sjsmith.com.au - blog

Talking It Up

Bold and Strong

When you first start in business you're keenly aware of how little you know.  Everybody else seems more experienced, more knowledgeable, more confident and definitely more successful.  As women I think we're also prone to downplaying our fabulousness. We don't want to appear too pushy or conceited and we certainly don't want to be seem to be bragging. All of this combines so that many businesswomen end up hiding their shining lights under a bushel.  

After you've been in business for a while you may be more confident about your abilities and success but it can still be daunting to talk about it. Let me tell you a secret - most people find it hard to talk about their achievements! At least at first.  But you should take the time to list your accomplishments and even write yourself a little script of how you talk to someone about them. And don't try to downplay it with umming and ahhing.  Be Bold.  Be Strong.  Be Proud.

Let me give you an example.  I was born in the U.K., I grew up in Hong Kong and I now live in Australia.  I've sold art work in all of those places so I can confidently say to someone "My artwork is hanging on three continents!"  It sounds a lot better than "I've sold a few pieces of art" that I used to say.  If you deal with customers via the Internet, are they from different countries?  If you've gone from 20 subscribers to 40 you can confidently state that you've doubled your social media following.  Find the positive in all the things that go right in your business and talk boldly about them.  And the great thing is that all of these examples are completely true!

Till next time,

Sarah-Jane X

P.S. Since writing this I've also sold a piece to the U.S.A. so now I can say I've got work on four continents! :-)