Do you understand the many elements that can influence your confidence as a woman in business?
As a fellow entrepreneur, I feel empowered and fortunate to be in a position to support such a thriving community. I also understand the impact a lack of confidence has on so many of the ladies in the Woman Who community.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report found that a lack of confidence is a major obstacle for women. Can you relate to this?
Running your business might be a small fraction of your life as you also juggle childcare, family commitments, caring for a parent, and social activities. It’s easy to slide into feelings of overwhelm as you cope with everything. This can lead to moments of ‘I’m not enough’.
How to build your confidence
Silencing the negative inner dialogue that often accompanies a lack of confidence can be done. Start being kind to yourself and using positive language until you feel a shift in your mindset.
Once you change the way you talk to and about yourself you can build on this by using these five key elements.
Embrace the positive impact you have on others
Why did you start your business? Did you have a product or service that you knew would be beneficial to others? Be proud and passionate about what you offer and remind yourself WHY you began this entrepreneurial journey.
The impact you have on your customers is a sound way of building your confidence. Review the feedback you’ve received or any testimonials left on your social platforms. Print them out and keep them in a folder that you can refer to whenever you need a boost.
Use this social proof to your advantage by sharing it on social media and building trust with your audience so they want to learn more about you. People buy from people, and if you have confidence in yourself this will shine through in your content and attract your tribe.
Set your boundaries
Confidence comes when you work in balance with yourself. As women, we can fall into the trap of people-pleasing and forget how to say no. Start by reviewing your core values (principles that you consider important). Are you working in alignment with your top values or struggling against them? If ‘family’ is an important value to you but you’re working 60 hours a week then you need to find a way to correct this.
Saying no takes confidence, and standing up for what you believe and deserve takes confidence, but the difference setting boundaries makes in your life is worth building a more confident character trait.
What boundaries can you set in your business today?
Embrace your vulnerability
In the Woman Who Achieves Academy, we work hard to create opportunities for the members that will raise their visibility and boost their confidence.
Taking advantage of any speaking opportunities is high on the list, but standing on stage or talking to a crowd either face-to-face or online can be a huge challenge for some.
To break through the barriers of a lack of confidence you must embrace your vulnerability. Hiding away won’t win you any business or help your sales targets, so perhaps it’s time to step out of the shadows and be open to new prospects.
“When I saw the opportunity to join Sandra’s Woman Who Achieves Academy, I knew it would be one of the best decisions I made. I wasn’t wrong as her weekly hints and tips are invaluable to me on my journey to becoming a public speaker. She has a calming and supportive manner which makes her a pleasure to listen to and her words are spoken with sincerity and integrity. I have felt a sense of her innate warmth and her experience is evident in so many areas.” – Abbi Head
There’s a fabulous talk by Brene Brown on Embracing Vulnerability that you may enjoy.
Learn from your mistakes
There is no need to shy away from making mistakes or feel embarrassed by failure. These errors are there for you to learn from. If you choose to stick your head in the sand then you’ll pile more stress and anxiety on your shoulders and risk damaging your confidence long-term.
“If you’re not making some notable mistakes along the way, you’re certainly not taking enough business and career chances.” – Sallie Krawcheck
The first action step to take when you’ve made a mistake is to own it. Admit defeat, review what went wrong, and build on a better solution. By doing this you will begin to build more self-confidence and show your audience that you are resilient and honest.
Ask yourself a series of important questions:
- What went wrong?
- Why did it go wrong?
- What was I trying to achieve in the first place?
Once you establish the lesson you need to learn it’s vital you act on this to correct the mistake and grow more confident in dealing with challenges.
Understand your body language
Have you ever watched a keynote speaker on stage and marvelled at how confident they are? Yes, what they are talking about matters, as does the audience engagement, but how the speaker presents themselves also plays a big role.
You can almost trick your mind into believing you are more confident by the way you stand, walk, and dress for success.
Do you have a favourite outfit or power suit that makes you feel a million dollars whenever you wear it? It will be different for everyone. Some people have a particular dress that imbues them with confidence, while others feel more confident in more casual attire. The colours we wear also have a powerful impact on us.
Your nonverbal cues say more about you than you realise, and your body language speaks volumes about your self-confidence. Curling your shoulders in a bid to stay small will make you invisible to your audience. Try standing tall with your shoulders back and your chin slightly raised. This simple change in body language will be viewed very differently by anyone observing you.
Eye contact also shows confidence, and while that may be tricky when you’re not face-to-face, it can be achieved online by looking directly into the camera on your computer. Connection shows confidence.
What next?
Each month Woman Who hosts the Woman Who Inspires Online Network, and tickets to our March event are now live.
As usual with Woman Who events, there will be networking, inspirational speakers, and learning with this month’s theme; Confidence. This month’s Woman Who Inspires Network event is very special as it’s also a celebration of International Women’s Day and the official launch of the Woman Who Achieves Awards 2022 #IWD2022 #BreaktheBias
Being part of a large membership or academy is the perfect way to nurture your growth mindset, and there is an entire community willing and able to help you.
Interested in boosting your confidence when you’re speaking in public? Ask about the Woman Who Retreat, just get in touch
If you’re interested in joining the growing community of businesswomen, you can join here or find out more here.
