blogging-confidenceIn 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:

Creativity

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