Self-doubt is actually like a parasite that gloms onto your body and short circuits your wiring.

It leaves you feeling confused and off-track.  It is actually a perfect metaphor for Halloween week!

When I began my very first small business many moons ago, I was sure I was the only one who had such huge self-doubts that rumbled around in my head.

I questioned my ability and secretly thought I was a fraud.

At the same time I wanted people to buy my products. I wanted to be successful.  I was like a yoyo.

Some of the ways that self-doubt manifests include:

•  Not knowing how to charge the correct price.
•  Worried that people won’t like your work.
•  Afraid that clients will reject you.
•  Comparing yourself to others who you think are better.
•  Feeling guilty for investing in yourself.
•  Not knowing how to make good decisions.

The list can go on but you get the idea. If you feel even some of the things on this list, your business has got to be suffering. It’s like running a race with your shoe laces tied together. Self-doubt ties you up and then you have to spend all your energy to just not fall over.

Luckily there are cures for this ailment. Are you willing to do whatever it takes?  Are you desperate enough to get help?

1. Find a mastermind group of other small business owners. As you share, you will discover you are not alone. You will also realize that your assumptions are all wrong when you begin to hear from others.

2. Find someone who sees more in you than you see in yourself. That person will challenge you and get you to stop making decisions from your self-doubt. When you are in a low place it can feel very real. Someone else can shake you out of your trance.

3. Develop a business vision/plan based on what your confident-self feels is possible. It might look scary but the plan can over-ride some of the doubts.

4. Begin to notice the two parts of your psyche. One feels unsure and the other feels confident. Focus on doing things to make the confident part larger. This can include the way you dress, how your office feels,  the people you hang out with and more. Choose things that are positive and supportive.

5. Take a risk to do something to invest in yourself. Make it something big. The bigger the risk, the larger the pay off.

By the way, self-doubt is like an addiction. You can gain mastery over it and then you have to keep on doing these five things for the rest of your life.  Are you willing?

I just spent the weekend with a group of solo business owners who are all highly skilled and experts in their field; people who offer great services that help people.

Their problems were also similar; not making enough money, not enough clients, working too hard, out of balance, overwhelmed, frustrated and unsure.

I’ve been there myself so I could and can empathize completely!  It takes more than having a great skill to develop a great business.

It takes determination, focus and following a clear plan. When I encourage people to get help it’s not because I am trying to sell my services it’s because I really care and hate to see people struggle and make the same mistakes I made.

I tried to figure it all out myself in order to save money and all it did was help me to lose more money.

Blind Spots

I had blind spots ( I still do). What that means is I can’t see what I can’t see!  I was making major decisions in my business based on what I could see and that was a distorted and incomplete picture. Once I  had someone help me see past those blind spots it was like taking off a blindfold and seeing a rainbow!

Accountability

It is easy to think I will stay on track all on my own with no one to check in with. Not true. I am a creature of comfort and I shift right back into my rut of doing what I know how to do and “forget.” my new plan. Why? The new plan is hard work and it requires me to do things I feel less secure about.

From that place of insecurity I question whether it’s even important. Time goes by and I miss huge opportunities. Having someone to stay accountable to is huge to my success.

Right Steps

I remember the first month I brought in over $10,000. I was ecstatic. I thought, “If I can do this every month and increase it, I will have a real business!”  In truth, it was about looking at what I did and learning how to develop my business so I could do that every month.

It isn’t rocket science. It is figuring out what the steps are and then doing them consistently and with commitment every month.

If you put these three pieces into action you will be on the road to success and will avoid the biggest mistake most solo business owners make.

Ask me questions about any of these areas. Just put them in the comments below. I am happy to help! It is so gratifying to me when I see people “get it!”

Years ago when I was struggling there were times I felt I was missing the entrepreneurial and wealth gene.

I thought if I had only been born into a family of successful people, those mindset values would have been passed down to me and I would automatically be able to make the right decisions, take the correct risks and turn mud into gold.

Maybe you’ve had similar thoughts.

I wondered if my fate was pre-determined by my genes. But there are people like Oprah, who are born into poverty and are able to develop those leadership and traits in themselves by pure determination and focus.

I do think there are some characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset. They can be developed! One of those is the ability to intuit or trust information or feelings that come to you even if you don’t see any visible truth.

I was moved by this quote by Steve Jobs and it reminded me one of the most important and essential entrepreneurial traits; that aptitude to trust your gut feeling and nurture the ability to listen on those deeper and less visible levels.

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

I got a buzz when I read this because it gave validity to what I know I can do. When I began to trust that those dots would connect, it changed the whole way I ran my business.

