Brigitte Münch [00:00:00]:
When you start a business, you don't need expensive Facebook ads or a big funnel. You don't need a 100,000 followers when you are looking for the first three clients. So really start from scratch and define your niche, define what your business is all about. What are you talking about? What is it what is your message you want to convey? And that also ties back to why are you doing this whole thing? Why do you want to start a business? And that's a great question for introverts because it gives a lot of stuff for reflection.
David Hall [00:00:45]:
Hello, and welcome to episode 171 of the Quiet and Strong podcast, especially for introverts. I'm your host, David Hall, and the creator of quietandstrong.com. It's a weekly podcast dedicated to understanding the strengths and needs of introverts. Introversion is not something to fix, but to be embraced. Normally, we'll learn each episode on a Monday. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite platform. Leave a review. That would mean a lot to me.
David Hall [00:01:11]:
Tell a friend about the podcast and help get the word out there that introversion is a beautiful thing. Brigitte Münch is a business coach for female consultants, coaches, and lawyers in their 1st year of business. She strongly believes that it's possible for anyone to leave the corporate rat race, build a successful business they love, and live and work with more freedom and adventure. That's why she's dedicated to help women transition from employment to entrepreneurship, gain clarity about their business, and get their first clients. She's developed a proven business starter framework, which is all about simplicity and authenticity so her clients gain clarity and confidence to go out there, get their businesses off the ground, and make the impact they wish without spammy social media, sleazy tactics, or complex tools. Alright. Well, welcome to the Quiet and Strong podcast, Brigitte. Brigitte, it's good to have you on today.
Brigitte Münch [00:02:07]:
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
David Hall [00:02:09]:
Yeah. We're gonna get into the great work you're doing, especially with introverts. But before we do that, let's hear a little bit more about your journey. You know, tell us about what brought you to now being a business coach.
Brigitte Münch [00:02:22]:
So where to start? I started my career as a musician, actually. And I realized quite quickly that I love music. I'm passionate about music and playing instruments, but I didn't want to practice that much. That was one reason. And I also felt it's probably not my my true passion to teach it. I wanted to play the music. It was more the playing part I enjoyed. And then I did quite a shift and did something completely different, became a tech lawyer.
Brigitte Münch [00:02:58]:
So I went into a legal space, and I worked in private practice for a couple of years, and then I worked in corporate. And, yeah, doing the multinational big company work was very rewarding in a sense of working with people, building up teams, enabling business. But at one point, I realized that the corporate environment is really not where I wanted to be for the rest of my life. And I wanted to be a bit more creative, have more room and space for my own thoughts, wanted to have less policies, less procedures. So it always felt like this corporate jacket I was wearing was a bit too tight for me at one point. And yeah. Then the next restructuring round came, and I took the chance to jump off and kind of resort my life. So I lived in Sweden at that point in time being born in Germany.
Brigitte Münch [00:04:05]:
I lived in Sweden at that time. I was never really happy And that town, I must say, was Stockholm. And I was missing the mountains so much. Yeah. Being a passionate mountaineer, I wanted to live closer to mountains. And then I said, okay. I do a cut here. I pack my stuff.
Brigitte Münch [00:04:24]:
I leave corporate. I move to Switzerland, and I start my own thing. And, actually, I started as a career coach, career and business. So I worked with people who were a bit in a similar situation, who wanted or were forced to leave corporate and wanted to start their own thing. And quite quickly, I realized that doing the business coaching work was more where my passion was, to really be creative and start something new and be on that journey to, yeah, leave the rat race and build up a thriving business to have more freedom and maybe adventure in the life. That was really what was driving me. And so here we are.
David Hall [00:05:13]:
Yeah. That's amazing. And I know with talking with you before that introversion and being an introvert was also part of this journey. When did you figure out that you were an introvert?
Brigitte Münch [00:05:26]:
Honestly, I think it was somewhere during my corporate life, probably when I took on my first leadership roles and I went through these personality tests and leadership programmes. And I remember there was the Gallup StrengthsFinder, and there was also the Myers Briggs. And it was so obvious that I was an introvert. And that was the first time a light bulb went up for me. It was also the start of my own personal development story. But it was really this realization, okay, there are different personalities, and I'm not weird or socially awkward when I need all this load time and need to wind down and save my energy. It's actually my introversion.
