Send Self-Doubt Packing

I’m willing to bet when you experience periods of self-doubt it interferes with your ability to operate your business. You’re not alone. In fact, I think every business owner, entrepreneur, or self-employed person experiences self-doubt at some point or another. It becomes a serious problem when it continually affects your productivity and even worse it can force you to abandon your dreams, goals, and potentially even your business.

Occasionally, self-doubt can begin to grow inside you regarding the success of your business as the result of unfavorable customer feedback and ratings, or publicized trend reports that predict the need for what you have to offer is declining. The key is that this type of self-doubt is sparked by valid warning signs.

The type of self-doubt that concerns me and should concern you is the self-doubt that is unsubstantiated and originates due to your fear of failure, an unsupportive environment around you or a lack of personal self-confidence and self-esteem. In his book, The Ultimate Book of Mind Maps, Tony Buzan talks about the power of repetition as a catalyst for learning. It works the other way too. If you keep telling yourself you can’t succeed at something, it doesn’t go in one ear and out the other. Instead, it builds up until it becomes a part of your everyday thinking. It’s a perfect example of the “law of attraction” and becoming what you think you are but from a negative perspective.

So the question remains; what can you do to manage these moments of self-doubt and send them packing? I have been self-employed in whole or in part over the last 20 years and have coached both athletes and people who were starting their own businesses. I decided to ask some of them what they do to overcome self-doubt and combined their suggestions with my own tactics. Below are 5 suggestions I’d like to share with you practical and easy strategies for conquering self-doubt. I don’t guarantee that your self-doubt will vanish for good, but with persistent application I’m certain you can keep self-doubt at a comfortable and manageable distance.

1. Identify what is the source of your self-doubt. Is it your inner critic voicing its concerns? If so, what are these concerns based on? Sometimes self-doubt is triggered by a completely different event that has no real bearing on your immediate concern. In other words, try not to shift blame.

2. Instead of focusing on all the things you can’t do, shift your focus to all that you can and have done. Regularly remind yourself of your accomplishments through visualization. Go a step further by maintaining a visual representation of them. Positive customer feedback, testimonials, favorable press coverage, photographs, awards, framed certificates, and mementos that remind you of previous success can serve as great reminders and encourage positive thinking.

"Follow your bliss and the
universe will open doors
where there were only walls"
~ Joseph Campbell

3. Create a personal motto for yourself or find one that inspires you and post it somewhere where you can see it on a regular basis. Read it whenever you pass by and think deeply about its meaning.

4. Regularly set SMART (Specific, Measureable, Accountable, Realistic-Relevant, and Timely) goals for yourself. This keeps you action focused on working towards something that has meaning to you. I break my SMART goals down into smaller objectives and the objectives into tasks. By regularly setting 1 to 3 daily tasks for myself, I’m able to remain focused on achieving and don’t allow time for self-doubt to stick around for a conversation.

5. Give yourself a break. Realize you’re not perfect and never will be, and neither will your business. Allow yourself the opportunity to make mistakes and to learn from them.

“Reward worthy failure – Experimentation.” ~ Bill Gates 

I’m sure you have your own strategies for managing self-doubt. What are they? I hope you will share them with the rest of us in the true entrepreneurial sense and help us all send self-doubt packing on a one-way, no-return trip.

Cliff Thorbes has been self-employed for the better part of the last 20 years. He creates and markets his unique and functional mosaic art work in addition to providing career and business coaching services. To learn more about him, his perspective on life and to view his art, please check out www.piecebypiece.ca.

How I Crocheted My Way To Work-Life Balance

My First Project

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Well I have a bit of a confession: I have a small consulting business, working from my home office. I’m a little bit of a workaholic, cramming work into every spare moment of the day. When I’m working I often feel I should be spending time with the kids; when I’m with the kids I feel like I should be working. In those moments when I feel bombarded by work and life, I want to hide from everything and everyone, hoping it will all go away. Unfortunately this strategy isn’t effective. I end up even farther behind in my work and have to work really hard to catch up. Consequently, I feel more overwhelmed, triggering the cycle all over again.

A couple of months ago I tried an experiment. I was burnt out from working all the time and it was Christmas holidays so I decided to avoid work for a bit. I realized if I was going to procrastinate, I should at least do something more productive than play video games. So, I started a new hobby: crocheting hats for my kids. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it and that was all I did for a week straight. I posted lots of pictures of my creations on Facebook and my friends and family had a good laugh, but regrettably, I didn’t get much consulting work done.

So I made a deal with myself: if I could get a reasonable amount of work done by a certain time of day, then I could take a break for an hour. The results were shocking! I became more productive than I had ever been in the past, and I was taking the time off I needed to recharge, avoiding the whole burnt out cycle in the first place. If I wanted to take a break, it had to be scheduled and intentional. I used to feel guilty that I wasn’t working every spare moment; now I know what finding work–life balance feels like.  Now I have time to read the books I've wanted to, learn things I've been desiring to, and catch up on sleep.