I know that what I am doing now and how I do it, will make a difference in the my future and what I did in the past  has helped me to be where I am now. Steve reminded me to strengthen my commitment is to listen more and take heed to what I hear.

Move past your self doubt and begin to trust yourself!

How much do you look connect your dots?
Are you able to trust that those dots will appear in your future?

I would love to hear from you.

People seem to have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. They love the contact and community and hate the time it takes. They love meeting new people but hate the sudden technical changes.

This morning when Facebook rolled out it’s newest change to the friend’s page wall, there were a mix of comments.

Some people threatened to leave, others complained about the sidebar ticker. People don’t like change, even if it might be good. Most of us are not technically minded and we want it to be easy. Every time it changes it means we have to learn something new.

Attitude is the very most important quality in running a business. Everyday I have to deal with challenging situations and the attitude I have greatly influences the outcome and my own process.

Your attitude is the one thing you have total control over. No one can take that away from you.

Question. Do you use Facebook primarily for your business?  Are your clients or potential clients on Facebook? If this answer is yes to both then read on.

Here are a few points to help you align your attitude about the changes.

•  Your business page is where you need to focus most of your attention. Put out valuable tips and updates for your fans.

•  Your updates are the best when they create conversation, ask questions and empathize with how people are feeling.

•  Use your friend page for business as well and go with the flow of changes. Model a positive attitude to people.

•  Re-share your business page updates to your friend’s page every so often as this increases the chance of people seeing it.

•  Post positive comments and likes on other people’s posts as this also puts forth a supportive attitude.

•  Figure  out how the changes work and share and help others who are grumbling.

I love facebook. The community is amazing, the contacts and relationships have helped me to grow my business and the instant communication is phenomenal. Change is hard but this is part of being an entrepreneur and business owner.

Just breath and flow with it.
What helps you to be able to do this? How do you keep your attitude positive?

Read more on Attitude

Keep your Focus on Growing your Business

You need more money coming in. If your business is fairly new, you know it’s normal to not have huge sales at the beginning but it is still really hard! You still need to pay your rent, loan payments, buy food and all the set up costs.

If you’ve been in business a bit longer it can be even more discouraging because you think you “should,” be doing better by now so you start feeling like a failure. The stress can be overwhelming!

Does this sound like you? You have a great service and feel confident about helping people with your skills, but you need more people to help.

It was the same for me. I remember being discouraged and comparing myself to other people who appeared more successful. I assumed they had tons of customers and I didn’t know why I didn’t. Asking that question is the first step. Here is what I learned and now my sales are consistent. I hope these steps will also help you.

1. Move past your negative self-talk as that will just zap your energy and keeps you stuck like a rat in a maze. Feelings of failure will just etch way at your self-worth. It won’t help you solve the problem. Let go of shame and get help.

2. Decide to find out what is not working and why. There is always a reason and it can take a new pair of eyes to help you see past your own blind spots.

The tendency is to make more poor decisions and keep doing the same things that aren’t working. If they aren’t working, doing  them more doesn’t make it better. It just means you spend a lot of energy without a positive return.

3. Learn how marketing and sales are inter-related. When you follow a strong marketing plan, people begin to trust you and see you as an expert. They will self-select to work with you and tell their friends. Most people skip these steps and lunge right into trying to convince people, because of their own financial stress and not understanding the system. It doesn’t work. Figure out what is holding you back.

Your momentum and excitement at first will bring you some business, but it won’t last the long haul without staying focused on a strategy based on a sound marketing plan.

4. Listen to your customers or clients. The backbone of your marketing plan is based on knowing your niche customers intimately. What makes them tick and what is their problem they need help with. What benefits do they want and why.

The home page of your website needs to be all about these people and what they want. Make sure your home page is written in plain language, non-technical as most people are being driven by their emotional need.

5. Help people make the decision to hire you. Focus on the benefits they want and help them to see how receiving the benefits will make a significant difference to them. If they are hesitant then ask what that’s about.

Most people are stopped by either money, time or trust. They don’t want to spend the money or think they don’t have it. If they hire you they need to see the return on their investment and it’s up to you to help them see how that will work. Timing is always important and people will make time for something if they see it is being very important.

If you are offering a service, people need to trust that you can help them. You develop trust via your marketing process, listening and giving value.

Remember- just because you are a skilled professional and an expert at what you do, doesn’t mean you are an expert at running your business.

These five steps are essential and help and focus. It will be worth it in the long run when you begin to see your sales increase. Which of these five steps are you already doing and which ones do you need help with? Ask a question and I am happy to respond.