Lacking confidence? Don’t worry, all entrepreneurs do at times. But the key is to bouncing back fast and strong. Here are the best strategies, you can use right now, from our TPE community:
1. Faith It Until You Make It
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: The word confidence means with faith. Wake up each day knowing that someone will say yes and give you a chance. If you call enough people or email encough prospects a deal has to happen. Don’t fake what you can faith and when you make it keep the faith.
2. If You’ve Learned Something, You Haven’t Failed
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Most people get paralyzed by their imagined fears … what if I fail? what if I lose money? what if I lose face? A better use of imagination is, “what can I learn by forging ahead?” “what if everything worked out for the best?” As long as you learn something from your efforts, you have not failed because you have grown, become a better person, and next time you will do better! And, with the right mindset, 99% of the time you will succeed. Thomas Edison said that success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. I am the author of a book called The Law of Attraction and Other Secrets of Visualization with even more tips.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Confidence sells! If you refuse to be needy and instead focus on what value you can truly bring to your prospect, than your needs will be met. Ultimately your success is about THEM, not you. Remember – perfect love drives out fear.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Stay curious – your curiosity will unveil new opportunities, lead you to alternative methods, and uncover markets you hadn’t previously considered. These discoveries can improve your bottom line by increasing efficiency, improving quality and expanding connections.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: The current marketplace can do a number on your confidence – if you let it! Remember to project the image of the person you WANT to be. Dress for the role you WANT to have. When you walk in a room, let people see the souped up model of yourself. Keep your head held high, your words positive and let your competition wallow in the muck.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: The simplest answer is to be authentic. Don’t be a shark in some situations and a kitten in others. If you’re geeky, be geeky. If you’re not, don’t try to fake it. This goes as much for your company’s identity as your personal identity. If your organization isn’t full of young, hip people, don’t try to make that your corporate culture. Your chances of pulling it off are slim and you’d be creating a culture that’s either deceitful or that makes your
employees feel awkward. Neither of those instill confidence.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: It’s tough out there for sure…and it is not easy to always believe you will get through this difficult time. If you let fear overwhelm you, you will never succeed. I suggest putting some motivational words in front of you every day (mine are on my desk, my screen saver, taped to the wall in my office). My motivation is that I must believe more than I fear! Every time I start to feel anxious or less confident, I read these words, take a deep breath and move forward. What will your words be to make you take the next step – feel free to use mine! I know they work!
8. The Ultimate Fear Repellant & Confidence Booster
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: The ultimate confidence builder is ACTION. You can dispel fear, build your self-image, and grow your business by taking consistent, well-planned action. If you take the first step, the next one will appear. You create your life through your actions – make it happen!
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: There is an old story about two miners who spent their life savings on mining equipment. Bought rights to mine for gold at a certain mountain. The mine produced nothing, the miners ran out of money, sold their equipment and rights to the next “sucker” and returned home.
The next “sucker” did a little planning and figured that the path the previous miners were on was a good one, but just needed a little more digging. He mined a mere three more feet and struck a gold vein. That miner went on to become a millionaire. …three more feet!
However, there is good news for the first miners too. They didn’t give up trying again, but in a different field. Both miners went into the insurance business and became one of the largest insurance companies in the world (I forget off hand which one it is now). But, they too kept on with confidence that they could make a success at their business.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: The fear of what could happen usually causes more problems than what IS actually happening. With the culture of fear the news media likes to create its hard not to be afraid, but stop and look at what is really going on in your life right now. If you are like me some money has been lost, budgets have been tightened, and you are just praying it doesn’t get worse. NO ONE knows what will happen, its just too complicated, and since there is little you can do to fix the economy, try to live in the moment. Stay positive and keep your creativity flowing, you need this so you can think about new ways to do biz. It also helps if you can share and create a positive atmosphere others can join in, that’s something we all need now!
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: External forces can only affect your attitude if you let them, so keep your mindset focused on what you want your future to be like, rather than a worst case scenario!
