INFJs in Business or Entrepreneurship

M

Mogura

Community Member
MBTI
INFJ
Enneagram
Dunno
On the surface, it may seem that business is a poor career or study choice for INFJs due to the "evil" values often associated with it (greed, dishonesty, etc.) However, business is a tool that can be used for a good purpose, or effecting a positive change as well.

I am just wondering how many INFJs see business as a viable career/study option. A lot of the MBTI career literature indicates that an INFJ might not find career satisfaction in business. However, if an INFJ were to start his/her own business, then he/she gets to set policy or company values as to his/her liking.

Have any of you studied for a business degree of some sort (BA or MBA), or are currently sitting for one? Have any of you started a business? (If so, what kind of business?--What's your story?)
 
I've looked into starting my own business, spent quite a bit of time on it because of a local government scheme that was running ag our university but it didnt go very far due to some personal interest problems within the group and we kinda had a bit of unlucky timing. I do plan on starting a business of my own further down the line, I just feel I need more industrial experience first. I'm current weighing the pros and cons of taking a business computing course and I've been to a few free seminairs but not much more than that. I think one of the main reasons infj's hold themselves back early on is thier mral outlook on things so something like a business course may actually be a good odea because it'll probably help people to not take things ao personally....maybe anyways.

What are you opinions and experiences?
 
Not my actual degree, but it is an interest of mine. The skills you learn in entrepreneurship and business are highly transferrable to basically anything you like, including non-profit and social change efforts, and government. Learning about things like marketing, accounting and economics will help you in a lot of ways, even though they seem exceedingly dull.

And business/entrepreneurship is all about dealing with various people and groups, and knowing how to network and sell your ideas, and no idealistic idea in the world is ever going to go anywhere without those skills.

Also, if you don’t understand how something works, you will not be able to understand how to change it.

So imo, business genre degrees may not be the ideal ones for INFJs but it is definitely useful knowledge. Also, if you are going to be a musician, artist, doctor, lawyer, counselor or minister, you are still going to have to deal with accounting and marketing and business-y stuff, because those fields are all basically small businesses, or situations where you will be self-employed, even though they are more INFJ-friendly and will probably make one feel less guilty than saying “I’m a CEO!”. So, maybe business is not the ideal career, but it is best to understand it and accept it rather than saying, oh it it all just evil and I don’t want to soil my hands with it, which is the sort of attitude I sometimes see. You can be an entrepreneur and still help others.

(short story -- I know business owners and workers really well and work with them myself and do a little side study and have run a small business/freelance gig.)
 
DimensionX said:
...I think one of the main reasons infj's hold themselves back early on is thier mral outlook on things so something like a business course may actually be a good odea because it'll probably help people to not take things ao personally....maybe anyways.

What are you opinions and experiences?
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Just had to respond to this bit! LOL -- so funny -- I remember doing really well in accounting and fighting it Tooth And Nail because that is not how I wanted to see myself and it did not seem nearly glamourous or idealistic enough! Silly. Regarding not taking things so personally, well, good luck with that. (No just kidding. It's actually a fantastic idea.) There is something about business and competition in general that makes INFJs very uncomfortable, including me, but I've learned that there is such a thing as healthy competition. Strange concept, but you really do learn about healthy competition if you are involved in either business or sports. There's good competition, and teamwork, and bad competition. If that makes sense. But I do agree that taking those courses can help.
 
It's a misconception that business is "evil". I majored in business and I learned a lot of useful things that make me a better consumer and citizen. Getting a business degree is also like getting a sociology degree because the modern world is business oriented. Product life cycle... value chain... marketing tactics... accounting... all these things can help you make the world a better place. Especially in the fight against consumerism.

When I was in college we had art majors barricade the doors of my classroom the week before finals and protest. They had signs like "Business is evil!" and retarded shit like that. The class I missed because of the protests was taught by a guy who dedicates all his free time towards running a non-profit organization that educates kids in 3rd world countries. Irony.
 
Thisisonlytemporary summed this up so well!

this is only temporary said:
Not my actual degree, but it is an interest of mine. The skills you learn in entrepreneurship and business are highly transferrable to basically anything you like, including non-profit and social change efforts, and government. Learning about things like marketing, accounting and economics will help you in a lot of ways, even though they seem exceedingly dull.

And business/entrepreneurship is all about dealing with various people and groups, and knowing how to network and sell your ideas, and no idealistic idea in the world is ever going to go anywhere without those skills.

Also, if you don’t understand how something works, you will not be able to understand how to change it.

