Anyone running their own small business will inevitably suffer from periods of self-doubt at times. We can either deal with these feelings and recognise them as a natural part of the process of owning and running a business, or we can let them get the better of us and let them threaten to sabotage our business success.

Make sure you find ways to get over your self-doubt and move forward to a successful future.

Do you suffer from self-doubt?

I bet at times the answer is yes.  This past week alone I have been contacted by a number of ladies who have all told me they are doubting their abilities, feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility of running a business on their own and are lacking the confidence to be able to move forward.

Does this sound like you?

Self-doubt is one of the top challenges faced when running your own business.  You start off guns a blazing with a fantastic idea running around in your head and the world is rosy.  You are going to be a millionaire by year 3 – and then reality kicks in.  Things don’t take off quite as quickly as you had hoped.  The hours you have to put into your new venture are far longer than you anticipated.  You feel guilty for not spending as much time with your family as you had hoped.  So the doubts creep in.

Maybe you aren’t cut out for this after all.  Maybe your fantastic idea isn’t quite as wonderful as you first thought.

So what do you need to do to overcome this self-doubt?

“Erase self-doubt by working to build your strengths instead of focusing on your weaknesses.”  – Rodolfo Costa

Firstly stop what you are doing.  Stop right now!  Sit back and instead of thinking about all the things that you haven’t achieved and the things that haven’t worked, write down all the things that you have learnt along the way and how you have grown personally.  Look at all the things you have achieved, no matter how small.

Take a blank piece of paper and let all your thought spill out into written words.  Get them out of your head where they are swirling around and on to that piece of paper.  Then take one thing at a time and work out how you are going to get back on track.

This may be re-evaluating a time frame for getting that event off the ground.  It may be changing the way you are marketing your business as what you are doing at the moment is just not working.  It may be a realisation that you need external help as you really cannot cover every aspect of the business on your own.

Take some time to re-plan and regain your focus.  Then put some practices in place on a daily basis to help keep you on track.

• Each day, write down 3 things that you are grateful for. This will help you focus on what you do have in your life that is working well and will help you stop focusing on the negative.
• Read a chapter of a motivational book each day or listen to an audio. This can be a great way of keeping inspired and finding new ways to keep motivated.
• Find a mentor, whether on a professional basis or a friend you can turn to when sometimes all you need is someone to listen and hold your hand. Find someone you trust and respect and who can help reassure you in those times of doubt.

Whatever you are feeling, remember that you are not alone.  Self-doubt is a normal process that happens to everyone at every level of success.

So take some time out, refocus on the positive, then pick yourself up and move that tiny step forward towards your goal.  Learn how to overcome that self doubt.