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: In Latin, “confidence” literally means “with faith.” To keep your confidence up, you almost have to play a game with yourself–the game of self-talk. Talk to yourself about faith in yourself. (And get others to talk to you, too!) Make a list of all your accomplishments, starting with the five-year-old bravery required when you left your comfort zone at home and headed off to kindergarten.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence:
CONFIDENCE comes from knowing uncertain times provide opportunity. Keep in mind the Chinese ideogram for “chaos” also represents “opportunity.” The small entrepreneur, who is faster, leaner and creative can profit in a turbulent market.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: I don’t approach such situations with the idea that “things will be OK.” The outcome of difficult situations is often out of our hands — and wishing and hoping isn’t what makes something end up “OK.” Instead I think of the possible outcomes if I DO take action, compared to the possible outcome if I do NOT take action. If those competing alternatives tip on the scale of taking action, is a great motivator to face the fear and take action anyway.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Confidence comes completely from with in. Uncertainty fosters when we are unsure. How does one address uncertainty and develop confidence? The most simple and best tip I can offer is to get the facts. Educate yourself. And keep an open mind. It’s so easy to dwell on the negative and feed into all the gloom and doom. Education will allow you to come from a point certainty. (I.e. the unemployment rate is 9.4%. Although higher than recent years this means over 90% of people are employed). Think positive and go out do what you do best.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: When confidence is low, I almost always turn to books. Reading helps me relax and refocus my mind away from negative thoughts. Also, because the authors I read often have been through similar situations (and found success), I get new ideas for dealing with whatever issues are causing my low confidence. The key is surrounding yourself with a collection of new and old books related to your entrepreneurial venture.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: To feel confident, draw from your own experience using “sense memory”. Think of an event in your life that made you feel confident. Close your eyes and recall the season, temperature, sounds, smells; use all your senses. Confidence will surface. When you need it, close your eyes and return to that moment. Your confidence will be real.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: There’s never a problem. The question, “Will everything be OK?” is a trap question. It’s phrasing implies that it’s possible for things to NOT be OK. As Shakespeare said, “Nothing good or bad happens, until you think it so.” Everything is always “OK”. In fact, everything is always perfect. That never changes. What changes is our ability or willingness to acknowledge the OK-ness of things. So you ask, “How is it OK that my house just got foreclosed upon?!” Well, it IS OK. It ain’t bad; it just is. And it’s OK. And if you want to have any good chance of changing that circumstance (because you might prefer that), then you’ll want to opt to see it as OK rather than catastrophic. When we worry, we we paralyze our creativity. When we choose joy, we activate creativity. So, worry is useless. It’s OK. It always has been. It always will be. Joy is a choice. And it’s the most intelligent choice anyone interested in success could ever make.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: “History is doomed to repeat itself”, is this old adage is true? We are constantly comparing today to the crises of the Great Depression, or past recessions and each one of those we have come back a stronger nation. I think we must look back our past but not in a regretfull way but with confidence to know that we will get through this. Those who have the confidence to stick through it now will benefit greatly once it is over.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Nothing in life is certain except for confidence! How do I know everything will be okay? I am confident that I can make a difference because I believe I am here to help my clients. Confidence in yourself, self-assurance that you will make a difference, and self-reliance come about with the inner dialogue you have with yourself. Have you had other rocky roads? Have your come through them to be better in unexpected ways? In answering yes, you know that you and your clients will come through this as well.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Confidence is a really healthy disease to have…when you have it, it attracts, energizes, inspires and builds relationships. Money may come and go, but a “can-do” attitude lasts forever. Confidence tip – get over trying to be perfect. You are not (take a moment and breathe, it may be shocking to face this reality…inhale, exhale…you ok? Good. Keep reading…) We become more confident the more we embrace our true professional selves, flaws, quirks and all. Our imperfections are what make us memorable.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: It’s so simple, but it works for me every single time. Each morning, especially when I’m having problems, I go for a run through my neighborhood listening to upbeat and empowering music. Songs such as Pink’s “So What” and Gwen Stefani’s “Whatcha Waitin For” and anything else that gets me going. Running it out while rocking it out really sets me in a fantastic mood, ready to take on the day and anything thrown at me!
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Know your options! Entrepreneurs in any economy need to always have a plan A, B, C and D…and more to not only survive but continue to build their business in both booming and trying times like these. And your business is not the only thing that needs options (ie: other prospective product lines, services, investors, partners), you as an entrepreneur do too! Don’t forget there are numerous routes you can take to pursue your entrepreneurial passions if one doesn’t work out – from consulting to freelancing, franchising, partnerships, virtual operations to raw startups.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: You have to maintain your confidence in tough times because a lack of confidence is a lack of motivation, no motivation equals no progress. If we all lack confidence who will lead us out of this recession!!!
