I thought starting a company would be an HSP’s nightmare. Turns out we’re great at it.
I never wanted to own my own business. I have worked closely with business owners and know the amount of work involved. But my hesitation far outweighed the effort. As a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) – who gets overwhelmed easily and feels deeply about the world – I also know how difficult it can be to work with difficult, insensitive and demanding clients. This trifecta can be an HSP’s worst nightmare.
Despite the concerns, I started my own business after leaving my job as a content director at a digital marketing agency. At that time, I was approached by a lawyer to work on the marketing of his law firm. Things started off pretty well and I enjoyed being my own boss. However, despite the successful marketing results achieved at his company, this customer has become demanding and critical. I began to dread our meetings and began to avoid communicating with him. We ended up canceling the contract and like most HPS I was somewhat relieved to be done with it an emotional rollercoaster that stifled my creative energy.
As rough an experience as it was, I saw what great business owners HSPs make. There are so many great features because of our care for our customers, our desire to provide the best we can and our innate creativity. But I knew I needed some clear rules to help HSPs navigate an experience that could easily overwhelm them. flooded.
I’ve developed five tips to help HSP business owners succeed, and I’m happy to share that three years later, my marketing business continues to grow and is extremely profitable. I will never be your typical CEO or entrepreneur because I am an HSP who has learned to love and appreciate who I am.
5 Rules for HSP business owners
1. Surround yourself with non-HSPs.
Because HSPs feel things so strongly, it’s vital as a business owner to have non-HSPs in your life. I call at least once a week my husband is not HSP to help you think through an email or phone call about a difficult decision or client. Since he doesn’t feel so strongly about things, he can usually help me see things through with objective reasoning.
While other HSPs are great at understanding and even venting about specific issues, I’ve found that non-HSPs tend to snap when making tough decisions or dealing with difficult people. However, always trust your gut because as HSPs we need to feel good about the decisions we make and sometimes that means making the client (even though the whole world would agree they don’t deserve it).
2. Trust your instincts.
One of the really great things about being an HSP business owner is that your sensitivity allows you to spot things that others might miss. If you have a call with a prospect who feels “off,” you can trust your instincts and ask more questions or even walk away.
We have to be careful because our sensitive, empathetic nature doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but listening to your instincts is vital to avoid bad business decisions and can save you a lot of trouble. You enjoy the freedom to work with anyone, and that means rejecting people who might be difficult or demanding.
3. Never answer immediately.
Because HSPs feel things so strongly, we can tend to be very sensitive to clearing the air or answering questions. Whether it’s an email, a phone call, or an actual face-to-face meeting, we’re very quick to pick up on nuances and undertones and want to make sure everything is just right.
Easy to overthink the situation and analyze every word that can lead to rumination and anxiety. However, you can learn to walk away from it all, and amazingly enough, our subconscious mind often solves the problem for us if we give it time.
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4. Turn off electronic devices.
We live in a busy, overloaded environment, noisy world. Cell phones, emails and messages surround us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I was reminded of my sensitivity when my husband and daughter bought smartwatches. I jumped on the bandwagon thinking it would be a fun way to track workouts and even take calls without my cell phone. However, I quickly realized that it was too much for me. We can walk away from cell phones and computers, but we wear watches all day. I learned to take the watch off when it became annoying or overwhelming.
At night, it is a good idea to switch your mobile phone to airplane mode so that you do not receive e-mails or messages. For example, if you wake up at 5 a.m., you may be tempted to check messages or emails. A bad email can keep you from going back to sleep, and even if you do drift off, you probably won’t sleep soundly. By turning off these devices and sometimes even leaving your phone at home, you can relieve the noise and the constant bombardment of information, complaints and questions from customers or employees.
5. Take days off.
As a business owner and HSP, you will need it take days off to heal from stressful days and clients. After recently moving to a new house in a new city, I realized that I needed a lot of days off to just relax and be kind to myself. Other times, you may feel very emotional about a client conflict, and it can be physically and emotionally draining.
Taking a day off to do whatever you want is very therapeutic and necessary. It is important to always remember this possibility so that you are not forced to overexert yourself and become overwhelmed.
Looking back on my first three years as CEO, I have to say that I learned a lot about myself and a lot of good and bad ways to work as an HSP. It has changed my outlook on life in general and I am now more competitive than ever, a trait I didn’t have before.
Most importantly, your own business will probably give you as much pleasure as I do. If we help others with a service or product, then you start to feel that their victory is also yours. I encourage you to follow your gut and always be kind to yourself.
