How confident do you feel as a creative business owner?
I suspect your confidence will vary considerably from one activity to another, as you take on things that you’re good at and are well within your comfort zone versus things that you aren’t quite so good at, YET.
A fear of not being good enough is an obvious sign of low confidence, but can you tick any off these when you think about you and your business?
❌ Avoiding decision-making (do you fearing the possibility of making the wrong choice?)
❌ Under-pricing your services
❌ Reluctance to promote yourself
❌ Fear of networking
❌ Micromanaging (do you think that others won't do things as well as you if you delegate?)
❌ Struggling to say ‘no’ (and feeling bad if you do?)
❌ Procrastinating (do you overthink, fear failure or criticism?)
❌ Comparing constantly (and finding yourself wanting?)
❌ Difficulty handling criticism (do you take feedback / criticism personally?)
❌ Isolating yourself (do you avoid collaborating or fear exposing your vulnerability?)
❌ Stagnating (do you feel reluctant to embrace change or try new strategies?)
There are lots more signs, but this is enough to be getting on with! Recognising the signs is the first step towards addressing and overcoming any confidence challenges you may have.
The really, really great news (and we can’t get enough of that these days!) is that there’s loads that you can do increase your confidence, and you can get creative about this too.
For now, here’s four suggestions (with the aid of four cats who are wonderfully expressive) to get you started on letting your confidence shine through!
1. Build a different relationship with your Inner Critic
Rather than getting annoyed with yourself or trying to ignore that voice that puts you down or thinks about all the reasons why you can’t do something or 'should' do something else, you can have lots of fun getting to know your Inner Critic.
But also understand that this isn’t the only inner voice you can take advice from. One of my clients was very familiar with ‘Joe’ his Inner Critic’s voice, but it was a revelation to meet ‘Sean’ his Inner Mentor and to make space for Sean to speak up.
2. Recognise and acknowledge what you are good at
There are shedloads of things you are good at, but interestingly for most folk I put on the spot and ask about their strengths, they turn into a rabbit in the headlights, their minds go blank, and their lists are very short.
In the course of working with creative folks, a good proportion of my clients are neurodiverse and this is felt to be quite a drawback that will likely have caused many issues and challenges for them to date. As part of our work together we’ll look at their many unique strengths or, indeed, superpowers and how you can use them every day, which can be incredibly empowering.
I recommend spending time doing this even if you are merely neurotypical 😉.
3. Make sure you are continuously learning
I’m not talking about getting a Masters and then a Doctorate in your field (which for some folks still won’t eradicate feeling like an imposter), but do stay updated in your field and keep up with industry trends.
More than this though, open your mind to learning more about you.
You may have reached a certain age and think you know yourself well enough.
That was me 10 years ago and there was a lot of resistance to spend time doing something I thought I already knew, thanks. I’m certainly not advocating navel gazing here! But understanding who you really are and realising how you can change what’s not working for you makes all the difference to being successful in business.
4. Approach things creatively
You’re full of ideas, so use them! If you lack confidence in business, it’s likely you lack confidence elsewhere in life too, so get creative about addressing this.
One of my clients was underconfident across the board when it came to his business, but instead of working on building his confidence in business we worked on confidence strategies for his social life.
Wow! He’s put the work in over the last three months and I’m so proud of what he’s achieving in his personal life AND the knock-on effect for his business has been tremendous.
If you’re not feeling as self-assured and confident as you’d like to feel as a creative business owner and your business prospects for 2024, let’s have a chat.
I offer a free one-to-one Breakthrough Call where we’ll talk about you and your business, and I know you’ll feel more motivated about your business possibilities by the end of it, whether we end up working together or not!