BE. CONFIDENT.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Confidence comes from being your authentic self and doing the thing you love very well. If you’ve been holding back or pretending to be something you’re not, now is the time to let it out.
This is the kind of confidence that makes companies like Apple launch a crazy-expensive phone in a recession and have people lined up down the block to buy one.
If you’re doing what you love and it shows, your customers will respond.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Many years ago I made a decision that changed my life – I would rather wear an outlandish pair of ‘rose-coloured’ glasses that support and empower me to achieve my goals in ANY economy, than a ‘realistic’ set of prescription lenses that stopped me from truly seeing and living my dreams. Each and every day, YOU have the choice of which lenses to put on. The choice has always been yours and the possibilities are infinite. Today is a brand new day – you can choose to embody characteristics and personality traits that empower you and move you closer to your goals or you can chose to adopt a persona of negativity and pessimism.
It has been scientifically proven that your mind doesn’t know the difference between reality and what you vividly imagine so why not chose something that’s going to make your life richer, happier and more fulfilling?
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Mark Twain once said,
“Why not go out on a limb, isn’t that where all the fruit is?”
Yes, it’s a recession. Yes, there are more people vying for the same piece of fruit.
You aren’t competing with them. There’s no competition.
Imagine a direct, unbroken line between you and your goal. Then breathe it, sleep it, hunger for it, want it, reach for it ~ whatever “it” is. And reach it you will. The clock hasn’t run out. Time isn’t up. This isn’t a cosmic game of musical chairs.
There is still time ~ and need ~ for planetary pioneers, global visionaries. There always has been and there always will be.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: It is impossible to maintain confidence in uncertain times unless you have a clear vision, and choose to stick to it regardless of the circumstances.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Uncertain times are not uncommon. Even in good economic times things can happen that knock you off your plan. This can cause people to be nervous.
The best safety net that you can have is a strong network of mutually beneficial contacts who can (and will) assist you in your times of need. A network helps you never worry about from where you next opportunity will come.
People get confused about networking, and think it is just something to do when they are in need of finding others to help them. WRONG.
The problem with waiting until you need something to “go network” is that you are just there for selfish reasons. Those who develop real networks make it part of their lifestyle, and are ALWAYS looking for how they can help others. Thus, others will always want to return such favors.
Always network like your future career depends on it…because it does. When you have a network, you will have confidence.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: …with the possible exception of styrofoam. But I digress. If you’re doing what our government SHOULD be doing–spending less, implementing creative ways to save your AND your customers’ money, and capitalizing on this TEMPORARY glitch by showing your customers you care about them, you’ll make it through this. When it’s over (and it WILL be over soon,) you’ll not only survive–you’ll thrive, because you’ve increased your customer base and earned their loyalty. 1) Keep a positive “can’t fail” attitude and 2)as a consumer, think about what your most-often-shopped companies can do for you to help you out, and do those things for YOUR customers!
33. Find And Partner With People Already Reaching Your Market
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: In a tough economy, one of the best strategies is to hook up with people who already reach the people you want to buy from you. You get both their implied credibility and their contacts.
The trick is to offer your marketing partners real, solid reasons why this is in THEIR interest.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: My advice for other entrepreneurs is similar to my advice about raising children – it is a marathon not a sprint. Understand your business idea, define it and then take time to make it grow. Almost all ideas do not become an instant success and you need to have patience and perseverance to make it happen.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: It’s deja vu .. meaning “already seen.” We’ve seen tough times and survived tough times; we will this time too. By keeping our eyes on the “big” picture, we can emerge wiser, more confident and better prepared for the next challenge.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Be grateful. We’re in a country where red tape is low, entrepreneurship is encouraged, and creativity is part of the American way. Many countries don’t encourage an entrepreneurial culture, and we have it.
Gratitude for being able to start a business, gratitude for the freedom to decide where to work, gratitude for the ability to work, to decide where we live, to decide which healthcare plans we’d like (again, all in comparison to how other countries operate, and specifically developing nations) makes us realize…
How much we have.
This gives us a humble confidence to continue pursuing our dreams, step by step.
Gratitude brings a sense of joy, peace and then confidence so that we can maintain our course. Go for it – - and be grateful along the path!
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: If all else fails, have a seat on the floor. 1) a lot more things will be “looking up” and 2) you can’t fall off the floor.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: You’ve had successes. Remember one that felt great. Then take a deep breath. Remind yourself that right here -right now all is well. Get yourself centered. Then you can think clearly and get moving again!
