Three guidelines to stop doubting yourself in business

A little dose of self-doubt is sometimes healthy, because it can keep us aware of our capabilities and limitations. That’s not to say those limitations are fixed, but it’s important to be aware of what the parameters you’re working within are. For example, if you haven’t exercised meaningfully in five years, signing up to a marathon for charity is simply not a good idea. You may make it over the finish line, but not without putting yourself at risk health-wise, and no doubt with a great deal of discomfort. Odds are, such an effort can’t be completed just yet, not without training.

As you’ve started to run a business, you no doubt have an idea of what you hope to achieve. This might also be backed up by a pedigree in that field, experience with other contacts and a strong network of friends, or the sheer will of purpose. However, it will become quite apparent to you that you don’t know everything. No one does or can. For this reason, self-doubt can often come.

But managing healthy self-doubt or criticism, and feeling capable of many decisions, are two sides of the spectrum. If you fall into the latter too often, here’s how to rectify that:

Delegate what you can

Almost all new business owners try to handle every single aspect of their company themselves, for the plain reason that not everyone has a massive team to hire immediately nor the means to do so, but that can lead to a huge amount of stress and self doubt. You can’t be an expert at everything, so trying to be one is just going to make you feel tripped up quickly. 

For the team you do have, delegating is a very powerful tool, so hand off tasks that take up a lot of your time but aren’t in your main area of expertise. If you can, you can always outsource, for instance, virtual assistant services can help with everything from managing your calendar to handling customer service inquiries, which frees you up to focus on the bigger picture and build your confidence in your key role.

Focus on your core strengths

A great means of uprooting self doubt is to focus on what you’re good at. You started your business because you have a unique skill or a passion for a topic, so you should spend your time on that. Doing the things you know you’re great at and that you enjoy will make you feel a lot more capable and in control of your business, and you can then turn that extra time to learning the fundamentals of your weaker skills, such as bookkeeping or marketing. This way you’ll be doing your best work where it counts, and you’ll probably find that a lot of the self-doubt you feel starts to go away naturally even when you apply a routine learning format in your work.

Seek mentorship from others

No one knows everything, and that’s a very simple fact. You learn this quickly in life and certainly in business. Though if you can find it, a very effective way to work through your self-doubt is to learn from someone who has been there before. If you have networked contacts from your prior professional history, finding a mentor in your field or joining a professional group with other business owners can be so helpful. 

Through these formats, you can get advice, ask questions, and hear about the challenges that other people have faced and how they overcame them. Perhaps you’ll find something to relate to.

With this advice, we hope you can continue to stop doubting yourself in business. It’s the least you deserve!