4 Skills to Help You Succeed as an INFJ Entrepreneur

INFJs make fantastic entrepreneurs.

Speaking from experience we’re creative, insightful, determined, and passionate.

However, INFJ entrepreneurs also have weaknesses (or should I say roadblocks).

As an INFJ myself, I’ve had my fair share of business struggles, all of which were self-inflicted and took years to overcome.

It’s for this reason I wanted to put together this article.

After all, us INFJ entrepreneurs need to stick together!

So, in this article I’m going to be outlining what an INFJ is, what roadblocks you might face as an INFJ entrepreneur, and, 4 skills you can master to make your business life a little easier.

What is an INFJ?

First of all, if you’re new to this term, let’s outline what an INFJ is.

INFJ, the Advocate: Quiet and mystical, yet very inspiring and tireless idealists.

This is the description of the INFJ personality type on 16Personalities.

To break it down, an INFJ is someone with the Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging personality traits.

If you’re here, you probably already know if you’re an INFJ or not, but if you’re not sure, you can take the test on 16Personalities to find out.

Roadblocks an INFJ entrepreneur might face

So if you’re an INFJ and an entrepreneur, solopreneur, or business owner.

You may recognise some of these roadblocks you’ve faced on your business journey.

We self-sabotage due to our own moral standards

I say this with love (and from experience), your moral standards have probably held you back. 

As INFJs, we’re idealistic and altruistic, which means we work to make the world a better place and won’t take action if it only benefits ourselves.

Think about that, this level of self-sacrifice has probably meant that you’ve avoided making the money you deserve (and probably want), all because in your mind, you believe it only benefits you.

Well here’s a little pep talk if you need one.

If you’re self-sabotaging your business because you believe it’s selfish to make money or achieve, then nobody will be able to enjoy what you put out there for long, because it just won’t survive. 

I’d be much further in my business if only I’d realised this two years earlier.

We’re very sensitive

As INFJs we’re very sensitive.

Sensitive to criticism, conflict, and rejection.

As INFJ entrepreneurs, this means we avoid fixing problems especially if they involve another person.

We also avoid putting ourselves ‘out there’ for fear of rejection and criticism.

Couple that with our empathy, and you get one very confused introvert.

Okay, those are just two roadblocks that you might have faced as an INFJ entrepreneur.

Below we’ll tackle a few more and couple them with some great skills you can master to make your introverted life a little easier.

4 skills to help you succeed as an INFJ entrepreneur

Learning new skills is something every entrepreneur should do.

It keeps you fresh, on top of your game and ready to take on new challenges.

But here’s where we like to do things differently.

The following skills are more personal development, than practical.

They will all help you not only master your business life but your non-working life too.

1. Deep work

Deep work (UK, USA), a concept illustrated by Cal Newport, is the ability to focus without distraction.

To create, write, build and problem solve without anything getting in the way.

The reason this works for INFJ entrepreneurs is that we have a lot of internal monologue going on in our heads while we’re trying to focus.

Not only that, but external distractions play a major part in overwhelming an INFJ and stopping them from doing their best work.

So, when it’s time to work on a big task, creating an atmosphere that allows for deep work is incredibly important.

I’m talking about writing, creative work, tasks that require concentration etc. 

In brief, how to practice deep work:

• Set out time to do it. Deep work can only happen if you make time for it. So plan a day or time free from deliveries, phone calls, and/or other people.

• Tell other people what you’re doing so you’re not disturbed.

• Pick a space to work which doesn’t need cleaning or tidying. In fact, the less ‘stuff’ to distract you, the better.

• Remove social media from your phone or put it on mute. Better yet, turn it off.

• Know what you’re going to do ahead of time.

Deep work can be really useful when you need to focus on very specific tasks, but it shouldn’t be seen as a chore.

You can make deep work fun by working with different materials than you usually do like pen, paper or paints.

Or find a new environment to experience deep work, like while you’re walking or travelling.

Just make sure to bring noise-cancelling headphones!

2. Disconnection 

As INFJ entrepreneurs, we’re prone to attaching our sense of self to our work.

This means any criticism, suggestions, even help, can be immediately rejected and taken on as a personal attack.

This sort of reaction is completely self-inflicted and can be a real barrier to progress.

However, there is one skill you can master to get through any emotional tasks you may have to take on as an INFJ entrepreneur, and that’s disconnection.

I talk about it more in this article, but the basic premise is to emotionally detach yourself from certain tasks you need to do in your business.

This detachment works to preserve your mental wellbeing so you have more emotional energy to focus on the important stuff that requires it. 

3. Monitoring energy levels

Believe it or not but monitoring your own energy levels as an INFJ entrepreneur is a skill.

It’s also one of the most important ones to master.

As INFJ business owners, we’re extremely prone to burnout.

In fact, because we’re passionate, have little patience for tasks we deem unnecessary and idealistic, we tend to rush into working hard to achieve bigger milestones, rather than enjoying the process.

In order to combat this, we need to make sure we don’t overwork, make time for hobbies outside of work and pay attention to our mental health.

For more information, read my article on how to monitor and overcome introvert burnout.

4. Letting go of perfection

INFJs are absolute perfectionists.

Because of our idealistic nature, we’re constantly working to our own unrealistic standards.

Because of this, we can leave tasks unfinished and sometimes never show our worth believing that it’s not quite good enough for others to see.

It goes without saying that perfectionism is one of the most harmful self-sabotaging things you can ever inflict upon yourself and it just so happens to be even more prevalent in INFJ business owners. 

When INFJs learn to let go of this perfectionism, they’re able to get more done, make more progress and finally allow the world to see their work.

Because after all, done is always better than perfect.

So there we have it, 4 skills you can master to achieve success as an INFJ entrepreneur.

So tell me in the comments, have you mastered any of these? Have any more to add? I’d love to hear from you.

Illustration by Freepik Storyset

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