You can spend money to buy…
: A gorgeous Valentino dress.
: A sexy pair of Louboutin heels.
: A professionally designed website with all the bells and whistles.
: Glam head shots that make you appear like a seasoned professional.
: Advertising that puts your name in front of thousands of potential customers.
And so many other things. There’s no denying: money can buy a lot. Clothes. Shoes. Great branding. Exposure. Access.
But one thing money cannot buy is the one thing that many women need more than anything else: Confidence.
The confidence to rock that Valentino dress. The confidence to stand tall in those shoes. The confidence to feel at ease in your own skin and totally own the room.
The confidence to describe why your work is so freaking valuable as you’re handing out business cards at that industry conference that you paid hundreds of dollars to attend.
The confidence to follow up with potential customers and feel completely cool about charging whatever rates you need to charge, because you know that if they hire you? You are absolutely going to blow them away, delivering exactly what you’re promising. And then some.
I see so many people—particularly female entrepreneurs—spending major money (even going into extreme debt) to make themselves “appear” a certain way online and offline. Yet the glam branding isn’t translating into sales and they can’t figure out why.
Apparently, what their branding strategist forget to tell them is… no amount of web design artistry will make you BELIEVE in yourself.
So go ahead and invest in a pair of designer heels if that’s truly something you crave. Wear clothes that you love. Adorn and decorate your body. Hire the best website designer you can afford. All of that stuff is great.
Just don’t confuse those types of investments with the one investment that really counts: doing your work, day after day, year after year, until one day, you’ve accumulated enough joyful emails and success stories from actual customers/clients that you know, without a doubt, “I am providing a top-notch service. My work really works. I’m getting exceptional results for my clients. I have proof of this. I have every right to feel confident. I’ve earned it.”
Branding can be bought. Self-belief cannot.
Confidence is something you earn, not something you buy.
