10 Ways To Overcome Self-Doubt for Small Business Owners

You will have no doubt heard the idiom that "appearances can be deceiving". The notion that what you see on the outside belies what's happening on the in.

This is as true with entrepreneurs and small business owners as it is with anyone else. When you're running a business, you often need to portray an exterior of confidence and solidity, but often there's an overriding feeling of self-doubt bubbling just under the surface.

Self Doubt Can Be Overcome

With everything small business owners have to deal with on a day-to-day basis including marketing, social media, sales, accounting, employees, finances, suppliers and the list goes on, it's no wonder that you can begin to doubt yourself and your ability to succeed.

If you're struggling to overcome self-doubt, let's look at 10 things you can do today to dispel those feelings, build your confidence and be the incredible entrepreneur we know you are.

1. Remember You're Not The Only One

Having self-doubt isn't unique to small business owners, or even entrepreneurs at large. Everyone feels it at some point, so don't worry about it so much.

Thinking you're the only one going through it can be isolating and will derail your thinking, especially if you believe you're the only one feeling a particular way. You're not.

Self-doubt can easily lead to self-sabotage and when you're running a business, this can only send you down the wrong path.

Instead, remember that you're doing an incredible job and if you do doubt yourself, then that's perfectly normal, you're not alone in feeling that way. And that's OK too.

2. Celebrate Your Achievements

Just having the courage and determination to even start a business is an incredible achievement.

It's easy to get a job, work your whole career in the 'rat race' and then retire having achieved very little, but stepping out of the crowd and building something from scratch is not something everyone can do. It's a verifiable fact because they don't.

A big help in overcoming self-doubt is celebrating your achievements.

They don't have to be ground-breaking or Earth-shattering to warrant fanfare, but when you succeed at something, anything, shout about it.

Launch a new product? Tell the world. Reach a followers milestone on social media? Post about it! Make a sale? Celebrate with friends! Get a good deal from a supplier? Give a high-five!

Whatever it is, acknowledge your successes in public and private! Tell the world how good you are every chance you get.

If you only see problems, you'll only focus on problems. Switch it around and focus on your accomplishments and tell everyone who'll listen (and even those who won't!).

3. Set Goals

As a small business owner, you will have set yourself some long-term goals to achieve, whether that's to retire at 50, buy your dream car or spend your later years travelling the world.

Long-term goals are great, but you'll also need some short-term targets to hit too. Setting short-term goals is a great way to overcome that doubt you feel.

Obviously, long-term goals that are set in future will take time to accomplish, which means that the feeling you'll get when you achieve them may be some time away and give self-doubt the opportunity to fester.

Short-term goals give you that feeling quickly and more regularly.

Set yourself some goals that can be achieved tomorrow, next week or next month. Again, they don't have to be huge goals, just something you can achieve that are S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound).

Set those goals, however large or small, and enjoy the feeling of ticking them off the To-Do list on a regular basis!

4. Surround Yourself With The Right People

Jim Henson, the creator of The Muppets, once said "life's like a movie". So if you're the star of your own film, then it's vital that you cast the other roles really well.

We all have to deal with other people when running a business, whether they're colleagues, employees, suppliers, competitors, mentors, advisors and, of course, customers.

With so many people around, it's crucial you surround yourself with the right people.

Those people shouldn't be sycophants or people who will only tell you what you want to hear, but those closest to you who will tell you the truth.

You might not always want to hear it, but you need cheerleaders, not doom-mongers.

When you're struggling, reconnect with those who will motivate you, inspire you and energise you onto great things.

Handpick people from your social and professional circles who you trust and together they will help you give the performance of a lifetime.

5. Don't Compare Yourself With Anyone

We all want to do the very best we can in whatever roles we perform. No matter what business sector you operate in, no matter how well you're doing, it's easy to look around and see someone who is more successful, more focused, more affluent and more 'everything' than you. This is a dangerous game to play.

Often the rules of this unspoken game are that there are only two options; you're either that person and living the best life and uber-successful, or you're not. Life isn't that binary.

Just because you might not have achieved the perceived level of success as someone else, that doesn't mean you're a failure. Far from it.

Instead of comparing yourself to whomever you see as inspiration, don't judge yourself against them or anyone. It's a pointless exercise, it's not productive and it's another breeding ground for self-doubt.

The only comparison that really matters is the 'you' who you are now, and the 'you' you want to become in the future.

Any comparisons with 'someone' that might have 'something' will often be simply unobtainable.

Instead, consider where you want to be this time tomorrow, next week, 6 months or a year from now. Aim to become that person and you'll have a much greater chance of achieving it.

6. The Glass Is Half Full

The old adage of whether people think a glass is half full or half empty is often used to determine whether you're a positive person or not. If you see it as half-full, you're positive, if it's half-empty, then you're negative.

It's rarely as simple as that, but as people, we are almost predisposed, or hard-wired, to be negative.

We'll often believe the worst things about ourselves and ignore the best. We'll focus on the 1 piece of criticism we get and forget about the 99 times we've been praised.

