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Wouldn’t it be great if there really was such thing as an ‘easy’ button? I think a whole lot more people would be running their own business, because starting a business can be a scary time. Your confidence is low and questions are repeating in your head...
 Feeling that fear or lack of confidence means you care about your success. A bigger problem, one that I would call the #1 Business Killer, is self-doubt. Self-doubt is slightly different, and manifests in subtle ways that slowly help you to sabotage yourself out of business. There have been plenty of times when I came close to this very thing, and so I learned a nifty way to stop self-doubt in its tracks. Think of it like the business ABCs – with no ‘D’!
A – Action: Do one small achievable action that will get you closer to your goal and those great ideas. By acting you’ll feel the progress and build your confidence. B – Brag: Know what you’re good at and the value you offer so when you go into deal talks or anything regarding money you know your worth and ask for it. C – Coaching: Having the support of your coach will give you the confidence to do things, will keep you accountable and will cheer you on (or kick your butt) towards what you really want helping you increase your money, progress and time! Let’s take a look at how self-doubt manifests and how the ABCs could apply to the 3 most common concerns when starting a business: money, progress, and time! Money Self-doubt looks like: You lose money when you’re not going for those clients, those customers or that big project. You cave when you wanted to ask for the bigger sale. You take lower rates for your services and you constantly undervalue yourself reducing your profit. A – Action: Ask previous clients or even friends about what you had done for them and the value you offer. By getting testimonials you’re results will speak for you and build your confidence. B – Brag: Create your own list the top 10 results your clients have. Then read it over often and make sure it’s on your promotional material and website. C – Coaching: Your coach will empower you to feel confident to ask for what you’re worth by getting to the heart of why you devalue yourself. Then they’ll hold you accountability when you go into meetings, so you don’t cut your prices. Here is your coaching question: What is it costing me to not receive what I’m worth? Progress Self-doubt looks like: You don’t follow-up with others you feel are above you and end up missing out on networking, referral and affiliate opportunities. You don’t do things that others haven’t done, so you don’t stand out. You don’t put new products or services into play or take a chance on your latest great idea so you stay in the same place. No process means limited success. A – Action: Make a list of people who you’d like to get to know or do business with. Then pick one a day and contact them. B – Brag: Speak up about your great ideas. Whether for your business, a community group or your family being heard builds confidence especially when they pick your idea. C – Coaching: Having a coach to bounce ideas off of can help to get you clear about which ones you want to pursue and which ones you want to put on the back burner. By creating a plan you’ll have a clear picture of where you are going and by committing to action you will make progress. Here is your coaching question: Where do I get held back? Time Self-doubt looks like: You’re spreading yourself too thin and being everything to everyone and end up being too busy. By lacking the ability to say “no” to others or speak up for yourself it’s costing you time to work on things that matter most and time to be with those you love the most. A – Action: Make a list of all the things you’re doing in every area of life. Then make a list of all the things you’d love to do if you had more hours in the day. B – Brag: Look at your list of responsibilities and figure which ones are not worth your energy and time anymore by asking yourself: Do I love this activity? Do I need it and do I want it? If the answer is no to all three – cut it out! C – Coaching: Your coach can help you to look at your priorities, what you’re missing out on and help you to choose where to spend your time and how to be more focused and efficient with it. Here’s an important coaching question for your happiness: What do I want to say, “yes” to in my life? Example, vacation, exercise, movie nights, date nights etc. Want some support around learning the Business ABCs without the ‘D’? I’m giving away a coaching session to one of my peeps! Share in the comments where your self-doubt creeps in and what you want to have more of: money, progress and/or time. xo Diane P.S. If you found this valuable please share it with someone else.
2 Comments
4/6/2014 01:03:45 am
My self doubt creeps in at night time when I am in bed. Fear can be paralyzing. FEAR false evidence appearing real. Concerns of whether I will make it on my own, be able to pay my bills, or whether I will need to get a job. My goal is to see progress by new team members, have my income increase my monthly to eventually be at the position where I have more time that I do not have to exchange for dollars. To also help others do the same...:)
Diane Rolston
4/16/2014 02:41:37 pm
Great share Tracy! I think what you're expressing is often on a lot of small business owners minds. At night is often when we getting worrying, fearing, and in anxiety about things because it's when we stop "doing" and are just "being". A tip for this is to spend 5-10 minutes twice a day (earlier on) to just be still. You can even lay down if you have that as an option. And just be there (like you would at night) and see what comes to you. If nothing does then ask yourself, "How am I feeling right now?" and go from there. Actually this makes me want to write a blog about it. Stay tuned and CONGRATS Tracy - you won't he coaching session! Ill be in touch! Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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