In the last Blog Expert post in this mindset series we discussed creativity and how it can help you meet your customers wants.
Now we move onto the next ‘C’…
Confidence
Are you a confident person?
Do you know who you are, what you want to achieve, and how people perceive you?
Confidence is one of those nebulous character traits which some of us seem naturally born with, and others struggle to develop every day of their lives.
The interesting fact about confidence is that it can be assumed, or put on, foxing your customers in to thinking that you are an authority on your subject even if you are quaking inside at the thought of being perceived as an industry expert.
This is great news, as displaying confidence as a business owner and blogger is a key element of business success, and an indispensable trait for people who want their company to flourish.
Displaying confidence on your site will bring the following benefits:
- Inspire people to trust you, as an expert in your field
- Invite people to follow your blogs as you present an air of knowledge and authority
- Increase your motivation and passion, as confident people tend to enjoy their work more
- Support you to stay committed to your blog even through the tough times, as you understand that things will improve
- Give you the courage to innovate, trying new things on your site and with your product and service suite, as you have the self-belief to expand, nurture your business and develop it.
Can we assume an air of confidence even when we are out of our depth?
It’s difficult to be an authority in any field, and a natural instinct for most people to have to battle self-doubts and insecurities.
I had a friend who worked as a trainee teacher for a year, as she studied for her exams. She was teaching English in secondary school, and was constantly ill before each class. The irony is, she is one of the most talented people I know, and understood her subject inside out.
However, whenever she was faced with a class of pupils, she’d simply fall apart. She stammered, lost her thought processes, and doubted her ability to be authoritative. As a result, she used to stay awake for most of the night panicking before a school day, is physically sick before her classes, and ultimately ended up dropping out six weeks before obtaining her qualifications.
Another person I know is what is loosely termed in England, ‘a blagger’.
A blagger is someone who can walk the walk, talk the talk, and make people inherently trust them and their judgment.
Have you ever met someone who can sound like an expert on most subjects, through their language and self-confidence?
It’s amazing to watch.
My friend was made redundant, and researched the market to find the most lucrative industry to focus upon for his business. He entered the IT world at the beginning of the dot com boom, and thrived. He knew less about programming, software or hardware than anyone I had ever met, and yet he managed to convey an impression of expertise in everything which he did.
So, this just goes to show that confidence does not need to be based in anything concrete, when it comes to how we are perceived by our customers. If we stay just one page ahead of the people we are supporting, but do it confidently, we can be successful at inspiring trust and respect in others.
What does that mean for us, as small business owners?
Self-confident people not only know what reasonable goals are for themselves but, because of their confidence, are able to reach those goals, understand when they’ve reached them, and appreciate the success.
If you are finding yourself plagued by self doubts and insecurities when it comes to running your business, remember that you are an expert in your field. No-one is waiting on the sidelines to trip you up – you have all of the skills, knowledge and ability which you need to make a thriving and lucrative company.
Admittedly, we all need to learn new skills to stay ahead of the industry we are operating within, but developing your sense of confidence will go a long, long way towards supporting you to achieve your business goals.
Previous posts in this blog expert series, mindset:
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I’m a bit of a sceptic about confidence. We can be confidently wrong (at least I can).
Evan
Very true but others would believe you!
Andrew
Fear is something you should stair down until it bow out, because if you can be fear..then your on the way up..believe me I know..
“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”
“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”
Hi Andrew, Confidence is often the key to success. If you have knowledge about your subject and have confidence, you can become a good authority. However, without confidence, all the knowledge is of very little use.
Ishan
Exactly!
Knowledge and confidence go hand in hand like…
…fish and chips (we love fish and chips in the uk!).
Andrew
You know Andrew I use to be one of those people that lacked confidence. It is not a good place to be. What I am finding is that having confidence is like being set free. Hope a lot of people listen to you and go find the confidence they deserve.
Debbie
Debbie
A lot has to do with controlling your inner voice. That little so-and-so can be a big problem.
Andrew
You are definitely right about the little inter voice. You really have to watch out how you talk to yourself. Thanks Andrew for the reminder.
Debbie
Hello Andrew
Great Post, I think confidence is so important even if you fail miserabale if you have confidence then you are failing forward. If you do not then you simply failed. Confidence give you the power and will to continue on your journey to sucess. Without confidence we are lost. I love this post, thank you for reminding us how important being confident is.
Vickie,
Plus confidence gives you the courage to continue when you do fail or make a mistake.
Thanks for coming across and commenting.
Andrew
Corinne
A couple of years ago I interviewed the author, Robert Ashton. His book, The Life Plan, is all about building confidence via achieving small steps. I really like that approach – it works for me!
That’s also how I approach my on-line business – make small steps each day towards what you want to achieve.
Plus you mention ‘act as if’. A good friend of mine is a confidence coach and he believes it is one of the best techniques to help build confidence.