When it comes to your business and that creeping sense of self-doubt begins to appear, think about that glass and KNOW that it's definitely half-full.

Try to think positively. By all means look at different perspectives, alternative outcomes and think back to situations you've had in the past that didn't work out as you wanted, but look ahead with a sense of optimism.

Remember those experiences for what they taught you, but make a conscious decision to act positively in the future and self-doubt will be a thing of the past.

7. Give Yourself A Break

We are generally our own worst enemies. We relive every bad decision, analyse every poor judgement call and beat ourselves up for our perceived failings.

We will over-think, over-analyse and over-play so much and when things haven't worked out how we want, we blame ourselves. You should stop doing that.

If you're running a business, you simply don't have the time to waste. Take only the time you need to learn from a mistake or bad decision, then move on. Dust yourself off and drive forward.

Another thing that often gets overlooked when running a business is that not every aspect of what happens is because of you.

You'll do amazing work setting up a business. You can create the brand, but often external forces or other factors outside of your control can have an impact on your business.

You are not in control of everything, so don't worry that there are things you can't control, manage or drive as you'd want, instead remained focussed on what you can control, you and your reaction to them and give yourself a break.

8. Perfection Is An Illusion

Social media has given us a lot of great things since arrived in our virtual lives, but it has also given us an edited version of the world around us.

As we connect to people, whether they're friends, family, colleagues, role models or celebrities, we only see what they choose to share with us.

It's easy to see their lives and think they live a perfect life whereas yours, by comparison, is a mess. They don't and it isn't. Also, what did we tell you about comparing yourself!

If you're trying to run a perfect company with perfect employees who bring in perfect customers to sell your perfect products, then you're fighting a losing battle. Stop fighting. Perfection is an illusion and it's where fear and self-doubt reside.

Perfection shouldn't be an excuse for your own fear. There's nothing wrong with having high standards, wanting the best product or expecting the most from everyone around you, but know the difference between wanting perfection and being scared to be who you are.

No one is perfect. Nothing is perfect, so don't let chasing after it stop you from achieving things you are ready to do brilliantly right now.

9. Fight The Negativity From Others....

As we touched upon earlier, we all have to fight negativity in this world. If it's not coming from within, then you will most certainly feel it coming from those outside your immediate orbit.

Do not give in to it and if it's coming from other people, stop it before it starts to absorb into your life. Your own self-doubt doesn't need any assistance.

If you have people in your life giving you unsolicited advice, critiquing your every move, and offering their unasked-for perspectives on what you've done wrong, avoid them.

Trust us when we tell you it's easier to avoid listening to negativity in the first place than try and ignore what you've already heard. It will begin to eat away at you.

As well-meaning as they might be, they're not you, they don't what you're going through and can't possibly know what's coming in the future so, before they start to pull you apart, stop them politely in their tracks and move the conversation on to something else.

You know your business better than anyone, and trying to manage other people's expectations of you will take more time and energy than you have.

You're not here to appeal to as many people as possible, you're here to best version of you possible, so go do that.

10. ....Then Embrace It (A Little)

As we've shown throughout this blog, whilst it's usually a very good idea to banish negativity from your life in an effort to remove self-doubt, for some people, a little negativity can be a strong motivator.

Those who have tasted failure in the past or fought tooth-and-nail for everything they've achieved in life can use those past mistakes as a springboard to drive their next business venture forward.

If that's you, carry a small piece (make sure it's only a little piece mind you) of negativity with you to propel you forward and help you fight for the future you're working towards now.

By all means, always remind yourself of your successes and be careful in your choices, but maybe it's there's also room in there for that past negativity to be the catalyst for your future success. We're positive about that.

Conclusion

We've grouped small business owners here into one group, but we recognise and acknowledge that not everyone thinks the same way and everyone operates their business differently.

There's also a gender gap when it comes to confidence. Research has shown that the average man has more confidence than the average woman, so female business entrepreneurs might be even more disadvantaged when it comes to overcoming their self-doubt. True or not, we can all overcome.

It's vitally important to remember that self-doubt is perfectly normal. It means you're human. We all feel it to some degree, but it's also perfectly normal to overcome it. That also means you're human.

When you're running a business it's easy to get caught up in the minutiae and there are bound to be tasks that you don't like doing, or spend far too much time stressing over. These are where self-doubt flourishes.

That same humanity shows us that we can choose how we handle self-doubt. If there are aspects of your business you're not good with or confident about, then ask for help and focus on what you are good at.

Delegate them to others and excel in those areas where you thrive. If there's anything we can do to help you succeed, from marketing, copywriting, video production or event planning, then get in touch using the form below and let's have a conversation.

You've got this. We believe in you and we #BelieveInSuccess.

Have you experienced self-doubt n your life? How did you overcome it? Did any of the techniques we've mentioned here help you in the past? What was the last achievement you had - tell us!

If you have any other ways to help overcome feelings of self-doubt that we haven't included here, let us know in the comments below. We look forward to reading them.

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