Whether you’re an introvert or just a little nervous about putting your business out there, today I want to share some tips with you about ways to build confidence within your business
Being a salesman feels grody. Putting yourself and your business out there on social platforms is a scary thing. Especially if you’ve never done it. So, how do you overcome fear and build confidence in not only your business but yourself? Here’s what I’ve learned along the way that I’m hoping will help you too.
How to overcome fear and build confidence in your business
Make sure you have a niche
I tried (unsuccessfully) to start several blogs back in the day. They ranged anywhere from random recipes to sewing projects to couponing. My problem was that I knew I wanted to blog but I couldn’t find the right niche. Which means I couldn’t find the right audience. Which means that I felt very uncomfortable “advertising” anything I was doing because I had a group of friends that weren’t really in to any of those things.
It is hard to overcome fear in business if you don’t know who you’re “selling to”. Even if you’re not selling an actual product, you’re selling yourself and your authority on the topic. When you are laser focused (like home renovations and DIY or on being the best virtual assistant ever) you will realize that it’s easier to talk about the topic with your audience, even if you don’t have an audience yet.
Start with what you already know
You can get fired from your job, but you can’t get fired from what you know. You own your knowledge. Go ‘head and tweet that cuz that junk is powerful.
Believe it or not in this day and age of social media, people appreciate authenticity. I can promise you this. The most engagement I get on my posts in my home and DIY blog are when I talk about real life – the ridiculous things my son eats (like 32 plastic cherries from a Hi Ho Cherry Oh game), the fact that we struggle with infertility and it’s miserable, or show what our house really looks like behind the scenes.
People like pretty, but they love real.
You can trust me because I promise you I had to learn this the hard way. When I started this whole “entrepreneur” journey (still feels weird to say that), I noticed how people wrote captions on their IG posts, how they wrote posts on their sites and I tried to copy them. Not blatantly, but just emulate their style. And it got me nowhere. It wasn’t until I started letting people see the funny side of me that my engagement went way up. Yes I am very serious about both of my businesses, but I also have a dry sense of humor and love to laugh.
Embrace what makes you weird. It probably is the thing that will make you valuable.
Always talk like you’re on a stage in front of thousands
But don’t live and die by the numbers. Yes, numbers are super important, but they don’t define you. Numbers can’t help you build confidence. They can actually even stop you from overcoming fear, too.
You may be starting your site or social sites completely from scratch. I did. Both my home decor stuff and my business stuff started completely from scratch. It’s hard to watch those numbers crawl up at a snails pace, only to see them drop down every couple of days or so.
When you talk about your niche, give tips people may not know. Answer questions people are asking in the space. Know your niche so well that you can even anticipate questions people ask because you’ve either A, seen people ask them or B, asked them yourself.
Stop being so afraid to fail
I’m not wired this way, so I don’t understand this one but I see it so much. People are just so afraid to fail. Listen, I fail all the time. Daily, even. AND I post many of my fails on my blog or social media.
You see all the quotes about failing to try, blah blah blah and you agree, but yet, you’re still paralyzed.
The answer is always no unless you ask.
You will never know what is on the other side of you just taking one little baby step forward. You will surely have some people that criticize you or don’t understand what you do. I have many people in my life who literally don’t understand what I do and don’t know why I get so antsy around deadlines because they don’t understand that I even have deadlines.
To build confidence you have to start. To overcome fear you have to start.
Is your biggest problem that you don’t know where to start?
My answer is research! Google and YouTube can be your best friends. What I love is that not only will it show you what’s out there, but it also shows you what’s not out there and where you can swoop in and fill the gap.
Want to know a secret?
It’s the whole reason my entire site even exists! I saw a huge gap and I was annoyed and wanted to provide valuable information that wasn’t just one more “click bait” type site.
Do you have any tips on how to build confidence and overcome fear in your business?
I’d love to hear them below! Let me know in the comments.
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