Here are very specific tools you can use for becoming a confident entrepreneur, even if you’ve secretly never felt that confident as a business owner. In the many years of teaching, coaching, and consulting I’ve done as the owner of The Confident Marketer, I’ve realized that many entrepreneurs don’t know these tools can help build their confidence.
I decided to brand my business as The Confident Marketer because of something that happened early in my business. I was asked to make a speech to about 25 women business owners. I knew about half of these women. They were making money in their businesses and good at networking in their community. I decided to change the introduction the hostess would read to introduce me to say, “Sue helps women entrepreneurs feel confident about meeting prospects and marketing their business.”
I was completely shocked at what happened next. The minute that sentence was read 25 pairs of eyeballs locked onto me. That sentence really struck a chord with these women, none of whom I would have expected to feel unconfident. In that second I decided to rebrand my business as The Confident Marketer.
What I’ve realized in talking with and mentoring thousands of women (and a few good men) over the past 12 years is that we feel a great pressure to market our businesses but often don’t have the simple tools that create confidence. What are these tools? I teach an entire course about them, but the three main points are:
- Creating and practicing a well-designed “who and do what” statement that is brief, can roll off your tongue, and invites comment or feedback from the person you’ve just met. The trick in creating a killer “who and do what” statement is that you must be very clear about exactly what you offer and who you serve. The absolute best “who and do what” statements both attract your best client (or customer) and repel those who are not a good fit for you due to your pricing, your offers, or your expertise.
- Using the correct marketing channel(s) for you and your business. This means spending your time speaking or doing social or whatever else you do ONLY in front of those who need what you have to offer, know they need it, and have the money to purchase it. I often see entrepreneurs waste hours and hours of time marketing to the wrong crowd. When the results are bad, your confidence diminishes. When your confidence diminishes you become more hesitant to market, and begin to struggle more financially. I’ve seen entrepreneurs spend hours of time talking to audiences or single prospects who love the free information but have not one dime to invest.
- Managing our energy and our time. Most true entrepreneurs tend to work hard and play hard. We get that there are big pushes of work, and we instinctively know that we have to have downtime to feed the soul. Setting up blocks of time helps with focus and rest. I’ve noticed that entrepreneurs who are not financially successful are often those who will not commit to a consistent work schedule – they try to work on their business whenever absolutely nothing else intervenes. This won’t work. Business is often not convenient, and it can’t be last on your list. As my colleague and mentor Ali Brown has said, “You can work your business anytime, but it has to be sometime.” Letting your days fill up with everyone else’s needs won’t work.
On the other hand, it’s necessary to feed your mind, body, and spirit with down time specifically designed for respite. Entrepreneurs tend to have brains that never fully turn off. We are high energy and in front of others constantly, either marketing, delivering our services, or leading teams. It takes a consistent flow of energy. To maintain that flow you have to take time away to feed yourself. A daily walk, a weekend personal retreat, a yoga class, a cup of coffee alone on your patio – find what feeds you and mark off that time, protecting it faithfully. We have the freedom to be fully flexible. Sometimes our businesses require days or weeks of big push. We also have a deep need for days or weeks of pulling back, gathering our energies and keeping our creativity alive.
Knowing with extreme clarity who we are and what we do, spending our time marketing only in front of those who need and can pay for our services (or product), and managing our energy flow, work time, and respite time are three secrets to gaining great confidence in your business. If you achieve these three things you will be financially successful and satisfied with your life.
If you want to know more about becoming a confident entrepreneur, you might like my e-book Starting a Small Business… Are You REALLY Ready to Work for Yourself? You can find the book on Amazon by clicking here.
