If you like working alone and can sometimes get overwhelmed being around crowds of people all the time, you’re probably an introvert. But there are plenty of business opportunities for entrepreneurs who enjoy spending time alone. Here are some potential business ideas for introverts.
Business Ideas for Introverts
Niche Blogger
Blogging gives you the opportunity to share your thoughts and expertise in writing without requiring you to even leave your couch.
App Developer
Mobile apps continue to gain popularity. So if you can develop those apps, you can create your own and sell it or even offer your services to other businesses.
Web Designer
Web design is another lucrative field where you can work mainly on your own and simply communicate with clients via email or skype occasionally.
Graphic Designer
You can also share your talents as a designer by creating graphics like logos or branding elements.
House Cleaner
If you prefer a more low-tech approach to starting a business, you can offer house cleaning services to people in your area.
Etsy Seller
If you like creating handmade items, you can craft those goods out of your home and simply list them for sale online on sites like Etsy.
Online Course Creator
You don’t have to be an extrovert to share your expertise with the world. However, creating online courses that people can buy and go through at their own pace might be more of an introvert-friendly route.
Dog Walker
Or you could spend your time in the company of dogs rather than humans by building a business as a dog walker.
Pet Photographer
If you love photography but don’t want to spend all your time photographing large events, you can instead offer your services to clients who want to purchase portraits of their pets.
IT Consultant
For tech-savvy entrepreneurs, you can offer your expertise as an IT consultant and allow businesses or individuals to contact you with tech issues or questions.
Social Media Consultant
Managing social media accounts requires you to interact with lots of people, but only online. So you can easily offer your services as a social media consultant for businesses without leaving your home or workspace.
Software Developer
For those who are extremely tech savvy, you can build a business as a freelance software developer or even develop your own programs and offer them for sale.
Pattern Maker
Crafty entrepreneurs, you can create patterns for things like sewing and knitting and sell those patterns as printables or hard copies online.
Online Editor
If you have strong communication skills but prefer working remotely and communicating mainly online, you can offer your services as an editor for bloggers or online publications.
eBook Author
If you have an idea for a book, you can write and self-publish your own titles on platforms like Amazon.
Woodworker
Woodworking can be another largely solitary activity. But you can sell the items you create online or in local stores.
Gardener
If you enjoy working outdoors, you can build a business as a gardener and work with local homeowners or businesses to create and maintain their outdoor plant life.
Translator
If you speak multiple languages, you can offer your services translating materials like books and presentations.
Errand Service
Some consumers could just use some extra help with everyday errands like grocery shopping and dry cleaning.
Bookkeeper
If you’re good with finances, you can offer your services as a bookkeeper for different businesses or organizations and work largely from your home or your own workspace.
Clothing Alterations
For those who are skilled with a needle and thread, you can start an alterations business out of your home or a small studio and work on small alterations projects for various clients.
Virtual Assistant
Or you can help businesses with a variety of different tasks while still working remotely as a virtual assistant.
T-Shirt Designer
If you’ve got some creative design ideas, you can add them to t-shirts and similar products and sell them online through services like CafePress and Society6.
Home Contractor
To start a business as a home contractor, you do need to be able to manage a team. But there are also plenty of tasks that you’ll likely need to tackle on your own.
Resume Writer
You can offer your writing services to job seeking clients by helping them put together resumes and cover letters.
Watchmaker
Watchmaking is an art that requires a lot of attention to detail, and is done mainly by one person working alone.
Lawn Care
For those who enjoy spending time outdoors, you can start a lawnmowing or fertilizing service and simply visit your clients’ homes on to provide those services on a weekly or regular basis.
Christmas Tree Farm
If you’ve got some land and time on your hands, you can start a Christmas tree farm on your property. And then you’ll only really have customers visiting during the final month of the year.
Bicycle Mechanic
For those who are skilled with bicycles, you can offer your repair services to customers in your area and just have them drop off their bikes so you can complete the work before returning them.
Auto Technician
Or if you’d prefer to work on automobiles, you can start a small auto repair garage and complete repairs on your own or with a small team.
Pool Cleaner
Pool cleaning is a potentially lucrative business idea that you can do mainly on your own, especially if you live in a warm climate.
House Sitting
Or you can provide a service to people in your area who want someone to watch their home or pets while they travel.
Car Wash Service
Car washing and detailing is another service you can provide to people in your area that allows you to work on your own or with a small team.
