Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in the creative entrepreneur world for a while, confidence seems to be a word that crops up in daily conversation. Over the weekend, I sat across from a friend who is a brilliant artist chatting about all things business. We discussed creating strategic offerings, pricing, creative partnerships, you name it. And finally, after a while, she asked me a question. How come you don’t have any doubts?
I couldn’t help but laugh because internally, I have doubts daily. I think that’s just a a regular part of doing anything creative. When I first wrote Yeah, maybe, I did it as a challenge for myself. I didn’t care so much about what happened after, I just wanted to see if I could do it. Making the choice to do something Big and Scary is hard enough.
But when you decide to put that creative project that you’ve worked on, whether it’s a book or a painting or an e-course or even a creative service out into the world in exchange for money, I think it’s natural for doubt to fall over you like a warm blanket. Doubt and fear are good friends of the unknown. And when the work that you do is so tethered to your heart, it’s hard not to worry about the what ifs.
What if someone thinks I’m charging too much?
What if they think it’s crap?
What if they think I’m crap?
What if I’m not actually any good?
What if I put in all this work and no one buys it?
I think where the disconnect happens is that people put a lot of stock in their first stab at something. The first price you set for your creative business will not be the last. The first draft you write of a novel will not be what you publish. You’re allowed to try and make mistakes and readjust as you see fit. But you have to start somewhere. You have to try, collect the data, regroup, and try again if necessary.
While I wish I could wave a magic wand and gift you with confidence, I can’t. But what I can do is possibly change your perspective on confidence. For me, I am confident I’ll eventually figure it out. I’m committed to this journey, whatever that entails. (And trust, it’s been a hard, heartbreaking, terrifying, and sometimes downright messy road.) But I have confidence in myself to know I’ll keep trying until I get it right.
I’m a firm believer that confidence comes from the doing. Our minds are scary, scary places y’all. And when we let them, our thoughts of doom and gloom can take on a life of their own, making Everything seem bigger than it really is. But if you’re busy doing, your mind is focused on tangible information and can’t just wander off into its own, terrifying world.
So whatever it is that has you feeling unconfident right now; whether that’s setting your pricing or starting that blog, or writing that book, have confidence that eventually, you’ll get it right. And give yourself permission to mess up.
And as for the fear of what others might think, I’m just going to be painfully blunt here. It’s easy to have opinions, it’s harder to do the work. Keep your head down and just worry about the work that you’re doing. Put your best into it, and good things will come. You cannot and will not make everyone happy. But focus on the good, take nuggets of information from the constructively critical, and leave the rest.
If you’re knee deep in the struggle and need tangible, action-based help, get in touch. I have creative business consulting and coaching sessions available.
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