who are you really competing with in business?

Your competitor in business may not be who you think it is...

When asked who we think our competitor in business is, we naturally start to think about the other businesses who offer a similar product or service for a similar price point and who are targeting the same market as us. I disagree.

I think the biggest competitor entrepreneurs will face in their business is fear and self-doubt. The biggest competitor will be that internal dialogue which is silent and deadly and which, if we let it, can talk us out of hustling, making that extra phone call, sending that next email and essentially doing whatever it is that we need to do to keep our business going and our dreams alive. Our biggest competitor is that voice, built on fear and self-doubt that will talk us out of following our dreams and into going back to our “old job”, the safe option and the “security” of that regular pay check.

Self-doubt is a sign of one's weakness and I think we all have moments of it. It reminds me that, to be an entrepreneur, you need to be mentally and emotionally tough but also courageous enough to admit when you are vulnerable and brave enough to seek out someone who can help you through. We all have moments of self-doubt and dealing with it alone is tough and sometimes not enough. It reminds me why I wanted to start the Entrepreneurs Network and be a part of other Network in the first place, to find like-minded people, who I can share with and talk to about things that are going on and who will understand what I'm talking about.

Here are my top 5 tips to overcoming fear and self-doubt in business:

• Take time out to see a friend and share a coffee

I do believe a problem shared is a problem halved! Find a friend, ideally who is also in business, whom you can confide in when the going gets tough. There are no prizes for martyrs who put on a brave face when their business is going to ground. Speaking to someone not only eases the burden, but it also gives an outsider the opportunity to offer assistance. By sharing your problems you are giving others the opportunity to put forth ideas or connect you to others who can assist.

• Set goals and share them with those you trust and believe in you

As we have spent all of last month, August focusing on setting your goals, this is where it leads to. By setting business goals that are relevant and achievable, it gives you something to focus on when the going gets tough. It gives you purpose and a reason to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Sharing them also means you have someone holding you accountable to achieving them which places the responsibility squarely on you to take the action needed to achieve them. Absolutely nothing will change until you take action!

• Find a Mentor is a 'must do and have'
  

Mentoring is exceptionally important in business and I have proven this to be a life-changing experience over and over again, which has also given the reason for me to also offer mentorship as part of the services I provide. We are all learning and there is always someone else who has been before us and whom we can learn from. Mentors can give you advice on where they went wrong and what they’d recommend you do so you can learn from their mistakes, thereby avoiding making the same ones. It also gives you a tangible example of success in that what you want to achieve is possible as it’s been done before!

• Make a “To Do” list everyday and stick to it

Even if it only has 3 things on it, that “to do” list is going to keep you focused on a daily basis. Have that list be directly tied to your bigger goals and everyday you will feel like you are moving forward and achieving something. It’s the small steps which turn into the forward movement in business. Remember, behind every overnight success is 10 years of hard work carried out on a daily basis!

• Celebrate your achievements as it is!

No one tells your own story better than you do. Each time you tick off an item on your “To Do” list, celebrate! Post it on Facebook, phone your friend or email your mentor! Do something where you will receive positive reinforcement for taking the positive action. This will give you extra incentive to keep moving forward as you will feel like you’ll have your own little cheer squad celebrating each success with you!

Tackling fear and self-doubt is going to be a regular occurrence in business so make sure you have some strategies in place to help you through. This reminds me why our Entrepreneurs Network is so important. It’s important because we have to build a platform where we can provide our members and guests with a community of women, men, young just like them, who they can turn to when the fear and self-doubt become too much for them to deal with alone.

Each woman, man and young involved in our network, be it member, guest, founder, speaker or a hero is here to support all entrepreneurs and to ensure they don’t give up on themselves or their dreams. The world needs more women, men and young like us who are following their dreams and we are here to support them to do it.

So thank you to everyone who is reading this because you are a part of an awesome Entrepreneurs Network and each of us, in our own small way, is contributing to this collective effort which is hopefully going to help all of Tonga and millions of  entrepreneurs worldwide. The network is important, it's necessary and it's going to change the game!