By Armando “BUTZ” Bartolome
Starting a business may not be possible for everyone due to some factors such as determining how to set up a business, dealing with various challenges that may come along the way, and providing time in enhancing your knowledge about the business. These are essential for any entrepreneur to face in order to become successful. There are, however, people who are willing to take every risk and defy all odds just to prove to themselves and to others that they can take that step and venture on their own.
In anything that you aspire in life, you need to be confident about yourself. Boosting your self-confidence enables you to always have a positive perspective in life, no matter what kind of trials come your way. As an entrepreneur, your self-confidence is your biggest asset. Not only does it make you feel good about yourself, it essentially builds the trust between you and your shareholders, employees, suppliers, and customers.
In my almost three decades in the business, I have noticed that with the pleasure of seeing how I have somehow risen also comes the need to have a “thick skin”, the ability to make quick decisions and be able to move forward without having to worry about what others might say. Sometimes, you just need to do what your gut feeling tells you despite others saying that you cannot make things possible to happen. To develop a strong sense of sustainable confidence is one of the primary skill sets that any entrepreneur needs to explore and face the challenges in building a successful business.
The self-confidence that I have built has been instrumental to the success of building my brand in the past 26 years. The rush of being able to handle dream clients goes beyond building my self-confidence. I have also learned that I am only human who is capable of committing mistakes and that I should learn to forgive myself for any faults which may have affected my business. I learned that I am no Superman, that I may want to do so many things all at the same time, but I could only do so much, and at the same time, to view my failure as an experience rather the end of a career.
It’s sometimes hard to be on your feet, especially when you have some personal issues going on. But, you owe your shareholders, employees, suppliers, and customers a lot. They rely on you as much as you rely on them for your success. Therefore, to mess up with your decisions can terribly affect your relationship with them and eventually may shorten the life of your business.
How To Boost Your Self-confidence
The most important thing that any entrepreneur should think about is to see failures as an opportunity to strengthen then self-confidence. Never allow yourself to be engulfed by the thought that you are not any better. Failures are bound to happen no matter what kind of business you have. Despite thriving to be perfect, there are things that are beyond your control.
Let me share with you some tips on how you can boost your self-confidence to be able to create a positive outlook in life.
1. View any failure as your wake-up call to achieve better. You may think you have set up a grand plan for your business, but somewhere along the way, things go south. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself or blaming yourself, find out other ways which can make your plans to reach your goal. Remember, you always have room for improvement. If you are just starting with your business, never be in a hurry to be on top. Take small steps at a time.
2. You, being the boss, you should allow yourself to take action as soon as you can instead of waiting for others to give you a go signal. It is unlikely for an entrepreneur to become successful if does not have a “backbone”. There are individuals who have been forced into putting up a business either by their parents or a partner. It is unlikely for such individuals to become successful because they lack the drive to become an entrepreneur.
3. Trust your gut feeling. It’s rather difficult to explain sometimes how others would accept your decision. But if you have that feeling that something will work, then with all confidence, do it. If there is someone who should trust you, that would be YOU.
4. Be true to yourself. Are you running the business just the way you wanted it to? The only means of achieving long-term success is by being clear on your vision, being honest with what you want to achieve, and be able to stick to it.
5. There are people who can be helpful to you and there are those who would literally tear you down. Stick with people that uplift you and strengthens you during your downtimes. Do not burden yourself by listening to what other people say about you. Other people’s opinions of you do not need to be your reality.
6. Think about why you even start the business. Make it a habit to write down what makes you feel doubtful of your capabilities, and on the opposite end, write down how you would make things work differently. Sometimes we just get to see a big problem and fail to check into the small details which we may have missed.
7. Learn to be proud of your achievements. To become proud of what you have done is different from being boastful, definitely. Think of how others would be aspiring to get where you are and, yet, you feel that you are less of a person just because of a minor setback. Give yourself a pat on the back for being who you are today.
8. If you think that nothing else can give you the confidence that you need in order to pursue your dream, stop, and say a little prayer. Ask for divine intervention. Sometimes, all you just need is to stop and let out everything from your chest. Lift up everything unto Him and for sure, it will bring you inner peace and uplift your confidence.
An entrepreneur should not be afraid to explore unchartered territories. One should always be curious to know how things can happen. A little bump is not the end. It is just another path worth taking a risk and a possible opportunity to be on top.
