Confidence is key to success

A few years ago I decided to get my auctioneer's license. Although I was working full-time I knew I was getting close to retiring (for the second time) and wanted something else to do. I took the 80 hours of training our state requires and took the exam which I passed. A few days later I got my license in the mail.

The next Friday evening I went to an auction conducted by a friend of mine.  As soon as I walked in the building he asked if I could help out in the ring as he was short-handed that night.  After a couple of hours of ring work he asked if I would relieve him for a few minutes and take over the bid-calling.  That was my first time to call bids at an actual auction.  We ended each of our class sessions at the auction school I attended practicing bid calling, but this was my first time to be taking bids from actual buyers.  I can assure you it was not the same!  That few minutes turned into almost an hour before he returned to the microphone for the remainder of the auction.

I learned three things that evening.  One, I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would.  Two, it is harder than it looks like.  Three, I can do this.  That hour behind the microphone gave me confidence that I can be an auctioneer.  Yes, I messed up a couple of times.  (Once I had a $15.00 bid for an item and started asking for $10.00.  We all laughed because everyone knew it was my first time.)  But, that was OK because it taught me that messing up isn't the end of the world.

In anything we try to do in this life confidence is an important key to success.  This is especially true for the entrepreneur starting a new business.  You may have been a technician in the field of your new business or perhaps you've spent years in school learning the nuts and bolts of running a company.  Despite that background you don't KNOW you can do it until you are actually the person in charge.  When the microphone is handed to you, when you are the one responsible for making the final decisions that will determine the direction your business will go, when the employees are dependent upon your judgment for their livelihood then you will find out whether or not you can do this.

For most entrepreneurs it is often best to start part-time until your new endeavor is showing steady profits and growth before completely leaving your old position.  Anyone starting something new will make mistakes, but when you are not totally dependent on that one source of income those mistakes are less deadly.  As your business grows you will become more confident in your ability to manage it.  Perhaps the day will come when you will decide to invest yourself fully in your new business, or, like me, you may see this as something that will remain something you do part-time as a fun diversion.  Either way, as you build confidence it will become much more enjoyable and profitable.

If you want to read what has to be the textbook on entrepreneurship and how to properly start a new business you must read EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches by Dave Ramsey.  An important piece of confidence is learning what you need to know to be successful, and this book will give you the tools you need to start and run your own business.