I also interviewed him. Here’s a little of the interview:
https://www.webuildyourblog.com/3009/confidence-blogging-hand-hand/
Andrew
Excellent post Andrew, especially your example of sounding like an expert even you’re not, you just have to have the confidence in what you are saying. And I definitely agree with your point there, just knowing more that the ones you are supporting and delivering the content as confident as you can be is certainly a good start in gaining that confidence.
Peter,
…and when you do achieve a goal…no matter how small…it gives you even more confidence.
Andrew
Wow, good post! I like your post and I appreciate people like you. You are so positive in life and determined to conquer whatever your goal is. Thanks for sharing this post. You are correct, there are people that born with confidence in making their life and some others does not have. Confidence also develop through the environment that we have but it really depends on ourselves on how to overcome it. Helping and training ourselves to develop self confidence is important as the part of our personality in life, especially in our business life. I really enjoy reading your post! Thanks and keep up your good work.
Thanks, Jennifer.
To get on in life and succeed…you must have confidence.
We all have it and it is just a matter of allow it to flow throughout our bodies!
Andrew
Confidence is key in almost any endeavor. Without it you’ll never achieve your true potential. Another closely related trait required for success is initiative. There are so many talented people out there who never reach anywhere close to their potential because they lack one or both of these traits. It holds true for almost all avenues of life, sports, business, relationships, you name it.
Some of these important traits can be developed. For example, you can often become more confident by tasting a bit of success, which then breeds more confidence.
Great post, and so, so true.
Steve
I agree…tasting a bit of success makes you believe in yourself and gives you more confidence.
Andrew
The right amount of deserved confidence is key. Over do it and you become obnoxious (see:guru), fake it and it’s no good to anyone.
Dennis,
Love that!
So…so…true!
Andrew
P.S. That could be a blog post on it’s own
Go for it…
Hi Andrew, was that a “blogger”, a “blagger” or a “bleeder”? 😉
I spent a bit of time on the Warrior Forum yesterday and I’m amazed at how many “blaggers” there are on there. They certainly strut their stuff when it comes to writing up posts, which is going to be real impressive to those less experienced in the fields of IM and SEO. But I sense that if you look just below the bonnet there is a whole lot of “blagging it” going on!
Regards
Joe (blog_ger the blagger)
Joseph
In my early days of working on-line, I believed some of those blaggers…so I can understand new, naive people coming along and doing the same.
Andrew
Fantastic post Andrew! Self-confidence is a CRITICAL element of the entrepreneur’s character. Successful business owners are people who believe in themselves, their goals/dreams and their ability to achieve those dreams. It definitely takes courage and confidence to venture out on the insecure path of business ownership.
Keller
For my first 30 years of working I worked for large corporate companies.
I was earning a great income and loved the lifestyle I had.
But I envied those who left and started their own businesses.
I felt I couldn’t…I had a mortgage and family.
I wanted it so bad, though. That’s why I started my own on-line business while still working full-time. It took me 2 years of working evenings and weekends until I had the courage to give up the corporate world (oh and the regular monthly check!).
Andrew
P.S. And I have no regrets
Confidence is very important no matter what business you are in. The blogging business is no different, because you will end up conveying in your writing exactly how you feel. It may come in photos that you post. Or entire posts that let people know that you do not feel very confident in yourself. It is a turn off.
I remember the days of writing lame posts such as Gerlaine is a Fraud and Gerlaine Doesn’t Know What She’s Doing. These were actual blog post titles with my name on them. I laugh when I think back at how ill confident I was.
Now, I know that I know what I’m talking about on my blog and I feel good. I believe my readers feel good as well.
Thanks for posting. More love.
Anasha
You are right…your confidence shows through a lot of what you do including your writing.
LIttle baby steps of success can give your confidence a real boost.
Andrew
Andrew,
I think that you touched a very important topic here.
Self-confidence plays a big part in your life and how successful you can become.
Especially in blogging and IM it is very important. For example, how good are you connecting with other bloggers, are you too afraid to ask for a guest blogging gig, are you afraid to approach potential JV partners … your confidence plays a big part in these areas.
Timo
Exactly, Timo. A very important trait.
Andrew
I appreciate your post! I agree with your idea, having a confidence in ourself must be the factor to achieve success even in what kind of career you are in. For me, confidence is a good trait that must be possess by a person in order to be true and effective to themselves and to other people also. But of course, confidence in ourselves must be accompanied by being humble and honesty so that it will really be appreciated and can produce a good relationship to other people. Many thanks for having a post like this, it makes me inspire to read. Keep up your good work!
Sarah
I agree – too much confidence and you could be seen as arrogant.
Andrew
I completely agree with you, Andrew. Without confidence it is very difficult to move ahead with our goals, its like the very essence of our lives which help us to perform well in life. Over confidence is not good but it is very important to develop and nurture our self confidence.