Recently, I read an article on Entreprenuer.com about this topic that made me think of my own experiment. They suggest that “Predictable Time Off” (PTO) forces people to prioritize and increase the coordination of their time, and I couldn’t agree more. With a good planning system (i.e., I use a Franklin Covey priority planner), I was able to finally make the time I needed to take a break and address the priorities in my life. I’m happier, my family is happier, and my work is better as well.

What about you? How do you achieve work–life balance?

Miranda Vande Kuyt is a self-employed project and communications consultant. She is also the facilitator of the "Look Before You Leap: Self-Employment Survival Strategies" online course through www.LifeStrategies.ca.

Is Telework The Future?

Telecommuting, or a telecommuter, is someone who does not commute to the office but rather works for their employer from home.  We've talked before about the challenges of Clocking In From The Couch, but what are some of the benefits of telecommuting?  Staff.com has shared this infographic to help the picture become a bit clearer.

Tips For Accessing Professional Development

As a small business owner I feel like I’m constantly juggling different roles. One moment I’m a bookkeeper, the next I’m an editor, and then there’s the work I’m actually good at; the work that I get paid to do. My business needs me to address all these roles effectively to be successful, but it’s really tough to be innately good at everything. If you’re like me, there is at least one thing that you could do more effectively in your business.  I've discovered that professional development is the solution.

What should you do about the inadequate business skills you’ve identified? You have a few options:

• Ignore them 
• Hire or outsource someone to do them for you 
• Learn to do it right 

Learning to do things right doesn’t have to take an insurmountable extent of time. There are a number of ways to learn the tasks associated with running a successful small business:

Take a course – Formal education can take place on campus at your local community college, through modular courses at distance universities, through online courses by training companies and open learning, and other places such as continuing education by your local school district.

Have someone teach you – Find someone who knows what you want to learn and ask them to teach it to you. This could also be finding a mentor, or being an apprentice.

Take a webinar – These short online seminars shed light on the key points about a topic of interest. Completing more than one of them on a certain topic can be very insightful. Often times you can find webinars for free. Discover other benefits of webinars in this article.

Attend a conference, workshop, or seminar – Workshops and seminars can empower you to try new things and view your work differently. When you attend them as part of a conference you can leave feeling refreshed and eager to continue learning, and motivated tackle your biggest roadblocks. Check provincial boards, business associations, trade shows, and your local chamber of commerce to find out about learning opportunities.

Try volunteering – There are many organizations that are looking to work with and train eager volunteers. Look for an organization that needs the skills you want to learn.

Seek out tutorials – Many software and equipment companies host face-to-face tutorials or online tutorials to teach people how to effectively use their products. When shopping for software and equipment ask which suppliers and retailers offer support.

Source the internet – You can find multiple articles, videos, and white papers on almost any subject you search the internet about. Wikipedia and YouTube are among the favourites out there, but be aware that internet content may not always be reliable so be sure to seek out more than one source. You can also find motivational speakers on Ted.com.

Visit your local library – Your local library is a vast source of information. Thanks to technology most libraries can borrow books from other libraries to help you access the information you need.

If the free options won’t give you the education you need, there are small business grants and loans offered by federal and provincial governments, as well as business associations that fund the professional development of small business owners and their employees. Search the internet for funding options that may be right for you.

What other ways have you found effective for learning the business skills you need?

Miranda Vande Kuyt is a self-employed project and communications consultant. She is also the facilitator of the "Look Before You Leap: Self-Employment Survival Strategies" online course through www.LifeStrategies.ca.

Self Employment Survival Webinars

In the past we've offered Look Before You Leap: Self-Employment Survival Strategies as a two week, facilitated online course.  With the continued support of CERIC, we will now be offering a Look Before You Leap webinars series, making it more affordable and accessible than ever.

The first introductory webinar will provide attendees with a brief exploration of self-employment, both within and outside of the career development sector, and a review of the Look Before You Leap project and research (conducted by Life Strategies and funded by CERIC). Attendees will also be introduced to the 5-part webinar series. 

You can register for the introductory webinar here: http://ceric5.eventbrite.com/#.

This introductory webinar will be followed by a 5-part webinar series exploring  the following topics:

1. Getting Real About Self-Employment 
2. Creating Your Self-Employment Vision and Business Plan 
3. Marketing Yourself Effectively to Get Clients, Customers, and Projects 
4. Managing the Logistics and Getting Help 
5. Monitoring Progress and Planning for the Future 

For detailed descriptions of the series, please download this document.

To register for the 5-part series please visit: http://ceric6.eventbrite.com/#.

The first 10 registrants for the 5-part webinar series will receive a free PDF copy of the Look Before You Leap book.  A certificate of completion will be issued by Life Strategies to participants who attend all five parts in the webinar series.