David Hall [00:06:17]:
Yeah. That's amazing. And I I like that you paired those two instruments because that was me too. It was the Myers Briggs and CliftonStrengths together. And CliftonStrengths isn't about introversion, extroversion. It is about your strengths. What did you walk away with that one? How did that help you embrace your your journey or embrace your personality?
Brigitte Münch [00:06:39]:
Oh, I'm a number one learner. Yeah. I could totally register that. I could say, yeah, check-in the box. That's totally me. And I am a learner until today. I just love it, and I have already been a learner as a kid. So unlike many other people, I loved going to school.
Brigitte Münch [00:06:59]:
I loved reading books already when I was in kindergarten. So doing the homework, school homework with my older sister. And, I think that's also at the core of my own personal development Yeah. And probably forever. Yeah.
David Hall [00:07:16]:
Yeah. Learner is in my top five too, so we have that in common.
Brigitte Münch [00:07:19]:
Yeah. I see. Yeah.
David Hall [00:07:22]:
Did you have to go through a period where you embraced your introversion?
Brigitte Münch [00:07:25]:
Yeah. Very much when I started my business because the marketing came in. Yeah. And that was really a challenge for me because, first of all, I had this prejudice against marketing. And then I wanted to work on mine. I knew I wanted to work international and on an on an international level. And that also meant I want to work online. And I entered this noisy online world and coaching industry out there.
Brigitte Münch [00:08:00]:
And that was really I was so overwhelmed. And I had to really go on a journey and learn for myself that there is a different way of marketing my services. And marketing today means for me, I offer my help to other people. I offer my work. And I really had to learn. It doesn't have to be that noisy. I can do it differently. I can embrace introversion.
Brigitte Münch [00:08:31]:
I can focus on deeper connections with people. I can listen more. I can go deeper in my content, But that was really a challenge for
David Hall [00:08:42]:
me. Yeah. I love that because that's it right there. We get told that there's a certain way to do things, a certain way to do marketing, a certain way to network, a certain way to do leadership, public speaking. But it's just not true. There's you've got to find the way that works for you. And you're helping people find that way, especially introverts. You're helping them find that way that works for them because we can be wildly successful, but only if we do it in using our strengths and our gifts and not trying to copy somebody else that doesn't have our strengths or gifts.
David Hall [00:09:18]:
They have their own.
Brigitte Münch [00:09:19]:
Yeah. I couldn't agree more, David. It's really it's it's really like this. And it's probably one of the biggest hurdles we as introverts have when we start a business because we don't know how it works. And then we try to copy others. We try to apply what others teach us. And I have wasted quite a lot of money and time into the wrong programs. They were just not right for me.
Brigitte Münch [00:09:45]:
And those method and tactics and strategies have worked for those people who taught it, but not for me. So it took me quite a while to find that out and to say, no. You know what? Stop it. It's just not feeling right for me. And, yes, I could do all of this, but I don't want to. It's not me.
David Hall [00:10:07]:
Right. Right. And so
Brigitte Münch [00:10:09]:
we're Yeah. Sorry. Just to add, I think this stepping out of your comfort zone is one of the things we hear so often. And I think that's true. Whereas we don't have to step out of the comfort zone, we can stretch our comfort zone. I like that much better.
David Hall [00:10:26]:
Oh, yeah. That's beautiful because and I've talked about this before. It's like if you just get out of your comfort zone, especially as an introvert, you're doing it over and over and over again. But if you if you expand it, like you're saying, you're changing your thoughts and you're becoming more comfortable. You know, it's like I can do this thing, but you have to change your thoughts around it. Otherwise, you can be getting out of your comfort zone for the rest of your life. So I I love how you put that. Expand your comfort zone.
Brigitte Münch [00:10:57]:
Yeah. Yeah. And stay grounded in your comfort zone and grow from there.
David Hall [00:11:02]:
Yeah. That's that's great.
Brigitte Münch [00:11:04]:
Yeah.
David Hall [00:11:05]:
So we're gonna get into introverts and building businesses, but just first, what's a strength that you have because you're an introvert?
