You want to start a business, but you don’t have the confidence. You have saved up money and you have a business plan, but sometimes, even those two do not give enough confidence. Once, you tried starting a business, but it did not work out. Now you have chosen a different one, tied to your passion for cooking. Your family thinks the entrepreneurial life is not for you. After all, you can cook but not on a large scale. You must not mistake a hobby for a life career, they warn. Yet, whenever your friends have an event, you do the cooking. In fact, they tease you into turning it to a full-time gig but every time you charge them for your service, they tear your confidence apart, saying your fare is too much. Even after you halved the original market value just to make them smile. So maybe you are not all that? You really want to start this business though, maybe you just need to be a little readier… But what if you fail again?
First things first, turn it off!
All that doubt, what-ifs, and what-nots; turn them off! You cannot thrive under the overwhelming opinions of too many people that have varying vested interests in you. Confidence fizzles away when you do not take enough time to know yourself before subjecting yourself to the scrutiny of the world.
Next stop, know yourself.
One of the greatest gifts in life is knowledge of self. Know the fact that you are the only limitation you have and that you can morph into anything that you desire. You do yourself a disservice when you do not take the time to know your who, why, what, how and when! It’s all on you! When you know who you are and what you want, it will be difficult for anyone to say you are too young to follow your dreams!
No one is ready!
No one is born ready, so we will all fall and fail at different things. However, Mistakes and failures are a part of life for a reason. Fall down seven times, stand up eight. Make your mistakes, everyone is making theirs.
You are the boss
Never forget this! And when you are a boss, you make the rules — who gets in, who goes out, and who does what. You are constantly assessing what and who you invest your time, energy and resources in. Take charge of your life. Take charge of your decisions. Your life is your business, and you better be on top of it.
Be your own cheerleader and worst critic
Because why not? Scold yourself when you have to, no sugar-coating the truth. Recognise your mess up, own it and clean it up. Cry if you must, break down if you need to; after then, forgive yourself and get back to work! Build your confidence, step by step, brick by brick. It will take time, but you can do it.
Never assign a permanent role to a temporary person
It is brilliant to have support systems but don’t hand that role to one person! When you assign a permanent role to a temporary person, your confidence tends to become a consequence and effect of that person’s emotions and whims. And why will you want to do that? Everyone is temporary. And you should not completely rely on one person to make you feel good about yourself.
Finally, always remember this: You are beautiful, possible and capable. You are everything you feel you are. And if you feel ready to take on your dreams, guess what? You are!
Let no one tell you otherwise.