Confidence – Shaken, not stirred. No matter what business you’re in, one key component of your success is the confidence you possess. It takes a lot of courage to run a business. It takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of hundreds of people and give a speech or continually land new clients or sell your products. To succeed in your business, you need that courage, that confidence day in and day out.

What often happens in business is when you have what you may perceive to be a "not so successful" event or two that might really test your confidence. It might be a small thing such as not having as many sign ups as you had planned, or simply a lackluster month in sales. Times like these can leave you feeling less than confident or even thinking, "Can I really do this?" And worse yet, you might even find yourself feeling isolated and alone and not measuring up to your expectations.

What many don’t realize is that a lack of confidence shows and can actually be what is causing the lackluster sales or lack of event sign ups. Without confidence, you don’t attract the right clients and potential buyers. Also, you might inadvertently be announcing your lack of confidence if you are posting comments on social media such as "I’m so overwhelmed, I can’t keep up." "Not feeling very creative today, maybe tomorrow." Others often read this and instantly feel your pain. And while this can be a good thing (who doesn’t want someone else to help them through their own rough patches); at the same time they are feeling your pain, they are also feeling the sense of, "Well, she doesn’t have what I need right now." And with that comes less work and less sales. In fact, your existing clients might even be reading it and hesitate to give you more work.

Think about speakers. When you see a speaker all energized and on fire talking about their latest event, you can’t wait to sign up for whatever they have coming up next. For example, even comments such as "Preparing for my latest talk. It’s going to be my best yet," project a feeling of confidence in what they are doing, right? Can you see how that energy flows through? You just can’t wait to sign up. The speaker might actually be feeling a little less confident, but you wouldn’t know it from their postings.

Here are some tips to keep that confidence and creative energy going:

• Shake it off. If something negative happens, recognize it, act on it to make sure it’s resolved, and then move on. Don’t give it any more power or let it zap any more of your energy.

• Be mindful of what you post on social media. While yes, you can find support there, you need to remember that many potential and current buyers and clients are also viewing what you post.

• Reflect back on previous successes. If sales were good in the month of March, think about what you did that month that you might not be doing now. Did anything change? Also, think back to perhaps a very successful event you hosted. What did you do then that you might not be doing now? This one simple step can be all it takes to get back on track.

• Don’t do it alone. Hopefully you have a better vision now of what might be hindering your success. It’s time to consider what additional help you might need to get back on track. Even having someone read over your sales copy or review your tweets and Facebook postings might help you re-energize. Consider having an online support specialist take over the tasks that might be holding you back.

In business as in life, confidence and success go hand in hand. We all experience times when we doubt ourselves. But the real champions make sure those times don’t dominate them. Stay confident in all you do, and when you see an area that needs improving, don’t be afraid to take action to get it resolved. You’ll gain more confidence and build a much stronger business when you do.