Are Introverts More Successful with Home-based Businesses?

I recently took one of those online personality quizzes - the one that tests you to see if you are an introvert or an extrovert. Knowing what the outcome would likely be, I proceeded to obediently answer questions like #18 If by some cruel twist of fate you had to choose between blindness and deafness, which would you rather be? (I chose deafness.)

After the inquiry, the "experts" determined that I was an introvert…that I prefer "your own company or that of your partner's. You don't have many friends, but the ones you do are the kind that are loyal. You're always misunderstood as being grumpy, but often it's that you simply don't care to talk. Ideally, you'd prefer to be in a vocation where you can work alone." (The description continued and included a notable comment that I'm mature for my age.)

Being an introvert and working from home, I think that it is easier for me to stay motivated, be energized and enjoy my work in general. I went back to the quiz and answered all questions opposite to my initial answers. The extrovert profile that came back said, "As an extrovert, you thrive on the company of others and often talk about anything that takes your fancy. You hate being alone and wouldn't cope well living by yourself. Chances are, you don't live on your computer, but may send too many useless 'forwarded' emails." (On a positive note, for the extrovert readers, it said "you embrace change a lot better than your extremely introverted counterpart.")

My point being that the often talked about problems of working from home like 'home office isolation' may not be much of a problem at all for introverts. In fact, the introverts among us who have home-based businesses can even "pretend" to be more extroverted through the use of things like email and blogs…communicating more of what we think more clearly to more people.

I'm thankful that I am an introvert. That's something not often heard in our extroverted society. I'm thankful because as someone who works from home, it helps me. It helps me in that I stay motivated and energized a little easier. And I don't get down for being without the social outlets like the daily water cooler chats. The area around my water cooler is a quiet place…inciting conversation only with my dog when she's thirsty.

Julie Chandler is the Executive Director of the Progressive Group for Independent Business Women and the Founder of WomensPages.ca. She can be contacted at (403) 720-2143 or visit her websites at www.pgibw.ca and www.womenspages.ca.