Investors Love Confidence: Embrace It
If you have the passion and work ethic to make your dream a reality, why let your self-esteem get in the way now?
Nothing is more frustrating than having your business plan laid out before you but lacking the self-esteem to pitch it to anyone — let alone your friends or family. It can feel like a daunting task compared to the research you have done to start your own company. But, if you have already made those first hard steps, your self-esteem should not stand in the way of your passion.
If you believe in your project and have the passion to make it work, you need to make another big step. You must have confidence in yourself.
Launch You’s mentor programme could help you find the perfect mentor who will encourage you to challenge yourself and build your confidence. You can sign up for the Modern Wealthy six-step course to create a blueprint for your business and push you to take flight.
An important note
Before you can even make this journey to boost your confidence, remember to be kind to yourself. It feels easier to criticise ourselves, masquerading it as a reason to push ourselves forward, but we all need positive reinforcement sometimes. That includes giving it to yourself.
It can sometimes feel ruthless and draining to start a business, and many successful entrepreneurs and CEOs have felt the sting of rejection before. Those with higher levels of self-compassion are more likely to have passion, drive and achieve success.
It is a quality that can be difficult to achieve, but you can take a few steps in the right direction. Analyse your frustrations and ask yourself why it is engaging your mind; be more inquisitive about your experiences, ask yourself what you need right now and remind yourself that you are human.
It is good to acknowledge where you might have gone wrong during a pitch or how you missed a market opportunity, but you should always frame it as a learning curve. It is not a failure but a step in the right direction and a valuable lesson learned.
Networking and support
It might be hard to imagine, but many other business owners and entrepreneurs are in the same position as you. Feeling a lack of confidence or self-esteem is normal when you face the daily challenges of building a business. It can feel like a losing battle on the worst of days. The first year is always a struggle, but always know these are just teething issues.
As you network and build a presence online with your peers through the Launch You community, you should branch out and make relationships. These will be the people you turn to for advice and they can offer some valuable insight when the going gets tough.
You must network in person as much as possible at events and seminars. Talking and meeting new people face to face boosts your confidence and encourages you to balance your image between the digital and real world.
Always challenge yourself
When you build a business from the ground up, progress will feel small at first. The first year or two are the stepping stones to crossing a tumultuous river. Your idea may feel small and insignificant compared to the other start-ups that might have more budget and flair than you.
However, remember that a good-looking logo and a snappy company name aren’t all there is to a business. There's passion, innovation, and fearlessness — qualities you already have just by starting your journey!
Once you have overcome that first challenge of making yourself known, there will be more ahead. You must prepare to embrace and face the difficulty of securing finances or hiring the right employees for you. These can be the toughest hurdles to jump, and once you have made it over the first one, it feels much easier to confront the next time it arrives.
Look after yourself
We've all seen it before when you decide to open LinkedIn for the morning: the status of a successful CEO discussing their daily activities. Waking up at 5 am to go jogging, eat a healthy breakfast, and push themselves throughout the day.
As ideal as it may seem from an outside perspective, your mind and body have limits. You should avoid comparing yourself to successful figures and try to match their lifestyle if your body and mental health can't keep up.
It's always okay to take a breather, drink water, get your recommended seven to eight hours of sleep and improve your diet. However, you’ll discover your limit quickly by going to the extreme immediately. Bettering yourself is a great goal to strive for, but it must be done realistically and at a reasonable pace. Remember, you are human too!
Be realistic
Whilst you should always challenge yourself and have confidence in what you do, be aware that you’ll have limits and that not everything works out the way we want it to. Whether it's a potential investment or a marketing goal, there is potentially the chance it won't work out. Learning this early on can help you figure out what is and isn't realistic for your business and prevent any disasters in the future.
If you constantly push yourself and experience a major setback, you could lose confidence and create a negative feedback loop. This is a slippery slope to damaging your mental health, and further pushing yourself into continuous failure will hinder your goals.
When things seem to go wrong, you must always take a breather and step back from the situation. Observing any setback from an outsider's perspective can help you be more honest and realistic with yourself, which allows you to hit more achievable goals in the future.
Spread your wings
Now that you have gathered your confidence, it's time for you to take flight. If you're still trying to prepare yourself for lift-off, look at our six-step process for building the foundations for your company. Launch You offers an 8-week intensive programme with Modern Wealthy to teach you how to create a successful business and marketing system.