Brigitte Münch [00:11:12]:
Oh, I think there are several. Thank you for that question. Yeah. I think good listening, active listening is one of the strengths I really have. And I found it quite interesting in my work as a coach, sometimes I just ask a few questions And people just talk and talk and talk, and they start developing their own thoughts and change their perspective. And they are so grateful. And sometimes I have to laugh because when they say, hey, thank you, that was such a great session. I think, yeah, but I'll just ask you 3 questions.
Brigitte Münch [00:11:50]:
I was just listening. But I think being heard, being seen, having the space for developing your own thoughts is really a rare thing nowadays, unfortunately, for many. And, yeah, giving the space and listening to people read between the lines and reflect things, that's that's a great characteristic we have as introverts and a great strength, I think.
David Hall [00:12:20]:
Yeah. When you were saying that, that's the word that came to my mind or words, you know, giving space and also, you know, giving a few questions to prompt some thoughts in that space. That's, you know, I think we can be really good at asking questions sometimes. Sometimes I might ask too many.
Brigitte Münch [00:12:38]:
There aren't too many questions, I think. Yeah. And I think another another thing also is creative thinking. So I work with with female business starters in their 1st 3 years, And many have issues to really say with clarity what their business is about and what they are doing. And we peel off their strengths and their vision and their mission and what they can do. And connecting the dots by using creative thinking, I I would say that's also a strength introverts have very often.
David Hall [00:13:21]:
Yeah. Because to me, when when people ask what it means to be an introvert, that's the big thing is that we're deep thinkers. And so we are thinking all the time and we we turn into our our inner world and a lot of great creativity innovation comes from that because we're thinking often most of the time.
Brigitte Münch [00:13:44]:
Yeah. Thinking and observing.
David Hall [00:13:46]:
Yeah. And observing. Yes. I think
Brigitte Münch [00:13:48]:
that Observing things, you know, you can connect dots for your clients, which they haven't seen before. Suddenly, there are connections between things where they never thought about.
David Hall [00:13:59]:
Yeah. Thinking, observing, and I'll add in reflecting. We're really good at at reflecting, you know, after for ourselves and for others.
Brigitte Münch [00:14:09]:
Yeah. Agree. Agree.
David Hall [00:14:11]:
So, Brigitte, we talk about strengths and needs of introverts, and we also bust myths. Is there a myth about introversion that you wanna bust today?
Brigitte Münch [00:14:19]:
Yeah. Not every introvert is shy. Okay. So they are awkward or odd, or there are so many words for it. And, honestly, that's something I thought about myself in the beginning. Okay? I just sense I'm a bit different already in the corporate environment. You know, when I needed this alone time and time for reflection and deep thinking and working alone, people thought well, I thought people think I'm weird. That's probably the right way to do it, to say it.
Brigitte Münch [00:14:56]:
And Yeah. Introversion is not the same, like being shy or anxious or or awkward.
David Hall [00:15:03]:
Yeah. And introverts or extroverts could be shy or awkward. I look at it like this. So if you're introvert, like some introverts have just always been confident their whole lives, you know, but they're deep thinkers. Some introverts like myself and perhaps yourself had to learn about ourselves to overcome any shyness and gain confidence. And then there's still those out there that aren't confident, but the good news is they can gain it. And a lot of it comes with self awareness and understanding your gifts and your strengths, but also your your needs. So, yeah, that's a good that's a good bit to bust.
David Hall [00:15:40]:
It doesn't mean shyness, but if you are shy and you want to overcome it, that that can happen. You can gain confidence.
Brigitte Münch [00:15:47]:
Yeah, definitely. Yeah. And it doesn't always mean that that you are quiet all the time. We can be bold as well.
David Hall [00:15:55]:
And I
Brigitte Münch [00:15:56]:
think I read a post that you have written recently about public speaking and introversion. So we we, as introverts, we can also speak in public. We have our certain processes before maybe. We want to be well prepared. We want to think it through. We want to deliver a highly qualitative message, but we still can be on stage and speak public.
David Hall [00:16:22]:
Yeah. In fact, I've worked through the podcast and other I've I've talked to a lot of people that do public speaking or hire public speakers, and it's more than half of public speakers are introverts. And that's a that's another myth right there that we can't be. But the preparation looks different.
