Small Business Achievement Thinking Through Self-Assurance

You need more self-assurance. The most successful people in business have extreme self-assurance. Feelings of lack self-assurance about your small business will stop opportunities dead in their tracks every time. But, self-assurance is a small business growth accelerator. Having self-assurance is a great way to grow your small business.

I have a great example for you. I was working with one of my clients on a dvd training distribution opportunity in Europe. Basically, a corporate training company in Europe had contacted her about integrating her training materials into their existing courses. My client was intrigued by this idea and brought me on because of my expertise in international distribution planning and management.

In our first few email exchanges the engagement sounded promising. Then, as we discussed more of the details, their lack of self-assurance had shown through. They sprinkled their email replies with comments such as “we’ve never done this before”, “this is a new idea for us” and the like.

I advised my client to discontinue the project due to their lack of self-assurance in their own business and product line. People lacking in self-assurance need to be nurtured and provided an opportunity to learn, grow and prosper. This might be fine for a new junior employee, but problematic in an international distribution partner. In this scenario of different time zones, currencies, laws, and business culture, the basic challenges are already there. Dealing with a partner’s lack of self-assurance would likely result in an ineffective partnership.

Self-assurance is critical in negotiations, sales presentations, and customer service. You need to demonstrate that you know your business, our proud of your business and that even when you might not have the solution, you are confident that you can find one. As you portray greater self-assurance your vendors, your employees, and your customers will all respect you more.

Be confident in your small business. Having self-assurance is a great strategy for growing your small business.