about what it’s like navigating a solopreneurship as a HSP, Empath, and INFJ.
These qualities put me into a minority of the population. HSP and Empaths are an estimated 15–20 percent of the population and INFJs are an estimated 1 percent.
Yes, those are small numbers. But that still puts me into a category of an estimated 3M people in the U.S.
I found that this collaboration and honest conversation led to other featured posts. And that work led to actual clients.
I talk more about that in another post about my collaboration with INFJ Woman. But once again, I’m shown how beneficial it can be to niche-down and authentically connect with a small percentage of a larger population.
Originally published at https://backstoryfirst.com on March 21, 2020.
