Visibility Without Burnout for Introverted Entrepreneurs with Tara Reid

 What if building a successful business didn’t require you to constantly show up, speak louder, or outwork everyone around you?

 In this episode of Here’s What I Learned, I’m joined by Tara Reid—business and marketing strategist for introverted entrepreneurs—who shares how she built a sustainable, visibility-driven business without burning out. We talk about shifting from done-for-you services to scalable offers, how to honor your energy as a core business strategy, and why live visibility isn’t the only (or best) way to grow.

 If you’re an introvert, neurodivergent, or just plain tired of the “just show up more” advice, this conversation is a game changer.

Topics covered:

• Why introverts need different visibility strategies (7:18)
• Shifting from 1:1 services to scalable programs and Voxer offers (12:39)
• The burnout that changed everything—and how Tara rebuilt from it (14:10)
• The return to realness in online business and how it helps introverts thrive (18:38)
• Using AI as a support tool, not a replacement (20:32)

You can find Tara at:

Website: thetarareid.com

Podcast: Introvertpreneur

Mentioned in the episode:

Take Tara’s free quiz to discover your introvert business strengths: thetarareid.com/quiz

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Credits:

Intro and Outro Music: Atomic by Alex-Productions |https://onsound.eu/

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Creative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Jacki Hayes: Hey there. Welcome to Here's What I Learned. I'm Jacki Hayes, system strategist, unapologetic smutty romantasy lover, Dungeons and Dragons Geek, and your no BS guide to building a business that works for you. This is the place where we swap stories, share lessons, and get real about the highs and lows of creating a life and business that actually feels good. No cookie cutter advice here, just honest conversations about what's working, what's not, and how to rewrite the rules to fit your version of success. So grab your favorite beverage, get comfy, and let's dive in.

[00:00:45] Jacki Hayes: Welcome to another episode of Here's What I Learned. Today I am talking with Tara Reid. She is a business and marketing strategist dedicated to helping introverted entrepreneurs build sustainable hustle free businesses. Tara, welcome to Here's what I Learned. 

[00:01:01] Tara Reid: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

[00:01:04] Jacki Hayes: Tara. What is something that you have been learning about lately? 

[00:01:07] Tara Reid: So, there's a lot of things. I feel like I'm a multi-passionate, so I constantly wanna like learn everything and do everything. Before this, I was gonna talk about how I'm focused heavily on productivity and like managing my time. So I'm really leaning into automations.

[00:01:28] Tara Reid: But this morning I had like a burst of inspiration from my dog and that actually got me thinking about how I'm really digging deep into being resilient in life, in business. And he's kind of a. Trigger for that refocus. 'cause I was just, I shared his story on Facebook today. He's, he's been through a lot.

[00:01:51] Tara Reid: He came from, he was a street dog in Mexico where he had broken his leg at some point. It had healed incorrectly. He went through kidney failure. He survived. He went through a nerve. Issue where he couldn't really stand or walk on his own for a year. And I was just sitting there this morning watching him wagging his tail and hopping around and I was like, this dog has taught me so much about never giving up, being resilient.

[00:02:21] Tara Reid: So I think that's something that I'm really focused on and how I can tie that more into my life and business. 

[00:02:29] Jacki Hayes: Now, I know you said you just had this epiphany this morning, so you may not have an answer to this, but where do you think that will show up the most in your business? I 

[00:02:37] Tara Reid: think it's really going back into my values, like why I started my business in the first place and doing kind of a gut check to make sure that everything I'm doing, the way I'm showing up where I'm spending my time and energy does actually fit the life that I want.

[00:02:55] Tara Reid: And I'm not getting into hustle because, I mean, I've also spent. A period of time where I was working like nonstop on my business, and it resulted in an eight month long period of burnout. So I, I know the warning signs, I've experienced that. So I think it's kind of just, just a reminder to step back and not just get in the weeds constantly.

[00:03:21] Tara Reid: Sometimes we have to take a step back and just recheck in with ourselves. 

[00:03:26] Jacki Hayes: That I'm sure ties into what it means to you to do business your way. When I say that, what do you think? How would you define that? 

[00:03:35] Tara Reid: So for a long time, like I am a huge introvert and I've, I've been in the online space for 18 years now, and it was probably the first 10 years where I was doing things that I did not find enjoyable.