Brigitte Münch [00:16:43]:
Yep.
David Hall [00:16:44]:
The energy management looks different. But you but, again, back to that we're always thinking, we have a lot to say and we want to share it. And, you know, in public speaking or presentations, a lot of times we really can thrive there. It's just, it goes back to, you know, don't try to do it as your extroverted colleague would, you know, just like marketing. Don't try to do it as as this extrovert, you know, but find ways to use your gifts, and, yeah, we can be amazing public speakers.
Brigitte Münch [00:17:13]:
Yeah. I agree. And it starts with having a presentation somewhere with talking about your business also. And for me, if I focus on conveying the information to others, instead of thinking, oh, I'm in the spotlight, me as a person, then it's so much easier. I don't know if you have any hacks there, but this is my this approach helps me really a lot.
David Hall [00:17:38]:
Yeah. And it's like you have a good message to share. And, you know, you got to think about what what does need to be conveyed. You know, what does this audience or this person, what do they need? And I also say that usually we're not going to speak unless it's something that we're passionate about. So that really comes into play too, just being passionate about the topic and putting in the time. And, you know, we're probably not gonna be doing a lot of presentations or speeches about something that we're not expert in.
Brigitte Münch [00:18:09]:
Agree.
David Hall [00:18:10]:
Yeah. So let's say that there's an introvert. Is now where you were, where they really wanna make a change and maybe start their own business. What's what's your advice? How do they get started up down that path?
Brigitte Münch [00:18:24]:
I would say start with the foundations. Like building a house, really start with the basement and build a strong foundation. And try to cut out all the distractions which are out there. When you start a business, you don't need expensive Facebook ads or or a big funnel. You don't need a 100,000 followers when you are looking for the first three clients. So really start from scratch and define your niche, define what your business is all about. What are you talking about? What is it what is your message you want to convey? And that also ties back to why are you doing this whole thing? Why do you want to start a business? And that's a great question for introverts because it gives a lot of stuff for reflection.
David Hall [00:19:17]:
Yeah.
Brigitte Münch [00:19:18]:
It goes deep.
David Hall [00:19:20]:
So how do you help someone work through that and and get the clarity they need to get started and really define what they wanna do?
Brigitte Münch [00:19:29]:
I start with the niching, or I think niching it is in the US. Either way. Yeah. So and that's really it's building your foundations. So what is it you want to help people with? What's what's the one problem you solve for them? Who do you wanna work with? There are probably different groups of people you want to work with or you can work with. So pick 1 so you can really target your your marketing and your messaging to that one person. Define where you wanna do it. Is it online? Is it more in person? Is it national work? Is it with people around the globe? And I always recommend, especially for for introvert clients, focus on one platform.
Brigitte Münch [00:20:19]:
So is it is it LinkedIn? Is it, TikTok? Is it Twitter? Whatever it might be. But focus on one thing so you don't get carried away in the jungle of of social media out there. And always connect with your why. Why are you doing it? How do you deliver things? And where on your on their journey are your clients? So it's 6 questions I start with in the beginning, and those go quite deep, at at least in parts, and really build your foundation and always come back to those foundations. And then we build an offer with the right price tag. People need to feel confident, again, talking about the comfort zone when they go out there and start talking about themselves, their offer, and their prices.
David Hall [00:21:14]:
Yeah. Absolutely. And I think it's good advice you gave to not get carried away with social media to focus. I know. Oh, yeah. There's a lot of different ways you can go and it can be overwhelming. What's your advice to introverts? Like, how do they be visible out there, whether social media or other ways?
Brigitte Münch [00:21:33]:
Well, I think, really, it's choose your one platform, your stage, so to say, you want to use for offering your services to the world and to spread your message. And that can be one of the social media platforms. But, again, I recommend to choose 1. Or you say it's in person, then choose the format. Is it workshops? Is it is it webinars or one day one day intensives? Do I work with people 1 to 1, or do I work with small groups? And then really network with the people, connect with people. And that's something I enjoy really as an introvert, building deep connections. And for me, it's not the quantity, it's the quality.
David Hall [00:22:23]:
Yeah. Absolutely. So what further advice do you have on building relationships in business, especially as an introvert?
