She Means Business: 5 Steps To Being Confident As A Female Entrepreneur

Whatever the reason for starting your own business, the entrepreneurial journey will be challenging as well as exciting. As a woman in business you will have to face and overcome a wealth of challenges, however a significant hurdle you may have to overcome is from yourself. Or in short: a lack of self-confidence.

According to recent study men are 72.4 percent confident in their ability to succeed, while females are 65.3 percent sure. Learning to be more confident will make the difference in whether you'll sink or swim as a woman in business.

Consider these confidence building tips when starting a business:

1. Trust your intuition. As women we are more likely to doubt ourselves than men as you can see from the above study. Learn to move past your self-doubt and trust your intuition.

* Accept that self-doubt and self-criticism are natural response when starting a business.

* Why are you doubting yourself? What stories are you telling yourself that lead to these doubts? Are those stories facts or feelings?

Focus on getting to the root cause of any self-doubts and eliminate them. Get help if you need to from a professional such as a life coach or confiding in a trusted friend or family member.

2. Strengthen your money mindset. Women in business have a harder time asking for funding than men. To reach your fullest potential as a female business owner, strengthen your relationship with money.

* What stories do you tell yourself about money?

* Do you have trouble receiving money, or raising your prices? Why?

*How do you feel about asking for investment in your business?

* What feelings do you have about paying yourself from your business regularly?

3. Find a support network. Just because you are starting a solo enterprise does not mean that you have to go it alone. When starting a business, there will be hurdles you have to overcome and victories big and small you will want to celebrate.

*Start your own mastermind or membership group. Or become an active member of a female business centred community.

* Attend business seminars or events.

4. Be persistent and stay the course. Unexpected issues and challenges will arise when you start a business.

* Resolve and be ready to show up even through difficult times and tough challenges. If you find yourself wanting to give up, there is an underlying reason at the root of that. Learn how to show up even when you want to quit.

*Challenge yourself not to take “no” for an answer.

5. Benefits sell. One of the most important lessons in business is understanding that people buy benefits, not products. Ask yourself:

* How will your business impact someone else’s life?

*What value do others receive as a result of your business?

* What transformation will your product or service bring into someone’s life?

Starting a business can be a fulfilling and exciting process. If you find yourself hesitating in taking the leap, challenge your current beliefs and have faith in yourself and in your abilities. What’s most important is to not let self-doubt or self-criticism get in the way of getting started. Start small with a commitment to show up each day. And as you continue to take baby steps daily eventually your confidence levels will soar to new heights.

W|womenwhoslay @womenwhoslay