[00:03:50] Tara Reid: Were not fun, were burned me out, stressed me out. But I felt like I had to do all these things in order to be successful. And I think I kind of realized that. If I'm gonna be doing all the, like, that's not why I built a business. Like I built a business to help people and I can't really help people if I'm not showing up in a way that allows me to show up as I truly am.

[00:04:14] Tara Reid: So for me, that meant cutting out social media completely. In June of 2022, I left all social media really focused in on my email list. And yeah, I mean, I feel like that's a big. Big part of it is just figuring out like, what is gonna work for you? And it took me 10 years, so I love talking about this so I can help people like not go 10 years doing all these things that are just like, not fun, depleting your energy, making you wanna just throw in the towel and go back to a regular job.

[00:04:49] Tara Reid: And yeah, that's, that's my answer to that. 

[00:04:53] Jacki Hayes: So there's, there's lots there that I'd like to talk to you about, but I'm gonna start first with the one that everybody's. Probably going, oh my God. How do you do business? How do you keep doing business? How do you keep finding clients when you're not on social media?

[00:05:04] Jacki Hayes: How do you get more people on your, uh, email list if you're not on social media? So how has that worked for you? 

[00:05:10] Tara Reid: So my biggest two traffic drivers are Google Search and Pinterest. So those are kind of the two places where I bring in a lot of new people to my world. And then my goal is to get them on my email list where I can nurture, build, trust, and then I also, because those are kind of long-term.

[00:05:30] Tara Reid: Organic strategies. I also like to tie in what I personally call like a quick win. So how, what can I do that will get me like a quick influx of new people and increase visibility? And for me that is collaborations. So I'm not one to like do a Facebook or Instagram Live. I've never done that. I mean, I did in the first 10 years, but so.

[00:05:56] Tara Reid: I feel like for me, it's kind of like being a guest on a podcast like this, speaking at a virtual summit, which is typically a prerecorded presentation, so it's lower stress, participating in a bundle, doing a freebie swap, anything that allows me to borrow and collaborate with other people. 

[00:06:15] Jacki Hayes: Yeah. I think that is something that introverts need to explore a lot more.

[00:06:20] Jacki Hayes: We're usually, as somebody who identifies as an introvert, we're usually great with those one-on-one, um mm-hmm. Conversations. Or like for me, my max is like three other people after that, I'm like, 

[00:06:32] Tara Reid: I can't. Yeah. If there's more than that, yeah. If there's more than that, I find I know myself, I will. As much as I'm like gung-ho, like I've.

[00:06:40] Tara Reid: Tried to do a live panel where there was like six other people and I just kind of like faded to the background, like, let everyone else take over the mic and speak up. So yeah, smaller groups. 

[00:06:50] Jacki Hayes: Yeah, so those colabs are great, but especially like this, this like lead magnet swaps have gotten really popular and that's are really easy ways of reaching new people that doesn't require you showing up on social media.

[00:07:02] Jacki Hayes: So I'm glad that you have shared some of those. Speaking of summits, you have your own, which. As an like, how does that work as an introvert? 

[00:07:13] Tara Reid: Yeah, it's it. I've tested and tried a lot of different things, so I feel like because my, my summit is kind of an extension of my brand and audience, so it's geared towards other introverts.

[00:07:25] Tara Reid: I feel like I'm a bit more comfortable showing up live if I feel like it, but I'm also open to like listening to myself, like last year's summit. We didn't do anything live. It was all just prerecorded. There was a Facebook group where we could chat back and forth, but this year I did three live panels again, which I found was pretty good.

[00:07:47] Tara Reid: I also intentionally did them, so it was a five day summit. I did the live panels on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so I'd have a day in between. 

[00:07:58] Jacki Hayes: When you talk to others about being an introvert and having their own business, what are some of the most common struggles introverts have and what kind of advice have you given them?

[00:08:10] Tara Reid: I think the biggest thing is that they, they drain their energy because they try doing things that you know are. Our good, like social media is great. It's a great way to attract people and build trust and I, I feel like sometimes they see ex more extroverted people who enjoy that doing that because it is so loud and in your face.

