Every single business owner faces mindset issues around their expertise. Even when you are booking clients and things are going well, there are moments when you do not feel confident in your skills. You might wonder why people choose you when they could choose someone more qualified, has been in business longer or appears to be more successful. How do you deal with these typical mindset issues? Here are some helpful actions to feel confident about what you bring to the table!
Listen to Positive Feedback from Others
One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was creating a folder of positive feedback from clients, business owners, and other reviews. Wherever I am feeling shaky about my abilities, I pull out that folder and read through all of them. This folder can be especially powerful when you receive negative feedback. Negative words can rattle around in our brains over and over while we do not hold onto positivity as fiercely. Remember how many people value your expertise and skills in the marketplace! It is very uplifting.
Challenge Yourself to Learn New Things
People with healthy mindsets tend to be lifelong learners. Life-long learning is also true for business owners. Whether it is continuing education, learning new business skills, or learning more about a new client, we are always learning. A great way to build up confidence in your skills is to know what you don’t know and fill in the gaps when needed. It might be a new technology you must learn to serve your clients or continuing education for your industry.
So, challenge yourself! Take an exciting class that challenges you or makes you grow! If you run into a situation requiring information you don’t have, go find out! It will make you a more well-rounded person and business owner.
Recognize You Don’t Have to Know Everything
While you can learn a lot, recognize that you do not need to know everything to be successful. This is one of the biggest roadblocks for business owners; they think they need to be experts in everything, making them a master of nothing. Focus your efforts on being an expert in the areas that will bring revenue into your business and help you serve your clients. When finances allow, hire out the rest. Other people are experts in the areas you lack; find them and grow a support team!
Support Others with Your Expertise
You are likely extremely good at something someone else doesn’t know about. A great way to increase your confidence and battle mindset issues is to help others. We are not suggesting giving away your talents for free whenever you have the chance; that is no way to run a profitable business! Instead, look for opportunities to share your expertise that will lead to more thought leadership in the market.
You might also find organizations you would like to volunteer your time at that need your skills. Being generous with your time and expertise helps to build a more extensive network and increases relationships that can help grow your business over time.
Share Your Success
Many business owners, especially women, think sharing their successes is bragging. If done correctly, it is not bragging at all! Many of us were taught to be humble, which can be great, but not if it means denying our accomplishments.
When you are meeting with clients, or simply networking with other business owners, don’t be shy about sharing a recent accomplishment or a project that you are excited about. Often, sharing with others fuels our creativity and excitement about our work, and you open the door for other business owners to share their successes!
Avoid Online Comparison
Social media has intensified the comparison games we play with other business owners. Scrolling through our feeds has been scientifically proven to cause stress and depression. That is because what you see on social is highly curated and intentional. Business owners share a highlight reel of all the good moments and the things they WANT to show their followers. If you are feeling low, you will compare a hard day to their curated day. STOP. SCROLLING.
When you are having mindset issues around your skills, avoid social media. There is no reason to log in to make yourself feel bad. Instead, go back to the folder of positive feedback you have received and read that as many times as it takes to feel better. Social media is a great marketing tool but not good for mental health.
Mindset issues are never gone for good. When we overcome one, another comes up; this is a common part of being a business owner. If you would like to chat more about mindset or would like to talk about your business finance, please book your complimentary consultation today!
If you would like to read some of our past blog posts about mindset, check them out here:
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