Brigitte Münch [00:22:31]:
Yeah. It's it's really it's use the right groups, for example, in social media, but use only 2 or 3 where you add value. So to really build up deep connections, add value to people. Give away your stuff. It's in the beginning, I mean, don't focus that much on the money. It's good to have your financials under control, but your first focus should really be adding value to people and helping them. And they will start reaching out because they want to work with you if you do that. Serve them first before you focus on on the income.
David Hall [00:23:15]:
Okay. And what's, what's some common mistakes that introverts might take in starting their own business?
Brigitte Münch [00:23:22]:
Well, I think the the biggest mistake we have already touched upon that's trying to to copy an extrovert and really be distracted and think, okay, these people are talking about their 5, 6, 7 figures in the 1st year, and this is the method that brought them success. So I do the same. But as we said before, it doesn't work like this. If you are not authentic, either either you burn out or you will just not get the clients, not the right clients, or both. And people smell if you're not authentic. Yeah. So don't don't put on the extravert jacket. Really find your authentic way of of offering your services.
David Hall [00:24:09]:
Yeah. And what are what's the benefits of of using a business coach?
Brigitte Münch [00:24:15]:
Oh, to me, it's not only using a business coach. I think everyone should have a coach. Because there are so many things we don't see, the patterns we have in our behaviors. It, starts with your language. I'm a bit of a language nerd, and that goes maybe back to my lawyer's past. But I really love working with languages. And if you observe how people talk to others, but especially to themselves, And that's especially true in such an intense phase like business building. You do a lot of stuff which you don't know and which is new to you, and you don't know how to do it, and you beat yourself up for not knowing it.
Brigitte Münch [00:25:03]:
And that's maybe a bit of a downside of us in towards We want to think things through before we go out and spread our message. And in business building, so much is about trial and error. And it's not perfect when we go out there, but still we should take action. So, yeah, holding up the mirror for someone and reflecting. Did you hear what you were just saying to yourself? That's really, really helpful. So change the perspective and also brainstorm creatively together with a client. K? What other ways can you find here to build up your business?
David Hall [00:25:39]:
Yeah. There's so many different aspects to business and Yeah. You don't have to learn by trial and error on all of it. You definitely can have a coach that's been through it to help you walk through some of those things and also help you, brainstorm, like you're saying.
Brigitte Münch [00:25:58]:
Yeah. I think the big challenge is to find the right coach. As I said before, I invested quite a bit of money and time into the the wrong ones. And by wrong, I don't mean they had a wrong personality or anything, but they were just not the right fit for me. And, yeah, that that can be a bit of a challenge. So, really, yeah, search for referrals, ask people who have worked with a coach before, or really search in the biographies of people. What kind of type are they? What kind of content do they share? How do they do things? Is there any free material? Do they offer master classes, webinars where I can just sneak in and just get a sense and feeling of how they are working? I think that helps a lot.
David Hall [00:26:45]:
Yeah. And so I'm not gonna say that introverts can't learn can't learn from extroverts because we absolutely can. And, you know, you're you don't solely work with introverts, but I think often that we do learn a lot from fellow introverts because we learn, you know, ways that about their approaches. And so. It can be best to work, you know, with a fellow introvert. Again, I'm not saying that we can't learn from extroverts because we can, but often, we will learn the best approach for us by learning from someone that is similar.
Brigitte Münch [00:27:20]:
Yeah. Absolutely. I agree. Yeah.
David Hall [00:27:23]:
So in in all of this journey to, you know, figuring out you were to introvert to now, you know, being a business coach, did you have to learn to set boundaries? Was that an important part of this journey?
Brigitte Münch [00:27:35]:
Oh, yes. Yeah. Very much so. And for me, that was a big learning to understand that I need my downtime, my alone time, and that I need time to recharge my energy and determine what gives me energy. So for me, it's definitely nature, which means I have my time during my schedule, and it's scheduled in, to take a walk, to get fresh air, to, really do some nice stuff, to swim in the lake in summer times or just be outside. And, yeah, to understand that and really make an agreement with myself to stick to it, make it a habit because it's so easy. You think I have to do all of this this week, you know, and then you get just lost in your busy schedule. And then, I mean, the first things we always skip is the time for ourselves, and that doesn't really work.