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Yep! Bury your head and stay away from TV, radio, newspapers… all the doom and gloom depressing news(PEOPLE TOO)! And it doesn’t mean burying your head in the sand; you can bury it in your business, your customers, yourself, family, inspiring books, magazines, podcasts, books, etc.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: To move forward with confidence in your entrepreneurial life you have to get over yourself. Truly. What I mean is what ever it is you are doing, it’s not about you, it’s about what you can do for other people that makes you a more confident individual. When you make a difference in someone’s life you know it in your heart of heart and that brings you great confidence in your abilities and great confidence that your future is bright. Don’t stress over whether or not you have the talent or the skill to create something, do something or be someone. Success will appear out of what seems like thin air when you follow your instinct, your intuition. Wake up each day with the intention to help others and in turn create opportunity then your confidence will shine through.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: This quote by David Ogilvy is the underlying principle I use when setting and achieving goals for my business. It is very tempting to set goals I know I can achieve no matter what. On the surface, it appears I am setting myself and my organization up to win. There’s no risk, and, ultimately, very little reward. It’s just not as exciting or empowering to do what I know I can do over and over again.
When I set a stretch goal for myself, my world changes. The element of uncertainty adds a welcome challenge and it is exhilarating. It makes coming to work each day, an opportunity for greatness. If the goal is high enough, even if I don’t get all the way to it, getting most of the way there is beyond what I might have predicted was possible and it exceeds the expectations of those I serve. If the goal is low, and I don’t get there, that’s the kind of failure that erodes one’s confidence.
Success breeds success. Once a goal is achieved or a project completed, rather than resting on my laurels, I set another stretch goal and begin the game anew. In addition to knowing I am doing work that is meaningful, striving for the extraordinary keeps me motivated and energized. it also produces great results.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: I find it very motivating to dress up myself as if I’m going out even though my office is just a foot away from my kitchen sink:)
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: During a challenging time or even as you begin to build the easiest way to keep your head up is to set small goals that you can succeed at easily, once to successfully accomplish the goal you now have gained a new power to increase the goals & continue to move forward with the willingnedd to take new risks! Behold the turtle, he makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. Are you sticking your neck out far enough today?rnrn
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Join an entrepreneurial forum where like-minded people come together to support one another. Examples: Savor the Success, National Association of Women’s Business Owners, Make Mine a Million $ Business RACE. It’s contagious when people are cheering you on — and you get to support others — and will boost confidence.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: With the state of the economy today, there is a great reason to lack confidence. All you hear is bad news. However, as entrepreneurs, we need to keep our confidence going or else we could fail.
In order to keep up our confidence, we must have hope, for hope breeds confidence. Not only do we need hope, we also need to develop faith that things will get better. Faith = hope = confidence.
An easy way to gain faith, which will strengthen your hope, which in turn will boost your confidence is to look at those who are prospering. Do some investigating and see what they are doing. You may learn a thing or two. Just by seeing others doing well can give you the confidence that you can do well to.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Exercise! There’s just something about a good workout that makes you feel good, confident and ready to take on whatever comes your way.
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: Keep your advisors and confidants close by.
When in doubt or feeling unsure, pick up the phone or send an email to your trusted confidants. They know where you’ve been, where you are going and can help you stay on track when you inadvertantly derail yourself!
How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence: There are 3 musts for being Confident in ANY situation.
1. Find your POWER Colour and WEAR it. Mine is RED!
2. Never entertain the idea of Failure. Why would you? Always assume you will get your way.
3. All the world is a stage right? Well find your Confidence character and wear their persona when being YOU isn’t enough.FAKE IT till you MAKE IT!!! No one will ever know the difference. Maybe he’s Sean Connery or she’s Tyra Banks. Confidence comes from how you move your body. Confidence comes from visualizing yourself doing things and most importantly Confidence is a choice you make.
11 Responses to “How Entrepreneurs Build Confidence”
Ellen Delap Says:
July 14th, 2009
There are so many amazing ideas here! Thanks to all for sharing! I agree with Michael, this is the best TPE blog so far and really cultivates his win win win strategy. Thanks Michael!
Joshua Elliot Says:
July 14th, 2009
That was some awesome encouragement in building confidence.
Alison Moore Smith Says:
July 14th, 2009
Love reading all the great ideas here.
