Start Your Business Confidently: Why Starting a Business is like Wearing a New Bikini

Start Your Business Confidently: Why Starting a Business is like Wearing a New Bikini

Before I tell you what wearing a bikini has to do with starting a business, let’s set the mood with Brian Hyland’s “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.” Turn it up, do your bikini dance, and let’s get going.

1) It takes confidence and a whole lot of self-love

When you put on a new bikini, especially the first one of summer, you feel totally aware that you’re basically naked in front of the world. You have yet to build a tan (or if you’re pasty-white like me, just become less so). And your summer body is still stuck in winter mode. It’s vulnerable. It’s terrifying. You’re putting yourself out there, and that can be scary. Even the most confident among us had to take those first few steps onto the beach at some point.

When it comes to starting a new business, it’s hard to feel confident. You’re putting your ideas and creativity out there hoping someone likes what they see. You don’t have it all figured out and don’t know what to expect. You’ve put hours and hours of work into creating something and you don’t know what will happen when you bring it into the light. It’s scary knowing you’re putting your hard work out there for the world to judge. But that’s okay. Part of starting a business is overcoming your deepest fears and biggest doubts. Remember, everyone starts in that same vulnerable place.

Building up the confidence doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process of combating your self-judgment and learning to accept your imperfections.

2) You’ll nit-pick every last detail

From your pasty white skin, to that cellulite on your butt, all the way down to your unpainted toenails. Wearing a bikini has a way of making you think you have to “fix” all of these little imperfections before you deserve to wear it. Maybe you think you need to lose 10 pounds first. But what happens when you lose those 10 pounds and still think you’re not good enough? It becomes this cycle of judgment that inhibits your confidence and diminishes your self-worth.

Similarly, when starting a business, you’ll want to pick apart everything you’ve created and re-create it to “make it better.” If you’re a perfectionist like me, you know it’s easy to get caught up in the endless cycle of tweaking and improving. Believe me, I get it. Now stop that! This constant refining is only doing one thing for you: stopping you from doing the one thing you’ve set out to do!

You are more than your image, and your business is more than perfect appearances. Stop the cycle of judgment and start accepting who you are and where you’re at in your journey.

3) You’ll be tempted to stick with your comfortable one-piece

Just before heading out the door, you’ll question whether you should wear your new bikini or change into the one-piece you bought as a backup. That one-piece is so tempting. It’s within your comfort zone and offers the coverage you’re used to. It’ll easily get you through the day without a worry in the world. Except, you’ve decided you want to wear the bikini. You want to go for it, and you know it’ll boost your confidence over time.

As you’re planning your new business, and your doubts and fears come rolling in, the safety of that regular job will tempt you. The consistent paycheck, benefits package, less responsibility, significantly less risk. You’re wondering if starting this new business is worth it. But, you decided to start a business for a reason. You want more flexibility, you want to make a real impact, you want financial freedom. You want more. Yes, that corporate job is safe, but starting your own business is fulfilling.

Don’t give in. Remember WHY you decided to start a business, and cling to that any time those doubts start to take over. Commit to starting your new business, set a deadline, create a plan, and go for it!

4) It gets easier with time

As summer moves along, you’ll gradually stop thinking about if you can wear your bikini, and start thinking about when you get to wear it. Every time you go to the beach, you’ll gradually get more comfortable, wear less to cover up your insecurities, and allow yourself to focus on enjoying your time. You’ve built up confidence over the course of summer and have become accustomed to the feeling of putting yourself out there, imperfections and all.

After you launch your new business, you’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief. Yes, you still have a lot of work to do, but something about taking that first step takes a lot of pressure off. It’s already out there, so you no longer have to worry about the what-ifs and trying to make it perfect. As you track your progress, you’ll begin to see what’s working and what’s not. With experience comes confidence. You’ll have metrics to show you the way and you’ll realize you have the power to make your business great.

As Mark Twain said, “The secret to getting ahead is getting started.” That first time putting yourself out there is the hardest. So, take the leap with faith and trust that it will get easier as you go.

5) It’s a bigger accomplishment than you realize

You wore the bikini, so what? Anyone can wear a bikini. True, but, you also accomplished something by wearing that bikini. Think about what wearing that bikini meant for you. It meant you put yourself out there, you learned to love yourself a little more, and proved to yourself that you are worth it.

Maybe you think anyone walking down the street could start a business. And I’d have to agree. But not everyone DOES. You took the plunge, you accepted the risk, you overcame the self-doubt, and you’re doing it. You started a business! Don’t downplay what a big accomplishment that is!

Be proud of what you’ve accomplished and celebrate your victories, no matter how small they seem.