There is nothing wrong with being an introvert, being quiet, or being alone. Many introverts tend to want success without being visible. But in our world it is very easy to feel bad about yourself if you have any of the latter traits. Those who are the loudest and most visible often get praised. While there is nothing wrong with that, it makes those with opposite tendencies feel inadequate, but I wrote this article today to give proof that none of that is true. 

If you’re like me and feel a bit conflicted with the desire to be an entrepreneur and the dislike for having to be online, self-promote, or act like an influencer, the books you will discover are entirely meant for you. From books that focus on entrepreneurship to books that focus on the science of introversion, after reading these books, you’ll feel being an introvert is a gift instead of a burden. 

Quietly Visible: Leading with Influence and Impact as an Introverted Woman—Carol Stewart

Quietly Visible explores the fact that you don’t need to fit into society’s ideation of what a leader should be. From this book you’ll get to see how you can be strategically visible as an introvert instead of trying to pretend you’re an extrovert. This book uses real-life examples and practical strategies to give a strong foundation for the information in this book. Stewart also addresses many activities introverts find uncomfortable. Like networking, speaking up, self-promotion, and the pressure to become an extroverted leader. 

Quietly Visible: Leading with Influence and Impact is good for women who want to be successful without being visible and:

• Who dread creating a personal brand
• Service-based business owners who would rather rely on genuine connections instead of empty self-promotion
• Those who deserve deep and close client connections instead of vague and empty ones
• People who enjoy being behind the scenes and letting their work speak for themselves
• Introverts scaling teams and want to maintain their visibility 
• Women transitioning from corporate jobs into entrepreneurship

In this book you’ll learn practical techniques for being visible in ways that energize you, how to lead authentically as an introvert, how to communicate effectively without extroversion, and how to challenge the idea that in order to be a leader you have to be the loudest and most extroverted. 

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The Introvert Entrepreneur: Amplify Your Strengths and Create Success on Your Own Terms—Beth Buelow

The Introverted Entrepreneur, written by Beth Buelow, who is a certified professional coach and self-identified introvert entrepreneur, gets rid of the idea that all successful entrepreneurs are outgoing, aggressive social butterflies who love being in the spotlight. Buelow writes this book on the proposition that introverts have many strengths that are amazing in business, deep thinking, meaningful relationship building, careful planning, and the ability to work alone. Instead of trying to mold yourself and your business into an extrovert’s path, Buelow teaches you how to create a business model that cherishes you as an introvert. She focuses on the fact that you do not have to be someone you are not in order to be successful. 

The Introvert Entrepreneurs is good for women who want to be successful without being visible and:

• Early-stage entrepreneurs who want to design their business around their personality from the start
• Creative professionals who need to monetize their work but hate the business side
• Knowledge workers (researchers, analysts, and academics) who are embracing entrepreneurship by offering consulting or teaching
• Coaches and service providers who work well one-on-one but struggle with working in groups and mass marketing
• Online business owners who prefer digital connections instead of in-person networking. 
• Entrepreneurs who want to prioritize freedom instead of rapid scaling

In this book you will learn about some helpful mindset shifts to look at being an introvert differently, how market as an introvert, how to network and build meaningful connections at the same time, how you can sell without being too salesy and extroverted, and how to handle business operations as an introvert. 

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The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength—Jennifer B. Kahnweiler

The Introverted Leader is another book that challenges the idea that one has to be aggressively extroverted to be  successful. Written by Jennifer B. Kahnweiler, who is a certified speaking professional and leadership development consultant, conducts many interviews with introverted leaders across many industries to see how they handle such an extroverted position as an introvert. You’ll read about many successful leaders and how they’ve used their natural strengths as introverts to handle activities like public speaking, networking, and managing large teams.

The Introverted Leader is good for women who want to be successful without being visible and:

• Entrepreneurs who are scaling but prefer to be behind the scenes 
• Women who are building mission-driven businesses that require thoughtful leadership and organizational management
• Those who fled corporate to start their own ventures and want to create a different type of environment
• Entrepreneurs who are more comfortable with handling ideas that handling people
• People who want to inspire and lead without needing to have an impressive amount of charisma
• Multi-location business leaders who have to handle distributed leadership. 

The Introverted Leader teaches the 4 P’s framework for leadership success, how to properly use your attentive listening abilities as an introvert by being present, how to handle managing teams and public speaking, how to network as an introvert, how to manage your energy, and much more. 

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Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking—Susan Cain

Quiet is a book that talks about the shift that was made in the 20th century that made the ideal person an extrovert. Cain touches on the idea that those who are very outspoken and have no problem with being in the spotlight are often seen as superior to their more reserved counterparts. Cain uses famous and powerful figures who had introverted tendencies—Rosa Parks, Dr. Seuss, and Steve Wozniak—to get rid of the stigma that all powerful figures are extroverted. This book looks at the science to explain that being an introvert or an extrovert is a biological tendency, instead of a choice, and explains how each tendency has its own set of unique strengths. 