So imo, business genre degrees may not be the ideal ones for INFJs but it is definitely useful knowledge. Also, if you are going to be a musician, artist, doctor, lawyer, counselor or minister, you are still going to have to deal with accounting and marketing and business-y stuff, because those fields are all basically small businesses, or situations where you will be self-employed, even though they are more INFJ-friendly and will probably make one feel less guilty than saying “I’m a CEO!”. So, maybe business is not the ideal career, but it is best to understand it and accept it rather than saying, oh it it all just evil and I don’t want to soil my hands with it, which is the sort of attitude I sometimes see. You can be an entrepreneur and still help others.

(short story -- I know business owners and workers really well and work with them myself and do a little side study and have run a small business/freelance gig.)
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I have been listening to this awesome podcast called Introvert Entrepreneur that I really like and highly recommend. I work as a camera sales clerk, and I really had a hard time selling myself & my product, but in Introvert Entrepreneur they talk about how how introverts definitely have a harder time selling their strengths, networking, and taking the spotlight. Originally I would never have got into business, but more and more, I realize that many ideas have to be sold before they can be realized, and that it's an incredibly important skill. I always thought good things spoke for themselves, but selling is something that is more than that- its creating an attachment, an image, a sense of nostalgia. When I was unemployed, I realized how important networking is, and how tantamount it is to be able to "sell myself"- who I am and my abilities.

I think introverts tend to shy away from that, but I think that developing "business" as a strength is so incredibly important, and such a big part of surviving our society. Certainly our society seems to appreciate extravert behavior and introspection is not something highly looked upon, but as introverts we have many strengths that we can really unlock once we are willing to take the reigns and step into the spotlight. We feel so deeply about things, and especially with our intuition we can have really good ideas- I'd rather put my ideas into action than just dreaming about them, all the while feeling disgusted about the state of society, or depressed that my ideas are not taking place.

Once I began to understand more socially savvy things, it helped me navigate the waters of society without feeling overwhelmed or disgusted. I realized that I might not have the ideal job, but that it is a stepping stone for eventually realizing the things I want to achieve.
 
I find this discussion interesting because I've been mulling about career direction myself and *questioning* as all INFJs must, if it is the 'right' thing to do, a choice which seems unconventional and risky, but potentially highly rewarding. I currently have 5 years experience in the field of being an executive assistant, most currently in a private equity company, which is highly divergent from my art and english minor BFA Hons. degree...and my B.Ed. degree (never became a teacher!). I've since learned complex expensing procedures, and honed my administrative savvy in working with business presentations, business travel, marketing to contacts, financial reporting, etc. I've been recently thinking of starting my own online-based business, one that would require simple business accounting, some marketing, and understanding of paper and printing with templates/designs. It would start out small in my spare time, and then hopefully grow with demand. I've researched this business model and other similar businessess online and it seems like the start-up is the biggest *push* that is required. I like this idea because it would play off of my current business/admin understanding and my art background, and it would make me feel like I'm still being 'creative' and productive at the same time. I don't disparage the world of business, even though I've seen and experienced some terrible examples of mis-management; it's all how you conduct yourself, but at the end of the day, you've got to be a player if you want to play the game...
 
Interesting! I beleve we have all what's need to be sucessfull, we just have to be true to our portrait.... Find a cause which also involves your heart.. Don't overtake responsability.. find people who you trust to help in your way..either lead/motivate them ... or learn to accept help even the slightest ones... We operate as an electromagnetic fields..we aim people toward goals/achievement ... we cannot achieve all ours.. we are futuristic dreamers...
 
Sounds like a dreadful idea.

The key concepts in business, heirachy, extracting as much profit for as little expense from innocent consumers, obeying your superiors or abusing your inferiors, looking out for yourself over your colleagues...

They don't fit well with the INFJ ideals, nor does the very outward, almost predatorial attitude towards potential customers exist within their mentality.
 
I fucking love business. Its not evil, nor is money, theyre just tools.
 
Melkor said:
Sounds like a dreadful idea.

The key concepts in business, heirachy, extracting as much profit for as little expense from innocent consumers, obeying your superiors or abusing your inferiors, looking out for yourself over your colleagues...

They don't fit well with the INFJ ideals, nor does the very outward, almost predatorial attitude towards potential customers exist within their mentality.
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Must not know any INFJs lol.
 
Neither are Nuclear weapons, but both are inherently bad for a large proportion of people.
 
Melkor said:
Sounds like a dreadful idea.

The key concepts in business, heirachy, extracting as much profit for as little expense from innocent consumers, obeying your superiors or abusing your inferiors, looking out for yourself over your colleagues...