Clocking In From The Couch

When I tell people I work from home, they respond with, "that must be nice" or "that's awesome."  But, is working from home really that nice and awesome?  Some days I find it quite challenging.  Why?  I must say it's because of all the distractions that surround me.  I have designated office hours and an office space, but I still get lured by distractions such as house work, kids, pets, the mail's arrival, tv, phone, Facebook...

Recently I came across this great blog post and infographic by www.webs.com that gave me a good chuckle about the realities of working from home and some solutions to combat the distractions that make my "nice and awesome" work environment actually a great place to get work done.  Click on the image below to visit the infographic.

Miranda Vande Kuyt is a self-employed project and communications consultant. She is also the facilitator of the "Look Before You Leap: Self-Employment Survival Strategies" online course through www.LifeStrategies.ca.

8 Tips For Supporting Retained Employees After Layoffs

Engaging survivors is key to successfully downsizing a workforce. Failing to support survivors is proven to lead to low motivation, loss of productivity, and a decrease in performance. Survivor disengagement leads to an increased staff turnover, causing companies to hire new staff, negating the cost saving intentions of layoffs in the first place. Having highly engaged employees is key to successful downsizing. Follow these tips for keeping survivors engaged. 

1. Preplan - Start the downsizing process by considering all your options to avoid downsizing1. Include staff in your look for a solution. Ask them what they need for the company to be successful.

2. Create career development plans - Meet with individual staff to create career development plans. Understand what motivates each employee; what he or she truly values in life and work. Support them to create a plan to journey towards their career goals. Having staff invested in their future helps your company meet your needs of a diversely skilled work force2.

3. Treat those being laid off with dignity and respect - This reassures survivors that if they must leave in the future, they will be treated in the same manor. It reduces their fear and anxiety over the future3, as well as encourages them to stay with the company4.

4. Address survivor guilt - Survivors can be plagued by worry about the future, guilt over surviving the cut, increased stress about the increased workload, and their skill gaps5. This overall leads to lower morale, productivity, and performance, as well as higher staff turnover6. Address this through one on one coaching. Allow each staff to process the transition in their own way as they move toward understanding their new identity within the company7.

5. Recognize accomplishments - Celebrate small wins for the company; how the downsizing is fulfilling its goals. Also celebrate the achievements of staff; when they reach part of their goals, complete training, etc. Acknowledging their accomplishments and how they ultimately make your company stronger boosts morale and the staff's commitment to their personal career development goals and loyalty to the company2.

6. Communicate transparently - Update staff frequently on how the company is doing through newsletters, reports, emails, staff meetings, etc. Encourage them to give you feedback on what they need to do their job more effectively. Use multiple avenues such as feedback surveys, group planning sessions, one on one coaching, etc5.

7. Provide strong leadership - Survivors need help to focus on the most important things they can do for the company and themselves in order to succeed in the time of transition2. They require clear communication on the expected outcome and empowerment to reach and even exceed those expectations. Also, don't forget the need for honest communication and recognition for moving towards and reaching expectations.

8. Create an environment for highly motivated employees to succeed - Have the systems (policies and procedures), as well as the strategies (career development planning, cross training, leadership) in place for people to tap into their internal motivation and talents for being highly engaged employees2.

Miranda Vande Kuyt is a self-employed project and communications consultant. She is also the facilitator of the "Look Before You Leap: Self-Employment Survival Strategies" online course through www.LifeStrategies.ca.

End Notes:

1 Weber, Liz. (2009, March 20) Managing Layoffs With Dignity. Retrieved from http://www.smartbiz.com/article/articleview/2516/1/8/

2 Discover Winning Ways. (2009, April 15) Outplacement – Managing the Survivors After the Layoff. Retrieved from http://www.discoverwinningways.com/outplacement-layoff

3 Oliver, Karen. (n.d.) Outplacement Services – Part II. Retrieved from http://www.dbmgulf.com/articles/dbm_articles2.htm

4 People Central, (2009, February 12) ROI for Businesses Using Outplacement & Career Transition Services Retrieved from http://www.peoplecentral.co.nz/outplacement/roi-for-businesses-using-outplacement-career-transition-services/

5 Oliver, Karen. (n.d.) Outplacement Services – Part III. Retrieved from http://www.dbmgulf.com/articles/dbm_articles3.htm

6 CallMe!. (2011, April 26) 5 Steps to Overcome “Survivor Syndrome”: managing Employee Productivity in the Wake of Layoffs & Restructuring Retrieved from http://iq.callme.io/2011/04/26/5-steps-to-overcome-survivor-syndrome-managing-employee-productivity-in-the-wake-of-layoffs-restructuring/

7 Trevor-Roberts, Edwin. (2008) Outplacement Myths. Retrieved from http://www.aim.com.au/DisplayStory.asp?ID=653