[00:08:34] Tara Reid: So they see that more often and they think, okay, that's what I have to do. And it's real, there's so many methods for growing your business and getting out there and increasing visibility. And I, it really comes down to your personality. 'cause I mean, some introverts do love showing up live. They just have to do it in, like, they have to be more mindful.

[00:08:55] Tara Reid: They can't do it like every day or nonstop for hours a day. But then there's some, like me who. Want to avoid that as much as possible. So I think it's really about like understanding yourself and what you're doing that takes energy from you and what gives you energy because like an an extrovert, they get energy from other people.

[00:09:17] Tara Reid: Whereas introverts, we typically, it's not that we don't love connecting with people or talking one-on-one, it's just that that does use up energy. So we have to be more mindful about how much time we're doing things like that. Giving ourselves like buffer time in between calls, or only taking so many per day, or only doing so many live things per month.

[00:09:37] Tara Reid: It's really about figuring out what's gonna work best for you. And the first step to that is knowing what takes your energy and what gives you energy. 

[00:09:47] Jacki Hayes: I'm guessing, at least I know this is true for me, that having my own business has been a lot more supportive to being an introvert than when I was working in an office, especially when I was living in Cubi land where everybody was on top of each other.

[00:10:02] Jacki Hayes: You could hear all the conversations at once. People were walking by all the time. So it's been extremely helpful to my nervous system to be an introverted solopreneur. It's helped so much. What about you? 

[00:10:13] Tara Reid: Yeah, a hundred percent. I, I couldn't imagine going back to a regular job where I have to have a set schedule and be in an office environment and constantly around people.

[00:10:26] Tara Reid: I, that's a big part. I feel like for me, what is really important to me is flexibility. Like I do love planning, I love systems and automation. I'm very flexible and that's, that's really important I feel like for my nervous system, is to have flexibility with everything that I do, and having my own business really leans into that flexibility side of it.

[00:10:50] Jacki Hayes: With the flexibility. One of the things that I work with my clients about on is the client journey, like how they handle lead management, how they handle client onboarding. And I talk a lot about if, if you're an introvert or whatever, different personality typology they, they like to talk about. Or feel comfortable with, you can build the systems for that.

[00:11:12] Jacki Hayes: Based on those personality types, how have you set up like the backend of your business to support being an introvert? 

[00:11:21] Tara Reid: So I've definitely, like, I used to do a hundred percent one-to-one work. So done for you services coaching, I kind of shifted. A few years ago. I decided to shift slightly more into.

[00:11:35] Tara Reid: Passive offers. So digital products, courses, group programs where I could manage how much I was showing up and had to give of myself. And I think that's really important for introverts is to be mindful about where your time is going and, and that things can look different for everyone. Like I love, I've seen so many people doing like Day of Voxer, office Hour, or.

[00:12:00] Tara Reid: Day of Voxer offers and like I've implemented Voxer office hours for my main program for introverts and they're obsessed with it. Voxer office hour days are always very busy and like my introverts love that they don't wanna jump on another Zoom call. So yeah, just, just knowing your audience and kind of finding that sweet spot between like what they need and how you want to show up I think is really important.

[00:12:27] Jacki Hayes: You mentioned earlier that you had an eight month burnout period. Would you mind talking a little bit more about that experience? What led up to it, what it was like? I mean, um, if you're burnt out in a running a business, there's nobody else to call in to help. What was that whole experience like? 

[00:12:44] Tara Reid: Yeah, so that was actually, it's kind of what shifted.

[00:12:48] Tara Reid: My entire business like that was when I had my handmade jewelry business, which was my first business. So I was handmaking jewelry, nonstop It. It grew so big, so fast that. I didn't really have a plan in place for that, and everyone in my personal life was like, oh, this is amazing. You've, you've achieved what you wanted to achieve.

[00:13:12] Tara Reid: And to me it was, it felt like I was on this hamster wheel of like working 12 hours nonstop, making jewelry just to keep up with the demand because I was selling on Amazon Handmade at the time, and I remember that Christmas, it was like. I was making and shipping as much as I could, as fast as I could.

[00:13:35] Tara Reid: And then I would go into the dashboard and it would say, here's what you've missed out on due to outta stock products for the month. And I was like, this is like I, I can't keep up. And I just kept pushing myself to try to do more. And that's what led to burnout. But in that burnout, what I decided to do is I was like, okay, I'm feeling really exhausted.