They don't fit well with the INFJ ideals, nor does the very outward, almost predatorial attitude towards potential customers exist within their mentality.
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First of all, entrepreneurship =/= working with people. Few of the things you mentioned are concerned with working with people (hierarchy, looking over yourself, superior/inferiors relationships).
As far as entrepreneurship goes... If anything, may I guess that most INFJs have some sort of ideal to turn that key concepts inside out?

"I'm sure I can do better than what most people have done! I / my business will be more ethical / less concerned with profit / more respecting to customers / more independent / more true to my heart / belief / more creative / help more people!"

That is quite an incentive for people to open a business by themselves.
That, and paying the bills.
 
I agree there is few probability an infj runs Ford.... but they'll run stuff like Cirque du soleil wich is an international art circus... the same guy also started a fundation called one drop which works on water issues
 
Trifoilum said:
"I'm sure I can do better than what most people have done! I / my business will be more ethical / less concerned with profit / more respecting to customers / more independent / more true to my heart / belief / more creative / help more people!"

QUOTE]

Yeah. Those companies always do well.

Like those hippy art shops that close after a few months when they realise the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows. XD
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While it is true that enteurpreneurship can illustrate an 'eat what you kill' mentality, not all businesses are run as unethically as the broad strokes seem to paint, nor is business as a field of work and study limited to business-ownership. There are plenty of very fulfilling and challenging careers in business out there that do not ascribe to the Lex Luthor School of Saturday Morning Cartoon Villainy.

I'm currently straddling the financial and real estate sectors as a valuator. Technically, that gives me a quasi-judicial authority in estate planning or when scouting the value of a (potential) business enterprise; the decisions I make can either make or break a profitable business venture. You can bet that ethics certainly come into play in my profession, but I'm not just accountable to my own virtuous character (if I say so myself :P) but also to the law, my professional association and a number of licensing and standards boards that hold me under a microscope. And my profession isn't the only one that is as highly regulated. Regardless of what the media likes to posit, it ain't all that easy to make a career as a white collar criminal, nor is every single person you meet in business trying to unfairly swindle you out of money. Of course, everyone wants their best interests when it comes to the negotiating table, but there are few people out there who are purposely out there to royally screw you over.

Furthermore, if you're not all that aggressive by nature, then you do not have to go in and play with the big dogs at the top of the corporate ladder. You can have a peaceful and interesting career as an actuary or supply/chain manager or any other number of other middle management, indepedent, and corporate careers.

Indeed, painting over an entire field in broad strokes because of a couple of media stereotypes is ridiculous.

In fact, it's almost as ridiculous as resigning yourself from exploring your career options because of your MBTI type. Heck, I initially started off with a B.A in literature because I thought it was more my calling... until I discovered it didn't challenge me and made me miserable instead. You never know what appeals to you until you try it out, I guess.

If you're interested in business, go into business and you'll soon discover its not a singular subject. While its important to keep the big picture in mind always, you'll find more value in finding your own special niche than being a jack-of-all-trades. MBA's are a dime a dozen nowadays and just 'cause you went into business school doesn't guarantee you're going to find the kind of work you imagine yourself doing. Whether you want to climb the corporate ladder or become an enterpreneur or a designated professional, what counts most is a savvy combination of networking and work experience. And networking is where Fe can prevail over a micro-managing Ti or bull-headed Te. Don't underestimate yourself or your abilitieis because of what personality theory says you can or cannot do.

Still, like every other career advice you might have heard, you have to truly love what you do. Don't get into it just because you think it's glamorous or because you think it guarantees it will make you money or because your parents tell you to.
Do it because you truly want to and are willing to work hard and persevere.

Good luck!
 
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Since we tend to be "idealists" here's a very real danger for any business owner in today's corporate structure - the case of Ben & Jerry's:

In the current corporate structure money takes precedence over mission -- as a matter of law -- but for many social entrepreneurs, maximizing company profits can often be at odds with their desire to act responsibly. The well-known story of what happened to environmentally and socially-conscious Ben and Jerry's when it was bought out by Dutch conglomerate Unilever in 2000, is one of the most significant examples of this clash. In the case of Ben and Jerry's, the founders didn't want to sell for fear the takeover could compromise their efforts as a socially responsible company. However, when the founders couldn't come up with a counter offer from private investors that topped the price of shares offered by Unilever, its shareholders sued, and Ben and Jerry's was forced to relent to the sale.
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http://dowser.org/b-corp-better-laws-for-business/
 
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