How to be Confident in your Business

Jun. 13

I didn’t grow up confident. I was the shyest kid in my class, I always second guessed myself and I grew slowly. When I started my business, I struggled with self-confidence and the fact that I was ‘never good enough’. If there’s one thing I’ve learned while running my own business, it’s that imposter syndrome never goes away. Imposter syndrome is kind of a f**ker. It tends to kick you down when you’re feeling low. But while there’s no complete cure to imposter syndrome, there are ways to boost your confidence in your business and set you on the path to fighting.

Here are a few ways to cure your confidence blues.

1) Communicate your value

Guess what? Your audience has a problem and you’re going to solve it. Education builds trust and trust builds relationships. By communicating your who (audience), what (what problem you’re solving) and why (why does this matter?), you are educating your value to your audience.

2) Invest in Quality Visuals

Great branding sets you up for success. When it comes to selling your business, aesthetics matter. But not just anything goes, your visuals should follow strategy that places you in front of your audience. When it comes to visuals, it’s not just about your logo. It’s about your colour palette, typography, brand marks, pattern, social templates and much more. Visuals build not only confidence, but leadership within your industry.

3) Be your authentic self

I’ve said it a few times, but there is no room for ‘fake it till you make it’. It’s that attitude that builds you an audience that you don’t like or even want. When I’m researching strategy for a client, everything can sound very repetitive. When I write about you, your business and your audience, you’ll see a similar theme buzzing around. That’s because you are the heart of your brand. While your audience will differ from you, they won’t stray too far. Be authentic, as I can assure you that your values will align with your audience.

4) Create a Plan

A lot of people don’t want to hear this - but planning is so helpful when it comes to building your brand and confidence. Not only does planning help you see what your grid will look like in the future, but it makes life easy on those busy days where you just don’t have time to write a post. I tend to batch plan a couple weeks out in advance, or whenever I have a free window to focus in. I use Planoly’s free plan and find it does the job well.

5) Professional Photography

This year I invested in professional photography for the first time and man, it’s made life way easier. First off, taking photos and seeing the end result made me feel like a total badass professional. Something about it boosted my confidence in such a way, I just felt way more legit. Professional photography shifted the way my website looked, made planning content easier and made me stand out as an individual.

3) Be Consistent

I say this hesitantly, because I know social media can take a toll on mental health. So firstly, share as you feel comfortable. Planning my feed has helped me be able to remain consistent in my business. It helps me post on days I don’t quite feel up to it and helps me remain active in my audience’s mind. I do try ‘show-up’ for my audience and that has helped me build really important relationships (emphasis on relationships, as sales aren’t everything). Consistently posting on Instagram and updating my website keeps me active in my business, but when I do feel the need to turn-off, I do not show up in all those corners.