David Hall [00:28:36]:
Yeah. That was a big epiphany for me too. It's just realizing, you know what? I need I love people. I I need to collaborate, all of that good stuff, but I also need some time on my own. And, you know, we're not always hearing that from the society that we're in. And so it's important to recognize that we absolutely need other people. We wanna be with other people. But that time alone, it's it's it's necessary.
David Hall [00:29:01]:
It's also enjoyable, but it's it's a need for us, not just a a want.
Brigitte Münch [00:29:07]:
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So find finding the balance, I think that's a big one. And, yeah, some people also say, I can't sit at home alone the whole week, and I totally get that. But then find a way how it works for you. Go to an to a co working space twice a week or something. Meet other people or do it 3, 4, 5 times, but only half a day.
Brigitte Münch [00:29:30]:
Whatever works for you, find it out. But see that you have some some some windows in your calendar, which are just reserved for yourself.
David Hall [00:29:40]:
Yeah. And you said a key thing there. It's what works for you. Because as we're talking, we probably have a lot in common, but there's probably ways that you recharge, and there's a different way that I recharge. So what works for you? But just knowing it's it's all okay. And, part of you getting out into nature is in your busy life, you're also a ski instructor. Tell us about that.
Brigitte Münch [00:30:01]:
Yeah. That's, follow your heart. Follow your passion, isn't it? Yeah. So one of the reasons also why I moved to Switzerland, being from Germany originally and having lived in in Sweden and worked across Europe, was my my love for the mountains. And I learned skiing when I was a kid here in Switzerland, and I already worked as a ski instructor in my teenage days in university times because it was a good money I could earn during my vacation periods. And when I moved to Switzerland a couple of years ago, I thought I have to reactivate that. And it's really I'm totally passionate about it. Working with kids, working with teens, whenever I can I don't work with adults, to be honest, in this in this case because you have to explain so much? And with kids, you just do the things and play around and and have fun.
Brigitte Münch [00:31:00]:
So I become a kid myself when I'm on the slopes with them. And, yeah, it's a great it's a great add on to my work as a business coach because I learn how to coach younger people mentally. I also work voluntarily in for the ski club as a mental coach for the young athletes, and it's so rewarding. In the end, they have similar problems because they deal a lot with confidence. What do they do if they fail? What do they do if they don't succeed immediately? So there are a lot of parallels between mountaineering and building up a business, and I use it in in my business coaching as well. And, yeah, just love it.
David Hall [00:31:48]:
Yeah. That's awesome. And you also get out in nature like you love. So
Brigitte Münch [00:31:52]:
Yeah. Exactly. And it's independent of the weather. You have to go out there no matter if it's snowing or the sun is burning. So it's it's really, really great.
David Hall [00:32:01]:
Alright. Brigitte, this has been such a great conversation today. Is there anything else you wanna add that we haven't talked about yet?
Brigitte Münch [00:32:09]:
I don't think so. I think we we I mean, we could I could go on for hours now. But Yeah. Me too. Yeah. I think we have touched upon the the important ones here, and I really enjoyed the conversation too.
David Hall [00:32:24]:
Yeah. So where can people find out more about the great work you're doing?
Brigitte Münch [00:32:28]:
Well, easiest thing is on LinkedIn. I love to connect with people. Again, really connect with people. So drop me a connect request, drop me a DM. I I love to be in conversation with you. And, yeah, that's that's probably the easiest way to find me.
David Hall [00:32:46]:
Alright. Sounds great. Thanks again for being on today, Brigitte.
Brigitte Münch [00:32:50]:
Thank you, David, for having
David Hall [00:32:51]:
Thank you so much for joining me today. I look forward to further connecting with you. Reach out at david@quietandstrong [dot] com, or check out the quietandstrong.com website, which includes blog posts and links to social media channels. Send me topics or guests you would like to see on the show. If you're interested in getting to know yourself better, there's now a free type finder personality assessment on the Quiet and Strong website. This free assessment will give you a brief report, including the 4 letter Myers Briggs code, and you can also have the option of purchasing the full report if you'd like to learn more. I'll add a link to the show notes. So many great things about being an introvert, and we need those to be understood.
David Hall [00:33:32]:
Get to know your introverted strengths and needs, and be strong.