Over the years, I’ve worked with 100s of business owners just like you – people who have a great business idea, tons of passion, and a willingness to work hard to turn their dreams into reality.
Yet even with passion and determination, there’s a lot that they don’t know when it comes to running a business. So they often lack confidence in themselves and their abilities to pull it off.
They become scared to put themselves out there.
They worry about what people will say.
Many are afraid of failure.
Some are afraid of success.
grow your confidence, grow your business.
When I first started my business, I was no different. I also lacked confidence in my abilities as a business owner. Because although I had 10+ years of experience with business, I have zero experience “in business”.
I believed that I had no idea what I was doing, and sometimes felt that I had no right to be doing what I was doing.
But over time, my confidence grew. And with an increase in confidence, my business grew too.
Today I’m sharing 5 ways to grow your confidence, so that you can grow your business.
1. be honest about your skills gaps
I’m a firm believer that the essential skills required to be successful at business can be learned.
First need to have the courage to admit what you don’t know.
Then you need to push yourself outside of your comfort zone a bit.
And you may even need to stop telling yourself that you’re “no good” at it so that you’re more open to learning these new skills.
Take the time to read, learn, implement, and experiment, you can definitely become “good enough” at most things.
The more you know, the more your confidence will grow. And eventually you’ll be in a position where you can outsource or hire someone to do these things for you!
2. know your ideal customer
You absolutely cannot be in business “for everyone”.
You need to be really clear about who your business is for and what problems or needs your product or service addresses.
Once you have this clarity, your confidence will soar!
You’ll know exactly who you need to be speaking to, where they hang out (online and offline), how your product or service fits their needs, and what words to use to make people want to buy from you.
Marketing becomes easier.
Networking becomes easier.
Selling becomes easier.
The more you sell, the more you’ll believe in yourself and your business. The process becomes easier each time!
3. sell something people want
Often, business owners lack confidence because they aren’t entirely sure of what they’re selling. I see this more frequently with service providers, but products can miss the mark, too.
People will only buy products, services and packages which solve a real problem or fulfil a need that they are currently facing.
So once you decide on your offering, you’ll want to test it out with potential customers, get their feedback, and make iterations where needed.
You may need to go through a few rounds of this process before you find the perfect fit. But once you have it, you’ll know that people truly want what you’re offering and selling becomes so much easier.
Less resistence = less rejection.
Less rejection = increased confidence.
4. understand your numbers
I’ve lost track of how many entrepreneurs have told me that they’re “no good with numbers”. Often this is a long-standing belief that begins at a young age.
From watching how our families deal with money.
To having a bad maths teacher.
To receiving poor results in school.
To a deep-rooted hatred of Excel.
Whatever their reason, it causes them to hide from their numbers. They have no idea how much they need to earn to cover expenses. They price out of emotion rather than facts. They make bad decisions about spending. And they run out of cash, quickly.
Money doesn’t have to be complicated, but you do need to get to grips with the basics – setting a budget, tracking the money coming in and going out, and pricing in a way that not only covers expenses, but allows you to make money in the future.
If you can increase your confidence around the numbers side of your business, decision-making becomes easier. You’ll know what you can afford, what you need for the next stage, and how to bridge the gap.
5. own your story
It’s easy to think that when you reinvent yourself from whatever you were doing before to what you want to do NOW, that none of your past experience is relevant anymore.
And because of this, you may lack confidence when talking to people about your business.
You’re not sure what to say, and what to leave out. You don’t know how to explain what you’re doing now. And sometimes you wonder why anyone will care.
Certain parts of your story will resonate with your ideal customer, and it’s your job to figure out which ones those are. The more you know about them (in step 1 above), the easier it becomes to find the right words to use when you’re sharing your story.
The words that they’ll notice.
The words that compel them to act.
And the more you share your story and practice the use of different worrds, the more you will increase your confidence in talking about yourself and your business.
The more confidence you can show when speaking, the more your customers will be confident that you’re the perfect person to help them.
ready to get confident?
Simplicity will increase your confidence as a business owner.
I simplify the most criticial business skills that you need to know, support you in implementing them, and set your business up for success.
All of this means you get focused, get confident and get customers.
Book a free consultation and take a solid step towards building the business of your dreams.
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