I recently learned one of the biggest confidence lessons in my own business.
Last week, I sent out an email to my list announcing the opening of my membership site where they can access every business and finance class I’ve ever taught. I wasn’t expecting anyone to buy it only because I didn’t do a massive launch, run ads, or even really talk about it publicly very much.
Much to my surprise, a few people signed up! I logged into my e-commerce account and there were the sales!
This prompted me to think about confidence, or rather, my lack of it. It also got me thinking about all the confidence lessons I’ve learned as I’ve built my business over the last few years. Here are just a few of them.
Not everything needs to be perfect.
One of the confidence lessons many business owners need to learn the hard way is that not everything needs to be perfect. In fact, there’s a common saying that goes, “Good is better than perfect.”
Truth be told, this was my problem with my membership site. I’ve been obsessing over it’s format since 2014 when I first did a beta run of it. Two years later, a new sales page design and a new site, and I still felt like it wasn’t enough.
Additionally, I didn’t have a perfect launch. I didn’t even have a launch! Because of this, I was certain no one was going to sign up. Boy, was I wrong!
Had I known that people were interested in a membership site created by me, even if it wasn’t perfect, I wouldn’t have waited so long to put it out there! Who knows how much money I missed out on because I was in my own way.
You probably have more influence than you think you do.
One of the confidence lessons I’ve had to learn this year is that I have a lot more influence than I think I do. Maybe I’m confusing a lack of confidence with being humble (it’s a common problem), but the reality is it’s time for me to realize that people trust me and want to learn from me.
This may sound weird seeing as how I’ve been in the online business game for a while, but my Imposter Syndrome is quite strong. And truth be told, I know I’m not the only one who underestimates just how much influence they actually have.
The problem is when we aren’t confident in ourselves and what we’ve built, we leave money on the table. Lots of it. Maybe you undercharge. Maybe you low-ball yourself for a sponsorship opportunity. Maybe, like me, you stall on announcing a product or service because you think no one will want it.
You need to stop identifying yourself with a struggle.
Another one of the major confidence lessons I’ve learned is that I’m no longer struggling so I should stop acting like it.
It’s tempting to identify with struggling in business. After all, having to overcome some sort of struggle in order to reach success is romanticized to no end. Everyone loves a good struggle story.
The problem is when we’ve encountered success and we’re still identifying with struggling. This can hold us back by making us lack confidence in where we are in our businesses.
Final Thoughts
Some people have to work a little harder at feeling confident, and that’s okay. Just make sure it doesn’t get in the way of growing your business.
