How can you blossom in your business?

At RWC, we love this time of year when the season turns from spring to summer, the blossom is looking beautiful in this part of Worcestershire. In the vale of Evesham, the 3,000 acres of apple and plum orchards burst into cascades of white and pink blossom, which lasts until mid-May. You can drive along the 45-mile blossom trail through villages, hamlets, and towns, which have been celebrated for fruit-growing since medieval times.

How can you blossom in your business?

Many business owners can identify the qualities that they believe are vital for starting and growing a business. These often include passion, resilience, focusing on opportunities and not risk averse. However, the quality that might have the most influence over an entrepreneur’s success is confidence.

As a business owner, you’re much more likely to approach someone about your latest business idea or effectively pitch a new client if you feel confident.

Often confidence feels elusive. Imposter syndrome can kick in. It helps to know that we all suffer from it at times. When he was VP at Apple, Alan Dye confessed, "I'm scared to death that at some point I'm going to get found out. You know, [Apple CEO] Tim Cook is going to realise the truth about me, which is I'm terrible".

There are said to be 5 different types of Imposter Syndrome: -

1.The Superhero who overworks to overcome their feelings of inadequacy.

2.The Natural Genius who sets themselves extremely high goals and then feels devastated when they don’t achieve them.

3.The Expert is never satisfied with their level of understanding is always looking to learn more.

4.The Perfectionist finds themselves fixated on errors and mistakes and is never happy with what they’ve done.

5. The Soloist prefers to work alone; they think they’ll appear weak or incompetent if they ask for help. 

Can you identify with any of these? If so, these traits could prevent you blossoming in your business.

Here are some top tips to silence your inner critic and beat imposter syndrome:

1.    At RWC, we love Brene Brown and her academic research into shame and vulnerability. If we can learn to share our feelings with a non-judgemental person (like a business coach, perhaps?) then this is a great first step to take.

2.    Separate your feelings from facts. Look at the reviews and testimonials that customers and clients give your business. Maybe print them out and create a wall that you can regularly look, at which helps to remind you what people say about the products and service you offer. 

Develop a healthy response to ‘failing’. As Thomas Edison is quoted as saying: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

3.    Consciously change the way that you speak to yourself inside your head. If you notice yourself being self-critical, then stop and ask yourself “is this is how I would speak to a friend or colleague?” Alter the script.

4.    Don’t wait until you feel confident to start putting yourself out there. Courage comes from outside of your comfort zone.

If you are experiencing Imposter Syndrome, it means you have some level of success in your life which you may attributing to luck, rather than your own hard work or abilities.

Remember that during May, when you are looking at the beautiful blossom around you, to consider what actions you can take to bloom in your business. We’d be delighted if you’d like to chat with one of our business coaches about confidence or any other business topic, please get in touch!