Recycling Service
Some customers also need help getting items that can be recycled out of their homes. You can start a service to pick up items like electronics and take them to the proper recycling centers.
Window Washing
You can also offer your services as a window washer for homeowners or businesses and build up a client base in your area.
Photo Restoration
You can also build up a client base of people who need help restoring old photos. You can even just have clients send you their photos so you can work out of your home or your own workspace.
Florist
If you have an eye for design and enjoy working with flowers and plants, you can start a florist business and spend most of your time creating flower arrangements for customers and events.
Laundry Service
Laundry is one of those regular tasks that some people just don’t have time for. So you can build a business offering that service to people in your area.
Massage Therapist
If you’re trained in massage therapy, you can offer your services to clients and work mainly in a quiet environment.
Illustrator
For artistically inclined entrepreneurs, you can offer your services to customers, businesses or even authors and work on your illustrations in the environment of your choosing.
Baker
You can also build a business selling baked goods to consumers for parties or events.
Affiliate Marketer
Bloggers, social media pros or website operators can build businesses by including affiliate links in your site or posts and then you can earn a portion of the sales from the people you refer.
Ecommerce Reseller
If you want to scour ecommerce sites like eBay for deals, you can actually build a business around reselling those items.
House Painter
For those who enjoy painting and want to work on large scale projects, you can offer your services as a house painter to local homeowners.
Phone Repairs
People drop or damage their phones every day. So you can build a business by offering to repair those devices where possible.
Proofreader
Or you could offer services to authors, bloggers or other businesses and simply read through their written materials for spelling and grammatical errors.
Custom Embroiderer
If you’re skilled at embroidery, you can have customers send you clothing or accessories that they want monogrammed or embroidered and then charge them for your custom services.
Snow Removal
During the winter months, you can charge customers in your area to shovel or snowblow their sidewalks and driveways.
Welder
Or you can offer your services as a welder for builders or contractors and choose the welding projects you want to work on.
SEO Consultant
SEO is an important aspect of marketing for online businesses. You can contract with some of those companies to improve their websites and content so that it is more likely to appear in search results.
Related reading: 51 Business Ideas for 2020
Feature Image: Depositphotos.com
House Cleaner, Dog Walker, Patterns, Gardener, Bicycle Mechanic, Introvert Photos via Shutterstock
Aira Bongco
I think that introverts have a way of approaching things. But they are more creative. So it is important to tap the skill and look for a business that suits their unique skill.
Annie Pilon
I think they can have a wide range of different skills, but there are tons of different ways to showcase those skills even without getting into those big social situations.
Prosper
Apart from mentioning the jobs here. Do have it in mind that the main problem is how to make the first approch
I think introverts have a different set of skills. They may be quiet with most of them being socially awkward but they are very skilled and dedicated to their craft.
Annie Pilon
Totally agree!
I agree. Most of my employees are introverts but I love working with them. It may take a while for them to open up but they are very dedicated to their job.
Annie Pilon
That’s great to hear!
Annie: How about being a social (media) lone-wolf, like me? 😉
JoAnn Wiley
I’ve been a window washer before and I had to talk to people on a constant basis but it taught me a lot.
Joyce
Massage therapist? I’m an introvert, and the thought of touching people every day, even in the quiet, ugh, no thank you. Dog walker is excellent!
Nia
I think people often confuse introversion and shyness or social awkwardness. An introvert can be shy or socially awkward, but that is not the norm, and does not apply to all. Social anxiety does not mean introvert either. An introvert basically is someone who just needs less social interaction and can thrive in situations where there is less, and he/she works well independent of others. An introvert can be a very social person, they just need a lot less of it and can get overstimulated and enervated with too much interaction. They tend to need more down time and solitude.
Hello Annie,
This is so true. I can’t agree less. You nailed it in all the 23 business ideas you raised. Interestingly, they are all low-cost businesses.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Emenike
Prosper
The main problem with introverted individual is the inability of going out to people and interact, and this makes it so hard for us to pursue our dreams.
Mark
Look. Introverts are absolutely awesome. We are taught from the time we’re kids that there’s something wrong with us if we don’t need interaction with others 24/7. Extroverts seem to almost imply that you are somehow not only “socially awkward” if you don’t NEED to interact 24/7, but almost that you are somehow mentally ill.
Two great books I read helped me realize how awesome introverts are and how most extroverts are so needy and so emotional and they project onto others so much. If you want to know what these books are (avail at libraries-which introverts love), let me know.