Five Ways to Overcome Self-Doubt and THRIVE as an Entrepreneur

Posted on August 03, 2019 by Margaux J Rathbun, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

In every powerful, goal-driven woman’s life, there comes a time where she probably begins to feel a little…overwhelmed. And that’s putting it lightly!

The hours are piling on, your task list is officially longer than your grocery list, you can’t remember the last time you saw your family for more than an hour and for some reason you can’t shake the nagging feeling like you aren’t even good enough for your business anymore. That self-doubt creeps up on us when we least want or expect it.

Regardless of where you’re at in building your online business empire or how close you are to your big break as a social media influencer, it’s easy to get dragged down by that voice in your head telling you that you’re not good enough.

“You can’t do this.”

“You aren’t an expert.”

“You don’t have the look.”

“You don’t have the skills.”

As much as I’d love to say that it’s easy to ignore that voice and keep pushing through your day, we all know first-hand that isn’t the case. The voice keeps playing over and over again. It’s like an annoying song that gets stuck in your head that just won’t go away. With that in mind, here are out five ways to overcome the feeling of self-doubt and reach your full potential.

1. Set goals

One of the easiest ways to fall into the trap of self-doubt is to feel like you have no direction. Trying to run a business without setting goals is a lot like trying to write a novel without an outline: you get sidetracked, lose direction and don’t know where you want to end up in life. Because of this, one of the best ways to avoid self-doubt is to sit down and have an honest conversation with yourself about your goals. Where do you see yourself in two years? How will your life be different? Start with the short-term goals, planning out what you’d like to have accomplished a month from now. Then, progress to six months, followed by a year, and so forth. Keep going and before you know it, you have a business road map for what you’d like to achieve! By giving yourself an idea of where you’re going, it’s much easier to sort through those feelings of self-doubt. You have a plan that points you in the direction of success!

2. Separate yourself from the business

When you start your own gig, it’s so easy to fully immerse yourself into your business. It feels like everything is defined by what you do, how you do it and the benefits you receive from working for yourself. If you’re the face of your business or a social media influencer, it’s especially easy to feel like your value comes from the work that you do and the content that you share. You forget about the things that make you a unique individual. You begin to ignore the value you bring to the world prior to starting a business. Self-doubt in any sector of your life can often bleed over into your job, making it hard to separate your success in your industry from personal success. Try to work on continually enforcing the idea that your personal worth is not defined by your business. Your value is not based in your business successes and failures. You don’t need to feel as though that’s where all your worth lies. Taking time to focus on your accomplishments beyond work is one of the best ways to save yourself from doubt further down the road.

3. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes

I understand the desire of every businesswoman to feel as though they need to be perfect. It seems like everyone is watching you, waiting for you to make a mistake and it’s up to you to prevent them from happening. As much as it’s important to try and always do what’s best for your business, it’s equally important to remember that you will never be perfect. Nobody is. Perfection doesn’t exist. You’re human, meaning that mistakes will be made. There’s not a single person in business who can tell you that they’d never go back and handle a situation differently or pay attention to something they hadn’t thought of. But, since everyone makes mistakes, the thing that sets you apart is how you deal with them. Errors can be crippling if not handled correctly, and the ability to learn, forgive yourself, and move on is the only way to stop self-doubt from taking over.

4. Break away from negative thoughts

When you are working on building your business, it’s all too easy to look at your competitors and begin to worry. Maybe they have more followers than you, a higher rating on google, or any of the other million things that may make you feel as though you’re lacking the edge you need to succeed. Whenever any sort of negative thoughts like this start to set in, it’s important to find a way out of the cycle of pessimistic thinking. One of the best ways to do this is to pivot yourself out of these thoughts by distracting yourself with other things. If you’re starting to feel bummed about your competitor signing a new deal or closing more clients than you are, throw yourself into writing a blog post that you’re passionate about! If you’re worried that you may have lost a potential client during an interview, work on expanding your website or developing plans for your next business move. A busy mind is a great way to overcome self-doubt.

5. Face your fear and take a risk

Why did you start your business? Was it because you didn’t want to work in a corporate job? Was it because you wanted to have flexible work hours? Perhaps you craved that sense of adventure owning your own business can bring. You took that important leap of faith and here you are! Hooray! So, what is holding you back? Why aren’t you taking the steps needed to get ahead? Most often, it’s because we are afraid of what comes with making a change. We don’t know what the future will bring. Even though you may be anxious that something won’t work out to the way you want it to, or you don’t have the skills to pull it off, you need to be willing to push yourself to grow your business. If you succeed, great! You’ve just made a step forward in your dream. If you fail, great! You can get right back on the horse and prove to yourself that failure isn’t the end of the world.

Self-doubt is a problem that many women trying to expand their business experience. But, if you follow these five tips, I am willing to bet that you’ll be back to being the best businesswoman we know you can be in no time.

Margaux J Rathbun is a freelance marketing manager that specializes in working with entrepreneurs and influencers. She has more than 10 years of experience in marketing, promotions and content creation. Margaux is also a well-known influencer from the health and wellness industry. She has spoken at events around the world and has been featured in a variety of media outlets including Forbes, PerezHilton.com, Shape Magazine, The Huffington Post and Self Magazine. Margaux now works with business owners from around the world, helping them build their brand through the use of social media. She also serves as a mentor to social media influencers.