[00:13:57] Tara Reid: This isn't fun anymore. So what I decided was, okay, I'm gonna take a break. I'm gonna take like a. Business sabbatical from the jewelry, and I had some stuff still in stock, so it was still selling, it was still kind of making money. I was just not looking at the metrics. I was not making anything or shipping anything in if, if things were selling out, they were sold out.

[00:14:20] Tara Reid: And it was in that time where I realized I really actually like helping other entrepreneurs and business owners and I gave myself that. Time where I was recovering from burnout and also just figuring out what to do next. And. I kind of realized like I'm not getting my creative spark back for the jewelry.

[00:14:43] Tara Reid: So I ended up selling that business and shifting completely into this business marketing strategist kind of role. And so it was actually kind of a good thing. It ended up being a really great thing 'cause my business is so flexible and. I feel like I've tied it into what I want my life to look like really well and aligned it really well to what, how, how much I wanna work, how much I wanna show up, and.

[00:15:14] Tara Reid: Now I'm aware of the warning signs too, of burnout. Like I can, I can feel when I start to drain my energy and I am not re replenishing it enough. So I will step away and take a break or take a long weekend. So, yeah, that was a, it was a. Really horrible experience. For eight months, I just, I had zero focus for the jewelry business at all.

[00:15:35] Tara Reid: I was just exhausted and people in my real life, they were like, what are you doing? Like, this is what you've been working so hard for, and they just didn't get that. It wasn't worth it at that point. Like my health and my mental health was much more important than that. 

[00:15:55] Jacki Hayes: That message of here's the, what you missed out on because you weren't working hard enough.

[00:16:00] Jacki Hayes: And I'm doing quote fingers there from the people listening. Definitely defines hustle culture right there. Mm-hmm. 

[00:16:07] Tara Reid: Exactly. Yeah. 'cause at that point I'm left with two choices. I was thinking about, okay, I could hire somebody to help me make the jewelry and. But then I started thinking, but that kind of takes away, like, I wanna work from home and I can't really have somebody else in my home working.

[00:16:27] Tara Reid: I didn't want to, I mean, I could have, but I didn't want to, so I just had to reevaluate. Okay. So I, I felt like I was stuck in this place, but it worked out for the best. So it was a very good, and looking back now, I'm glad it happened the way that it happened, and I've learned a lot from it. 

[00:16:45] Jacki Hayes: Now I don't get a chance to talk to folks who have been in this space for as long as you very often.

[00:16:51] Jacki Hayes: Usually it's like five years-ish at the top. What has changed in the years that you've been doing this? 

[00:16:58] Tara Reid: Oh my gosh, so much. It's like I, when I first started my business, there was no Instagram when ins, I remember when Instagram first came out and I was trying it, and I was like, I don't, I don't really like this.

[00:17:11] Tara Reid: And then it just exploded from there. But yeah, there's, there's been a lot of shifts even the last five years. There's been a lot of. I feel like changes in the online space of like people, I, I feel like a lot of people got, have gotten burned out or been burned by investing in something that didn't deliver.

[00:17:31] Tara Reid: So I think it's become even more important about. The customer journey and building that trust and nurturing your audience, not just going in for the hard sell. I love that. It's also shifted because when Instagram was first a thing for really popular, for the first few years, I found that. Things kind of shifted into you have to present this perfect image, this perfect Instagram worthy image.

[00:17:57] Tara Reid: And now it's back to, I wanna see the real you. I wanna see the real person behind the business. I wanna know who you are, what your values are like. That's very important to me and I, I love that it's going back to that 'cause that is really powerful, especially for introverts. 'cause I feel like. We're also really great listeners to our audience.

[00:18:18] Tara Reid: We can really understand them and listen to what they're struggling with and then figure out ways to help them better. So yeah. I'm, I, oh my gosh, there's been so many shifts and changes. 

[00:18:32] Jacki Hayes: What do you think is a shift that has gone in the wrong direction? So not, not what you would like to see happen?

[00:18:40] Tara Reid: That's a really good question. If 

[00:18:41] Jacki Hayes: anything.

