6 easy steps to build your confidence as an online entrepreneur
A lot of entrepreneurs struggle with low-self esteem and a lack of confidence when it comes to their work and abilities. This is a common reason why some entrepreneurs never make it past the initial stage of having an idea for a business, and why so many struggles even if they manage to take off their business idea from the ground. The popularity of the self-improvement industry and books on how to build confidence and habits in the US indicates that people are looking for the secret on how to be more confident. But is there really a secret to it, or can a simple trick of building a track record can help you be more confident at work as an entrepreneur?
Why building a track record matters to build confidence at work
Building a track record means tracking your progress in business and your personal life and monitoring it as you achieve goals and milestones. The reason for it is that you could look back at it and remind yourself that you’re able to achieve whatever you want.
It’s one of the most effective ways on how to build confidence at work for entrepreneurs. There are numerous studies that show people who monitor and track their goals as they’re working on achieving them have a higher success rate than those who don’t.
The lead author of one of the studies, Benjamin Harkin, Ph.D., of the University of Sheffield, writes in a study:
“Monitoring goal progress is a crucial process that comes into play between setting and attaining a goal, ensuring that the goals are translated into action.”
Building a track record is all about having regular check-ins with yourself, as well as identifying where you’re going, where you’re at right now, and where you have been before.
It’s important to note that relying on your track record and past accomplishments to boost your confidence can be a slippery slope. It’s very easy to fall asleep on your success and become lazy when you see that you’ve been doing well in the past.
So, it’s important to view your track record as proof of your capabilities instead of using it as a way to soothe your ego and make you feel better.
How to build a track record
Are you ready to find out how to build your confidence at work with the help of tracking your goals and progress? We have a six-step process that will allow you to easily set, monitor, and track your goals so you could build a strong track record:
Step 1: Set realistic goals
Setting attainable and realistic goals for your business is the first thing on your list of how to build your confidence at work. They’re going to allow you to set the direction of your business and career. And, it will also be a way to hold yourself accountable and not let distractions get in a way.
Also, goals are crucial when it comes to building your track record, as with every goal, even the smallest one, achieved, your track record is going to grow, in turn growing your confidence in your abilities as an entrepreneur.
Step 2: Break down your goals into small, bite-size pieces
Your next step, once you have your business goals set, is to figure out how you’re going to achieve them. Your goals don’t work if you don’t have a plan on how you’re going to tackle them.
The best way to make your big goals manageable is to break them down into bite-size pieces, the smaller, the better. It’s the 101 of how to build confidence and achieve your goals, even if you’re not an entrepreneur, and it’s the base of many habit-building books available on the market.
For example: A goal of making $100,000 with your next online course is a hefty goal, and most entrepreneurs would feel their confidence waver at the sight of this number. But if you break down the goal of making $10,000 into a step-by-step plan of how you’re going to create, market, and promote your course, suddenly the goal doesn’t look so hefty.
Step 3: Hold up to your promises to yourself
When you’re building a track record to help you build your confidence at work, keeping your promises to yourself is crucial. People tend to value promises to others over to themselves more. However, you should value both of them equally.
Every single time you promise yourself, you’re going to start posting on Instagram on Monday—but don’t when the time comes—you’re breaking a promise you made for yourself. And with each broken promise, you’re diminishing your confidence because breaking your own promises means that you can’t trust yourself.
When you’re figuring out how to build confidence in yourself and at work, start by making promises you can keep, even if there is nobody to hold you accountable but yourself.
It’ll do wonders for track building, and after a while of doing everything you promised yourself you’ll do, you’ll start noticing that when a new obstacle arises, you won’t be doubting yourself whether or not you can accomplish it. You’ll simply do it.
You’ve learned the benefits to building an effective track record for your business. We want to boost your confidence even more with a free “course creator’s to-do list.”
Step 4: Track your progress
We already established that people who monitor their goals as they’re accomplishing them have a higher success rate than those who don’t. Well, tracking progress and making notes on even the smallest progression is part of the monitoring.
Write your progress down, either in your journal or in a Google Sheet. If your business has a content calendar, make sure that you have all the past posts marked on the calendar as it’s also an indication of many small victories—you have been consistent with your business.
When you’re learning how to build confidence in yourself, it’s important to monitor your moves and note them somewhere, where you can later refer to them. It’s not enough to know that you’ve been consistent with your marketing efforts for the last six months. You have to have the proof of it in front of you, in a written form, for your brain to truly register it.
Step 5: Mark small wins and accomplishments
Many entrepreneurs shy away from celebrating their wins, and once they launch a product or a new project, they usually move straight to the next thing. It’s great when you’re passionate and want to keep going and growing. But it’s important to take a moment to breathe and celebrate your win.
Did you hit your goal of 100 sales last weekend? Mark it down (refer to step four) and celebrate it. It might look like a small win, but it’s crucial for your track record and confidence because it proves that you’re capable.
You don’t need to go on a full week’s vacation every time you sell 100 ebooks or onboard ten new students. But doing monthly check-ins on your business and making the list of all the small and big wins of that month is going to make a huge difference for the way you evaluate yourself.
Celebrate by going to brunch, lunch, or dinner. Go for a picnic or a simple walk somewhere you haven’t been before in your city. Treat yourself to a facial or bake homemade brownies to mark the small wins in your business along the way as you’re building confidence in your work.
Step 6: Refer back to your track record when in doubt
If you follow all the steps above, you should be well on your way to being a happy and confident entrepreneur.
Figuring out how to build confidence at work takes time, and it might take time to start believing that you can do whatever you set your mind to achieve. But it’s possible, and sooner or later, you’re going to have a big enough track record that you’ll feel confident in your business and where you’re going.
However, for those days when you’re facing hardships and something is going wrong with your business (and there will always be something that’s not going as planned), refer back to your track record to remind yourself that you’re capable.
If you could launch a $10,000 course once and succeed, you can definitely do it again—even if your fear and imposter syndrome says something different to you in a particular moment when you’re feeling down.