Entrepreneur Women Coaching and Training's Blog

Success is about Facing your Fears

How do you face your fears, I get asked quite frequently as a Coach.  Have you ever been scared?

Of course I have been scared.  When I quit my job and stared my business I was scared.  Starting a business is even more fearsome than starting a new job; but I also knew that if wanted to change my life; I needed to face my fears.

Fear is  a funny thing.  Many times we are attracted to things that make us scared (like a movie, roller coasters, skydiving, bungee jumping, etc)

And in the same way, many of the business fears that we face, we have brought to ourselves, because we decided to become women entrepreneurs.  It was our choice.

Way too often, we tend to run away from our fears, and that is when they overtake us, because fear of failure is so powerful that might stop you from even trying.

When we fear change, we sabotage ourselves to avoid new things and we are unconsciously leaded to procrastination. However, when we allow fear to take the best away from us, things only get worse. 

And I understand that few  things in life seem as terrifying than making a sales call, getting your first loan or firing an employee (except for encountering a bear while hiking in Alaska), but these are things that go hand by hand with owning your own business.

Fears never go away.  You will conquer your current fears, but new ones will appear; and that is ok!  Fear make us stronger,they make us pay attention to details and do our due diligence.

Fears once faced, become less scary.  Each time you succeed over your fears, you will grow in confidence.  Most of our fears, never will come to pass and usually those that do realized, are more tolerable than we imagined.

This is what I do to face my own fears; I ask myself:

What's the worst thing that can happen?  How likely is that?  Can I live with that?  Then, I ask myself; What will I think when I'm 85 looking back at my life and I realized I didn't do this thing, because I was afraid? Will I regret it?  Then I put all the answers in my own personal scale and decide.

Some times the only way to survive is to face our fears, by confronting them and knowing that you can move forward event though you are afraid... Still I don't like to put myself in a situation where I can encounter a grizzly bear; some fears I'm willing to live with!

How Little things can help us get set for success as Women Entrepreneurs

Here is a quiz for you:

When you meet someone new, what's the second question you are most likely to be asked.  Answer:  What do you do?  It's not just to figure out whether you are a welder o a writer, but to determine how important you are.  

For Women Entrepreneurs, that question can be though.

Unfortunately, people associate status with jobs, and having a fancy office and title makes us feel good.  So, when you go from employee to Woman Entrepreneur, giving up the trappings of status and success can be tough.  And it can be the little things that make you most uncomfortable; like not having to report to anyone and not having an office outside your home.

Even more frustrating is when you make a lot of money, but no one knows how well you are doing.  After all, you still work from home and wear jeans.

In my case, I have given up a job where I finally had a nice office, assistant, and an expense account, I didn't miss any of it (maybe the expense account); but because early on I made sure that I set up myself to feel good about being self-employed.

These are few things I did and do, and you can as well, to feel good about your entrepreneurial status:

• Business cards are a must! (I still run into Women Entrepreneurs that don't have business cards)  In my opinion they are a must have!
• A telephone line just for business, especially if you have kids
• Name of your company.  It will automatically add credibility to your business and it will make your feel better
• Give yourself a title.  Some people dream with being a manager, director, president, etc.  If you own your company, you can be whatever you want to be.
• Get dressed every day.  Put your sweat pants away.  I know they are comfortable, but trust me it does make a difference in your state of mind what you are wearing.
• Set up an office.  Even if it is just a desk, designate a place for your  business.
• Get your own domain name for email.  What do you think it sounds more professional:  entrepreneurwomencoaching@gmail.com or carmen.shearer@entrepreneur-women-coaching.com ?

Because little things matter, make sure you set up yourself for success, with the right environment, disposition and attitude.

Carmen Shearer | Founder and CEO | Entrepreneur Women Coaching and Training , LLC