Five ways to create and maintain business confidence

When you start out in a new job, you usually have a work support network created for you. An induction, a mentor, a training scheme and a guide (as your job description) to what you will be doing. Well, that is what I recommend is in place for any new starters. Over time, you get familiar with the people, the processes and the politics and your career confidence grows. But what if that new job is self-employment? Where is the Training Department and line manager to cheer you on and let you know you are on track? Without this support network and measures of success, it can be harder to create business confidence when you are starting something new.

 It doesn’t matter if you are a startup (usually in the first five years of operation) or more established, crises of confidence can appear, and can be made worse if you don’t have a few mindset and motivational tools in place. I won’t bang on about the reasons why we find CHANGE difficult (you can read more about that here) but give you some practical, tried and tested ways, of helping you build your business and personal confidence during your “What am I doing?” moments of entrepreneurship.

Accept the learning curve
When you start up in business, you may underestimate the number of areas you need to learn about. I am sure you are great at the THING that people pay for, but maybe you hadn’t considered the other stuff that is part and parcel of business. The bookkeeping, the marketing, the sales, the compliance, the IT! Dependent on your resources and budget, you may be able to get people to do this for you; however, there will still be parts you need to learn about. Even if you don’t do it, you need to know enough to brief other people on what you want them to do.
For me, it’s all been about IT. I found it intimidating and would bury my head on the virtual sand. I could feel the gaps in my knowledge, and it made me feel stupid – a massive knock to my confidence. However, once I accepted that I was learning something new, that it took time and that was OK, I could see the progress I was making, my confidence grew. As my profit has grown, I’ve set aside some money to get the experts to do the bits I don’t like and can’t do as well!

Find your tribe
The one thing you lose immediately is the frequency that you see your work friends. Your water cooler moments disappear. There is no doubt that this can make you feel lonely; that lack of social interaction can lead you to judge yourself and over time, make you feel down.
However, there are lots of people out there in the same position – who are working for themselves looking for a connection. Whilst real life and virtual networking is essential for your business brand and to find customers, it has an amazing confidence building side effect. You find friends. They support you, can help you with point 1 (should you want to outsource), be a shoulder to cry on when things feel tough and help you celebrate your highs!

Ask for feedback
As an entrepreneur, we no longer have annual appraisals. No “big ups” in team meetings and emails from suppliers or colleagues saying how happy they are. But over time we will have clients that have invested their time, money and trust with us; so find out how you have helped them. It doesn’t matter if you sell a product or a service, uncover out the impact of your business on their lives or organisation. It goes without saying that you can use this information to tweak and change your offering, and promote your goods, but it’s also a great “brag book” for when your confidence has a wobble.

Track your progress
It may take a while for a steady income to come in; if you are only judging yourself on pounds and pennies, you may feel that you aren’t achieving business success. Obviously, there is only so far you can go if you aren’t making money, with profit, but some of the things you will do won’t have a financial value but will lead to income. So, think about the actions you are taking; from talks to events, to social media stats, give yourself a weekly or monthly goal and make sure you are recording them!

Promote your personality
… by doing something challenging. People buy off people; it’s an adage that has been around for ages, but It’s true! Don’t hide behind a dry, SELL SELL SELL focused approach. Make sure you are talking about what you do, how you do it, why you do it and the impact you have; even if you are product based! The way to really work on your business confidence is to do something a little out of your comfort zone. Achieving something new will give you a buzz and boost that is unrivalled. So, if you hide behind a screen, record a video. If you love video because it feels safe, attend an event. You get the drift!

So, after four years of running MY business, these are all ways that I have worked on my business confidence. These five ways give me a boost me when I am attempting something new, or when I have those rare down days. They are tools that I encourage my clients to use, and I hope that you will pick them up too and start getting yourself back on track.

What gives you a business confidence boost?. Come along to The Balance Collective with Clara Wilcox and share.

Read more of my business blogs here.