Quiet is good for women who want to be successful without being visible and:

• Any entrepreneur who has doubted their ability to succeed because they don’t believe they’re charismatic enough
• Entrepreneurs who are more mission-driven and don’t want to spend much time self-promoting
• Entrepreneurs who create their best work in solitude and need lots of alone time
• Business owners who want to create a different work environment
• Women who feel conflicted with the need to assertive and masculine while also being more collaborative and feminine
• Consultants or advisors who would rather share their knowledge through wisdom instead of charisma
• Those who prioritize sustainability and alignment over aggressive growth

From Quiet, you will learn the science behind your introversion, the historical and cultural context behind the disdain of introvert personalities, how a work environment suited for only extroverts hinders your potential, and the unique, special gifts introverts bring to the table. While reading this book I felt so understood. 

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Fearless and Free: How Smart Women Pivot and Relaunch Their Careers—Wendy Sachs

Fearless and Free talks about how unfulfilling climbing the corporate ladder is and tries to persuade women into creating their own paths by changing their careers, starting side hustles, embracing entrepreneurship, and trying nonlinear career trajectories. Sachs combines her personal experiences with interviews from other women who have successfully navigated career changes, showing that taking risks and prioritizing fulfillment over the corporate ladder leads to more meaningful professional lives. 

Fearless and Free is good for women who want to be successful without being visible and:

• Feel burnt out and stuck in their careers even if they feel like they’re doing everything right
• Feel guilty or scared about changing their careers
• Have been laid off or forced out of their careers and need to find a new sense of purpose
• Are in the middle of their careers and are reassessing what they want to get out of their work
• Have to deal with careers and family and are struggling with making traditional career paths work
• I want to explore entrepreneurship or freelancing but don’t know where to start.

In this book you’ll learn how normal it is to experience career changes and reinvent yourself. These experiences are not signs of instability or inadequacy. This book teaches and reveals strategies that will help you defeat fear and overcome self-doubt when your career doesn’t work out. Even if you’re an entrepreneur, you will learn how to handle unexpected change and realizations with confidence and ease.

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Quiet Is a Superpower: The Secret Strengths of Introverts in the Workplace—Jill Chang

Quiet Is a Superpower was written by Jill Chang, who had successful careers at big companies like Google and started her own creative business. She uses her own experiences along with interviews to show why being an introvert is actually a gift in this day and age. She argues that being an introvert will be your biggest competitive advantage if you know how to use it right. She doesn’t just praise or validate introverts; she provides practical ways you can turn those introverted strengths into your superpowers in your career or business. 

Quiet Is a Superpower is good for women who want to be successful without being visible and:

• People who left corporate and want to create a business that allows them to thrive as an introvert
• Entrepreneurs handling client relationships and self-promotion
• Creative entrepreneurs who need to market their skills but despise self-promotion
• Service providers who work directly with clients and need help managing their energy
• Online business owners using technology to reach their audiences without being face-to-face
• Content creators creating an audience through written or recorded content
• Women entrepreneurs in male-dominated fields facing unique challenges
• Business owners who want to run their business without adopting extrovert business models

When reading Quiet Is a Superpower, you will learn how your introverted ability to stay focused for longer periods of time is a rarity in this distracted world and how your tendency to overanalyze or overthink everything is a gift. How to use deep listening to your advantage, applicable workplace strategies (can also be used for entrepreneurship), and how you could build visibility without exhaustion. 

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The Millionaire Next Door—Thomas J. Stanley

The Millionaire Next Door explores how the wealthy in America are often misrepresented. This book’s core discovery, that wealthy people in America do not look or act the way they are portrayed in the media, is backed by research and surveys on thousands of millionaires. Your average millionaire is not a huge celebrity or executive or living in a mansion; they are often living in middle-class areas, are self-employed business owners, and drive a used car. They got wealthy not only through a high income but also through their disciplined, strategic financial decisions. 

The Millionaire Next Door is good for women who want to be successful without being visible and:

• Entrepreneurs building non-flashy businesses
• Business owners focused on solving problems instead of building brands
• Entrepreneurs focus on having profit and freedom instead of status and fame
• Those building wealth through boring business models
• Small firm owners who strive for financial independence
• Those in industries like manufacturing, waste management, distribution, or any other specialized services
• Introverted business owners who want to build wealthy quietly instead of constantly displaying their wealth

From The Millionaire Next Door, you’ll learn principles needed to build wealth and how your road to riches may involve an unglamorous business, how to focus on revenue-building activities instead of status-building ones, how to consume strategically, why choosing the right business is so important, and so much more. 

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