[00:18:45] Tara Reid: I feel like a lot of the shifts are really good. I feel like, okay, maybe I'm gonna talk about AI just a little bit. I, I love ai. I think it's amazing, but I do think there's things to consider with ai, like it's not to be used as a replacement for you or your expertise or your knowledge. I. Position AI as a tool.

[00:19:09] Tara Reid: It's a shortcut. It's something that's going to help you. Like I'm somebody who's like, I love writing, but I struggle sometimes with blank page syndrome. Or I'm, I have so many ideas and I need help. Like what should I focus on first? So I will have chat. GPT. My custom Tera Bott helped me kind of go back and forth and we'll talk things out.

[00:19:31] Tara Reid: I think a lot of the. I think one thing that I would hope changes is a lot of the doomsday messaging around ai. There's still a lot of that, and unfortunately, like it's not going anywhere. I feel like it's, it's important to learn how to use it properly.

[00:19:54] Jacki Hayes: I'm right there with you. I love ai. My little bot is like my assistant and my strategist is wrapped up and helps me so much because so often I feel like you go to a coach and they ask you questions that bring out the stuff that you already know. And if you have primed your chat, GPT, well enough. It starts to ask you the questions that you're like, oh yeah, I didn't think about that.

[00:20:16] Jacki Hayes: And it's a great way to just get your brain going. It helps us be so much more product productive. Somebody's post, somewhere I saw was if women, 70% of men are. Comfortable with ai and it was like 30% of women were comfortable in using it. And they said that's just another gender gap when it comes to the working world, because that's gonna lower your productivity, that's gonna lower what you're comfortable working with.

[00:20:41] Jacki Hayes: And of course, chat is based off of what it's learning from, and right now it's learning from mostly men. So for women to back off of it. Obviously, yeah. Like you said, there are concerns and ethical issues, but I do love hearing that people are starting to accept that it's, it's here. So let's find the ethical ways of using it.

[00:20:58] Jacki Hayes: Tara, what would you tell your younger self when she first started this version of your business? What advice would you give her? 

[00:21:08] Tara Reid: I think probably the biggest piece of advice would be, I don't wanna say charge your worth 'cause that's such a, like what is your worth? Like. We're all like priceless. But I think making sure that you're charging accurately for your skills and your time.

[00:21:26] Tara Reid: 'cause when I first made that shift and started it, I first started in the handmade space. So I knew that they were mostly solo entrepreneurs. They were just trying to grow their business. And I started with SEO services 'cause that's kind of what I was known for and how I kind of. Found success. I mean, some people think I found it very quickly, but I'm like, it was 10 years.

[00:21:50] Tara Reid: Like this is not an overnight success. That doesn't exist. So I started offering, doing SEO audits of their product listing and I charged like $10 and I probably made like 50 cents an hour. When it came down to, I quickly increased 'cause there was such demand for it. But I really wish that I would've had the confidence too.

[00:22:14] Tara Reid: Price accurately right at the start. 

[00:22:18] Jacki Hayes: I think that's something we all mm-hmm. Would go back and tell our younger selves that yeah, we price ourselves a little too low in the start, so. Mm-hmm. Tara, if people wanna hear more from you, how can they get on your email list? 

[00:22:31] Tara Reid: So I would say the best way, like I have lots of free resources, but I would probably say the best one.

[00:22:37] Tara Reid: If this resonated with you and you're also an introvert, I've created a fairly new quiz that will ask you a few questions and it will basically determine what your strengths are. As an introverted entrepreneur, and then also some marketing methods and ways that you can use those strengths that are going to better align with your personality.

[00:22:59] Tara Reid: So that's at the tara read.com/quiz. 

[00:23:03] Jacki Hayes: Excellent. That sounds like a lot of fun, and I'm gonna go do that as soon as we get done here. So, Tara, thank you so much for your time today. Yeah, thank you so much for having me.

[00:23:17] Jacki Hayes: Thanks for hanging out with me on Here's What I Learned. If today's episode gave you an aha moment, a laugh, or something to think about, make sure you're subscribed to my email list. That's where I share even more tips, stories and behind the scenes insights to help you simplify and thrive. And remember, you get to do business and life your way.

[00:23:36] Jacki Hayes: Until next time, keep experimenting, keep simplifying, and keep learning.