How to be a Confident Business Owner

I both love and hate to break it to ya, but there’s no shortcut to feeling like you know what you’re doing as a new business owner.

The simple truth—(that is easier said than digested—is that the more you show up and do the work, the more you’ll feel like you know what you’re doing.

I remember that, as a brand new coach still in school, I made a “cheat sheet” full of questions I could ask my client if I ever got stuck. I feared a long silence so bad! It was my crutch, soothing me that if, say, my client was struggling with a time management question, I could flip to my Time Management section and read off any of the number of questions that were there.

This “cheat sheet” was probably almost a dozen pages, and can you guess how many times I used it? 

None! Of course, none.

While I might not know you personally, I have yet to work with a client who wanted to launch a business that had nothing to do with what she’s already experienced in her professional or personal life. In fact - and I revel in telling you this - it is enough to launch a business.

If you want to be a stylist, the outfit you helped your sister put together for a bachelorette weekend totally counts.

If you want to be an event planner, your cousin’s wedding where you were the Day Of Coordinator totally counts.

If you want to be a travel consultant, the memory-making itinerary you made for your parents’ 50th anniversary trip - which they can’t stop talking about - totally counts.

I don’t care that it was “just” your personal experience. I don’t care that you don’t have a degree in it. I don’t care that you did it for free.

Here’s the bottom line: If you feel you can deliver your promised result on whatever you’re offering from where you are now, it’s time for you to start.

If you know that you can put together a knockout outfit tomorrow for a stranger based on a questionnaire that discusses their needs and goals, then you’re a stylist. Go out and style – and charge for it. You’re promising them a knockout outfit, and you’re able to deliver just that. You’re in business.

If you know that you can plan and execute a killer wedding tomorrow, then you’re an event planner. Go out and sign on that bride and groom – and charge for it. You’re promising them a wedding planner that takes care of all the details, and you’re able to deliver just that. You’re in business.

If you know that you can plan a kick-butt vacation on a budget, for the nuanced traveler, or for the world’s pickiest jet-setter based on your experience living across the globe, then you’re a travel consultant. Go out and get your client – and charge for it. You’re promising an amazing trip experience that suits their personal preferences and individual interests while catering to their finances. You’re in business.

Wondering what to do from here, with the tiny voice in your head that says “Yup, I’m ready to start putting the time and experience in” even though you have a very scared and excited pit in your stomach? It’s time to let me help you, of course! Confidence comes with experience + time + passion (and I know you’ve got the passion), so...let’s get started.