How to boost your confidence (and get more clients)

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I’ve been quietly working on a large project for the last several months and, if I’m being honest, finding reasons to delay its release. I bring this up because no matter how “successful” people look, they are all going through some degree of self-doubt or hesitation.

How did I push through? I reminded myself of a time when I completed another huge project at the height of the pandemic with all my kids home, every day. The result? I went on to write a book that sold 2,500 copies and has a 4.4 out 5 rating on Amazon.

Reminding myself of what I’m capable of is what finally gave me the confidence to launch, this week’s issue will teach you how to boost your confidence as well.

And if you’d like to see – or hear – what I’ve been up to, check out my new podcast!

The first episode drops Tuesday. You can listen to the trailer and subscribe here.

But enough about me, let’s get started.

Today at a glance:

Thought – Be careful what you tolerate

Time-saver – The fastest way to create social video

Tactic – How to boost your confidence

Read time: 4 minutes

Thought: Be careful what you tolerate

A few months into starting my business I decided to create a profile on Upwork to bring in new clients. To my surprise, it actually worked and within a few days a prospect reached out for my help with their Facebook ads. Then the red flags started popping up. First, he wanted to pay me a lower rate. I was desperate at the time, so I agreed. Next, he expanded the scope of the project without increasing my pay. Another red flag, but I was still desperate. Here’s what really set me off though. We signed the contract on a Friday afternoon, and by Saturday he sent me a rude email asking why I hadn’t done anything yet. I then told him I didn’t work over the weekends. This wasn’t even close to true but I had just about enough of him at this point.

His response was, “I’m under a lot of pressure, so I’m putting that pressure on you.” I replied (on Monday) “I didn’t cause this situation, so I’m going to refund your payment.”

And while it’s clear this guy was a jerk, I taught him how to mistreat me. Every concession on my end emboldened him to keep overreaching and disrespecting me. I taught him how to treat me.

So here’s the thought for this week: Be careful what you tolerate, you are teaching people how to treat you.

What behaviors do you need to address or correct from others? This may be a tough conversation but being treated with respect from others is a requirement, not an option.

Time-saver: The fastest way to create social video

Creating social videos is one the fastest ways to build trust with your audience and land speaking engagements. Beyond that, Instagram is now prioritizing video, and LinkedIn has greatly increased the reach of video on their platform. Unfortunately, the process can feel a bit daunting and confusing. Here’s the quickest way to overcome these challenges:

Repurpose your old text-based posts as the script for your videos.

Step 1: Find one of your posts from any social media channel that provides value to your audience and can be read in around one minute or less. This should be around 150 words, max.

Don’t have old posts you can recycle? Here’s an alternative; just record yourself answering common questions your audience may have.

Step 2: Locate a place in your home or neighborhood that is relatively quiet and has a decent background. If you’re at home, standing in front of a window will give you the best lighting.

Step 3: Record yourself reading your post. Don’t worry about getting every single word verbatim and you don’t have to read it straight through. You can take it one line at a time if you’d like, so you just have to remember smaller parts.

Step 4: Use a free tool such as InShot or Adobe Rush to edit out the parts you don’t need. For example, pauses between sentences as you prepare for the next line.

I’m going to stop here for a moment. I know I may have lost you when I mentioned editing the videos. Sure, it can seem intimidating at first but these tools are built for novices and you’re about 20 minutes away from knowing how to use them.

Still don’t want to do it? You can find people on platforms like Fiverr who will do so on your behalf for a relatively small fee.

This person has completed 94 projects and has a 5 star rating so I’d feel comfortable reaching out to them if I didn’t already have a team in place.

Here’s an example of the final product. You’ll notice this is several shorter clips combined into one video.

You can do this, even if you don’t think you’re “good” on camera. I was horrible when I started out. I somehow managed to look both angry and afraid at the same time. But after getting some reps in I’m much more confident on camera and I’ve seen the impact it’s had on my business.

So your challenge for this week is to create one video. Just one. You don’t even have to post it, but this will help you learn the process and set you up for success going forward.

Tactic: How to boost your confidence

To build my online course, The Solopreneur’s Fast Track, I surveyed over 300 emerging or aspiring entrepreneurs. My main goal was to build a course that provided the guidance and shortcuts for you to start generating income – using the skills you already have – in less than 30 days.

Here’s where I ran into a problem.

One of the survey questions asked “What’s blocking you from overcoming the challenges associated with launching your business?”

I was shocked to discover “Lack of confidence” is an issue that’s holding many people back. Unfortunately, this meant that any information I provided would fall short of my goal if I didn’t address that issue.

So that’s what we’re going to do now. It’s time to boost your confidence.

The first thing you need to realize is that confidence comes from past experiences. Not pep talks, motivational posters or any external validation. It’s knowing that you’ve accomplished difficult things in the past and those experiences have prepared you to take on more challenges.

So, how do you do that? Dr. Michael Gervais (a high-performance psychologist working with the best in the world) introduced me to the concept of front-loading confidence by documenting “epic thoughts”. These are documented examples of challenges you’ve overcome which you can recall when it’s time to boost your confidence.

Some of my examples include:

Making the varsity football team
Getting into business school
Landing a job at Facebook
Speaking at SXSW
Running a seven minute mile at 42 years old
Being accepted to the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator program
Having all my kids at home, all day, every day from March 2020 – June 2021

Your list is going to look different because it’s based on your unique experiences, but the impact is the same.

You’ll be able to authentically say to yourself, “I’ve overcome challenges in the past, and they’ve prepared me to take on more.” Beyond that, you’ll be able to unlearn all the self-limiting beliefs that may have crept up over the years.

You are talented, you are capable and you are necessary.

So take 15 minutes this weekend to make your list of epic thoughts and review them every day for the next two weeks. You’ll be amazed at how much more confident you feel, and you will be able to inspire others to see the best in themselves as well.

And if you’re comfortable with it, share your list with me. I’d love to see what you came up with.

I hope you found this valuable (let me know!) and if you did please consider sharing it with a friend.

You can forward them this email and encourage them to sign up here.

I’ll see you again next week!

I hope you found this valuable (let me know!) and if you did please consider sharing it with a friend.

You can forward them this email and encourage them to sign up here.

I’ll see you again next week!

Whenever you’re ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:

1. Learn how to start a professional service business using the skills you already have (Available now)

2. Get quick answers to your most pressing questions (booked out one week)

3. Work with me 1:1 to build your revenue and personal brand (booked out three weeks)

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