What is Self-Confidence in Business and Why Does it Matter?
The Secret to Success
What if I told you there is a magical key that will help you succeed in business and life? Sounds too good to be true, right? And what if I said that you already hold this magical key in your possession, you might just need some help to find it? Well, it may sound like the stuff of fantasy novels, but it is true. The magical key is confidence. Having enough of it unlocks all your self-imposed obstacles to success and frees you to accomplish great things.
Confidence is the belief in your abilities, the foundation for everything in life. It is our confidence, or lack of it, that directly affects how we do everything. The irony is that being held back from achieving great things due to a lack of confidence is all down to mindset. You can be confident and be successful – you just have to find that key and unlock your true potential.
Why is Self-Confidence in Business so Important?
Did you ever stop to consider how your confidence, or your lack of confidence, could impact your ability to achieve success in business? If you have been lacking in self-confidence for a long time, it can be difficult to gage all the ways you are holding yourself back.
If you are just starting out in business, it is often a very scary and challenging experience. Venturing out into a world you are not familiar or comfortable with yet. Even if you are familiar with the industry you’ve chosen, there may be other aspects of business daunting you.
There is likely to be some stress and pressure on you during these initial stages of your business start-up. when you are lacking self-confidence, you may become overwhelmed by these obstacles. If you do not have the confidence to believe you can get through this stressful time, you may end up giving up before it has had a chance to succeed.
If you can grow your confidence in your abilities, you will always be able to overcome any obstacles that stand in your way. Because you have total trust in yourself and your abilities, you can take your ideas and goals and put them into action. When you encounter difficulties or obstacles along the way, your unwavering confidence that it will eventually all work out is what ensures you never give up until your goal is realised.
Can a Lack of Self-Confidence hold you back in Business?
I’m here to tell you that a lack of self-confidence will most definitely hold you back in business. If you don’t believe in your skills or abilities, the fact is that your clients will not either. And why would anyone put their livelihood in the hands of someone who doesn’t trust their own ability to do a good job?
Even if you’re skills and knowledge speak for themselves and you retain clients despite your self-doubt, your lack of confidence will invariably hold you back in other ways. For example, if you can’t see your own self-worth, you are likely to undercharge for your services.
Having self-confidence means understanding the value you offer. The clients of confident people do not question what the services or products are worth but pay what the business owner decides they are worth.
A lack of confidence will limit possibilities and prevent you from achieving your true potential. The good news is that it is completely within your power to boost your confidence. Confidence is a skill, and it is attainable for anyone willing to work on it.
Here are three sure-fire ways to grow your confidence:
Focus on Mindset
A lack of self-confidence goes hand-in-hand with a negative mindset. Developing a positive mindset is crucial to success especially if you are starting your own business. Having a positive mindset is a very powerful tool that will lead to success.
A successful business owner has no special advantages over an unsuccessful business owner. The thing that sets them apart is their mindset. Positive minded people succeed because they recognise opportunities, and don’t stop until they achieve their goals.
Focus your mind on the positive things that you have done well. Write down one positive achievement every day. No matter how small. You will be pleasantly surprised by all that you have achieved when you look back at the end of the week. If things haven’t gone to plan, embrace it as a learning opportunity. Don’t see mistakes as a negative, after all, your best teacher is your last mistake.
Embrace Failure
Yes, embrace it! Failure Is not the negative thing you may think it is.
If you are lacking in confidence, it can be easy to take every failure deeply to heart and use it as proof that you are not capable. But let me tell you: everybody fails.
Steve Jobs, JK Rowling, Richard Branson. What do all these successful people have in common? Failure. On the path to achieving success, everyone experiences failure, myself included! What separates those who go on to achieve their goals and those that do not? Persistence and mindset.
The difference between a failure that holds you back and a failure that catapults you towards future success is how you view failure.
Instead of reflecting on your failures with a mindset of “I can’t do that”, change your thinking to “I can’t do that yet”. Make this your affirmation and say it to yourself every day.
By allowing fear to hold us back from pursuing our goals, we set ourselves up for the greatest failure of all: never even trying. Without trying, your chances of success are zero.
Get Some Outside Perspective
Often, the reasons behind a pathological lack of confidence are so deep-rooted that it can take a lot of work to even begin to identify what has caused you to feel this way. Working with a Business Coach can help you figure out what is at the root of your self-doubt and build your confidence and enhance your business.
A Business Coach will challenge you, but in a supportive way. This gives you the safe space to explore what is holding you back and give you the strategies to overcome it.
Ready to you build your confidence and take your business to the next level? Get in Touch to book a free 30-minute telephone consultation to find out how to build confidence and unlock your full potential.