Brian Holbrook Says:
July 14th, 2009
If you want to be confident, you must first realize that confidence is simply a state of mind and that you are in charge of your mind.
The trouble with most people is that they are not willing to do what it takes to manage their mindset. They let other people affect them or simply cruise on autopilot.
Realize that your mind is the most powerful tool that you have. Gain control over it and you will have gained control over your world.
Forget everything else and just believe in yourself. Adopt the attitude of confidence and you will become it. Act like it, talk like it and tell yourself that you are.
“Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford
J. Scott Alexander Says:
July 14th, 2009
Thank you for all of the great ideas. When you are an entrpreneur many people do not have the same vision as you do, so you must have confidence.
Regards,
jscottalexander.com
Adalia Says:
July 15th, 2009
These are powerful ideas for staying confident and I will certainly keep them in my files. Whenever, I need a confidence boost, I will reach in and choose one. Confidence is the foundation of our success and it is also one of the keys to our greatness
ExRat Says:
August 11th, 2009
If you’d told me you had 48 ’sound-bite’ confidence tips from different people that were really helpful, I might have just put it on a list of things to do later, and perhaps never got around to it.
But there’s something about this page that really works, and is not ‘just another’ 48 tips.
It’s also a win-win for the reader and contributor. Yes, I have about 18 new browser tabs to explore as well as a swipe file of my favourite tips from this page.
Thanks to you and the contributors for this page. It was in the right place at the right time for me.
how to build confidence Says:
August 27th, 2009
The question how to build confidence can be responded by a long answer. Building confidence takes time. Always think that it is not impossible at all. We need to undergo the process. Just make sure that you dont get over-confident.
self improvement Says:
September 8th, 2009
Nice collection. I guess I am going to bookmark this page. I particularly liked “If You’ve Learned Something, You Haven’t Failed”.
I try to face my fears by seeing them head on in my imagination first, and repeating it in my mind until I am comfortable with that thought. Then it is a matter of projecting it to reality when the time comes. And yeah, if you fail, it is just a step closer to success.
Samuel Lee Says:
February 9th, 2010
There’s only 1 way to overcome fears : Confront them.
July 14th, 2009
There are so many amazing ideas here! Thanks to all for sharing! I agree with Michael, this is the best TPE blog so far and really cultivates his win win win strategy. Thanks Michael!
July 14th, 2009
That was some awesome encouragement in building confidence.
July 14th, 2009
Love reading all the great ideas here.
July 14th, 2009
If you want to be confident, you must first realize that confidence is simply a state of mind and that you are in charge of your mind.
The trouble with most people is that they are not willing to do what it takes to manage their mindset. They let other people affect them or simply cruise on autopilot.
Realize that your mind is the most powerful tool that you have. Gain control over it and you will have gained control over your world.
Forget everything else and just believe in yourself. Adopt the attitude of confidence and you will become it. Act like it, talk like it and tell yourself that you are.
“Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford
July 14th, 2009
Thank you for all of the great ideas. When you are an entrpreneur many people do not have the same vision as you do, so you must have confidence.
Regards,
jscottalexander.com
July 15th, 2009
These are powerful ideas for staying confident and I will certainly keep them in my files. Whenever, I need a confidence boost, I will reach in and choose one. Confidence is the foundation of our success and it is also one of the keys to our greatness
August 11th, 2009
If you’d told me you had 48 ’sound-bite’ confidence tips from different people that were really helpful, I might have just put it on a list of things to do later, and perhaps never got around to it.
But there’s something about this page that really works, and is not ‘just another’ 48 tips.
It’s also a win-win for the reader and contributor. Yes, I have about 18 new browser tabs to explore as well as a swipe file of my favourite tips from this page.
Thanks to you and the contributors for this page. It was in the right place at the right time for me.
August 27th, 2009
The question how to build confidence can be responded by a long answer. Building confidence takes time. Always think that it is not impossible at all. We need to undergo the process. Just make sure that you dont get over-confident.
September 8th, 2009
Nice collection. I guess I am going to bookmark this page. I particularly liked “If You’ve Learned Something, You Haven’t Failed”.
I try to face my fears by seeing them head on in my imagination first, and repeating it in my mind until I am comfortable with that thought. Then it is a matter of projecting it to reality when the time comes. And yeah, if you fail, it is just a step closer to success.
February 9th, 2010
There’s only 1 way to overcome fears : Confront them.
February 10th, 2010
@Samuel – I agree 100% !!!