3 Tips to Become a Fearless Woman Entrepreneur!

So here you are…finally your own boss. You’ve quit your “real” job, maybe you’ve rented a little office or are now squirreled away in the unused bedroom…rocking it out as the next superstar business woman…the next one to be mentioned in Inc. magazine’s fastest-growing woman-owned business. Yes. The future awaits you. But now what?

Studies show that successful entrepreneurs have an extremely high tolerance for uncertainty and fear and also above-normal tendencies for risk taking. So, if you’re a woman entrepreneur, it’s critical to know where you meet the criteria and where you need some work!

Chances are, if you’ve already started your own business, you do possess at least a few of those traits or you wouldn’t be sitting where you are today. However, if you’re not totally confident and fearless, you can find yourself paralyzed, sabotaged or, sadly, out of business.

So, how do you become a fearless woman entrepreneur?

Tip #1: Get Networked and Find Support If you are finding yourself unable to move forward, or if you are confused, uncertain or paralyzed, you need to get support. Call your local chapters of the Small Business Association, Center for Women in Enterprise, or Women Business Association. Also, check out SCORE…an online consortium of retired business executives who will give you advice and mentor you for no cost. It’s hard to go it alone, and there are many powerful support organizations to help career women, business women and women entrepreneurs find what they need to move ahead.

Tip #2: Protect Your Self-Esteem and Confidence As women entrepreneurs, we need to make sure that we are working at all times on our self-esteem, confidence and courage. Your company is new and growing; getting those first clients and making it through the first few years are the hardest tasks at hand. It means really putting yourself out there in the public eye with having confidence in yourself, your product and your service. And that’s hard, especially when you’re just starting out!

It’s easy for your self-esteem, confidence and courage to slip after the fiftieth “no thank you.” Do everything you can, every day, to affirm your abilities, talents and value.

Tip #3: Redefine Failure and Avoid the Dream Stealers There are two threats I see as the most detrimental: fear of failing and negative input.

1. Change your definition of failure. Failure is FEEDBACK, and only FEEDBACK. If one sales approach doesn’t work, try another. If one email doesn’t work, try another. Feedback doesn’t mean you have failed, it only means the approach you are using isn’t working. Change your approach. Your self-esteem and confidence as a woman entrepreneur depend on this.

2. Remove yourself from the dream stealers and naysayers. Don’t ignore good advice, but don’t be sucked into a state of fear by people who constantly reflect back to you the worst-case situations.

As a career woman, business woman and woman entrepreneur, you need to surround yourself with supportive, knowledgeable people, especially other women entrepreneurs, who understand what you are doing and why. These are the people who will bolster your esteem, confidence and know-how.

Kathleen Aston is the authority on creating confident, courageous, successful women who strive to reach purpose-driven prosperity. Ms. Aston’s proprietary systems help women to build solid foundations of self and rapid-fire business growth, profits and success. Discover The #1 Secret to Stop Procrastination and Boost Profits! https://www.kathleenastonintl.com/getgoing/