Why is self-confidence so important to a business owner?

In order to be a successful business owner in today's fast-paced world, talent, academia and qualifications are often not enough. Above all, being confident in your work is crucial for career success.

Being confident in the workplace enables you to be situationally proactive, assertive and focused. Having true confidence not only allows you to have a positive impact at work, but it also helps you make choices that will benefit your home life too.

Having confidence means knowing your worth and trusting that others will recognise the value of your service too. Without confidence, a business owner may want to reach everyone and anyone - keeping their fees and prices low, as they are afraid to ask for more money. They may wait until everything is perfect before raising their fees or prices.

But, having confidence means understanding the value you offer, effectively communicating and presenting yourself, which then results in getting noticed for all the right reasons and increasing your income. The clients of confident people do not question or undermine what the services or products are worth, but pay what the business owner decides they are worth - because they see it as good value for money.

They know by possessing confidence they close more deals, charge higher rates, and create clients who value and respect them and their services and don't expect discounts or cheap deals. They understand confidence is a result of taking action and not being afraid to set their bar higher.

They have a strong sense of self and they know confidence enables them to lead powerfully. They are consistent, grounded and don't take rejections personally. They invest time in achieving a mastery level of effectiveness and take it upon themselves to self-educate.

Most successful entrepreneurs and business owners will agree, safety is the enemy of success. So, whether you’re just starting out or have been running a company for some time, confidence really is key. Having a strong sense of self-belief will affect how you communicate with colleagues, as well as how effective you are in your output and your enjoyment of your job.

Four lessons that can be learnt from confident business owners

1. Confident business owners are willing to put in the time and energy to educate themselves on marketing, leadership skills, effective listening skills, building their own personal brand and developing executive presence so they are seen as someone who is assertive and creative.

2. They are fearless and have a heightened sense of self-awareness so they know their own blind spots and shortcomings and are willing to make changes within themselves to excel in their business.

3. Confident business owners know that, in order to successfully deal with clients, plan strategies, execute policies and make influential decisions, they need to portray their confidence. This helps in encouraging people to trust them, value their opinions and rely on their judgement.

4. Confident business owners know that hiring a business coach can help them build even more confidence. Coaching can challenge how they see their business and design a powerful vision for their business by combining imagination with action. This supports them in becoming great at what they do - after all, developing flexibility and confidence must be designed, rehearsed and constantly cultivated.

How can you build your confidence as a business owner?

If you are ready to take your business to the next level, making an intentional effort to increase your confidence is a great first step. This could involve re-connecting with your 'why', what is the mission behind your work? Unearthing your passion can help you believe not only in the work you do, but in yourself. 

Setting small challenges to slowly expand your comfort zone can also help. Perhaps you can challenge yourself to promote your business every day on social media for a week and see how it feels. Building your resilience is also key and businesses, like life, can have its ups and downs.

If you'd like to work with a trained professional to help you navigate the confidence-building process, coaching can help. Empowering you to take control and take the lead in life and business, your coach can help you dig beneath the surface to uncover the root of your low confidence and work on uprooting any limiting self-beliefs. Learn more and find a confidence coach today.