There are two ways to build confidence as an LNC. One is unintentionally and one is intentionally. Whether or not it’s intentional, the end result is the same. You end with a confidence level that really cannot be rattled by a negative outcome or an outcome that was less than favorable or by other people’s criticism.
Limit or if possible, eliminate negative people from your life
These are people who will say, “You know, you’re crazy to try this, you’ll never succeed.” The term for those people is “dream stealers”. They should be avoided because they’ll step on your enthusiasm and make you stop before you can even start. They never let you build confidence as an LNC.
Negative people are one of the biggest destructive forces to entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are such a different breed. We have big dreams; we take more risks; we want to do something big; we want to step out. A lot of people don’t ever do that.
Be aware of the risks of listening to all this negative talk
All business owners make mistakes and achieve unintended outcomes. You are going to fall. You’re going to take wrong turns; that’s part of the journey. But if we’re listening to all this negative talk the first time we fall down we’ll think, “Maybe they’re right, maybe I can’t do that.” Do you see how that starts our own fear process going? And how they can erode confidence?
Surround yourself with positive people
Entrepreneurs understand the mindset of another entrepreneur wanting to do something big, of taking that risk to achieve this big goal, of doing something big and amazing in this world. We need to be surrounded by other entrepreneurs. There are many ways that people build confidence as an LNC.
Set goals
The best way to build confidence as an LNC is when you’re backed by a plan. This way you can get to exactly to where you’re trying to get to. You’re reliant on each baby step that you take. Set goals. We understand how to set goals for patients. Do we apply the same process to our business? A goal is very specific; you can measure it. You may set up a graph and keep track of your results. What can you measure? Here are just a few:
- Make 20 marketing calls each week
- Send out 25 mailings each week
- Gain 3 new clients per month
- Convert 75% of potential cases into actual cases
- Send out 100 invoices this year
- Reduce invoices that are 30 days past due by 50%
- Spend no more than 5 hours to locate an expert witness
Avoid setting yourself up for failure
Goals should be attainable. Many times we set goals that are unrealistic and not attainable. That sets us up for failure and that is another way that totally diminishes our confidence and self-esteem. We need to make sure that they’re attainable and the time that we’re allowing ourselves is realistic. Goals are tangible, that there’s something at the end that we feel is very important and worthwhile that we’re going to get out of achieving this goal.
Be as specific with your goal writing as possible
You might want to say something like “I feel incredibly empowered, encouraged and optimistic knowing that I have completed 20 sales calls every week for the last 90 days that have resulted in 45 new conversations and 18 new clients.”
That’s your goal but you’re writing it as if it’s already happened. Do you see how specific it is? It’s specific about the timeframe and about the quantity of calls. You could even add a revenue number into that goal because where the mind focuses, the mind goes.
Think of goals as short term and long term, a model we understand from nursing
Short term goals break the big goal into tiny steps so we don’t get overwhelmed with the big goal. We get encouraged and gain momentum by achieving the small goals. Every step brings you closer to the big goal, when you start to experience that feeling of personal and financial freedom, of fearlessness, of being empowered, of knowing who you are, of having strength and choice in your life as well as control of your life. Set your goals high so they stretch you, but realistically, so that you can grow and enjoy the accomplishment.
Set quarterly goals
Break them into steps. When I ran my LNC business, my staff and I worked with quarterly goals with specific deadlines. We reviewed our quarterly goals at least every other week, adjusted deadlines, and highlighted those that are accomplished. We enjoyed marking these as done. The quarterly goals energized, focused, and helped us appreciate what we accomplished.
These tips will help you build confidence as an LNC. Get out there and use them.
Patricia Iyer MSN RN LNCC is president of The Pat Iyer Group.
Grab your free copy of 5 Surefire Ways to Get More Clients.
