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It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in business…

Any entrepreneur can suffer a crisis of confidence.

Late last year, I felt woefully unprepared and underskilled for the task I had in front of me. I felt like I had been faced with setback after setback, with defeat after defeat.

I’d spent 2 years trying to build what I saw as the answer to a huge, painful problem for small business owners. And I just couldn’t seem to get traction.

I believed in the idea, the people, the systems, and the plan more than ever but I lost confidence in my ability to execute it.

I was able to keep up a brave face for a long time…

…but in early November, I collapsed in tears.

My faith was gone and, without it, I didn’t know how to solve the problems in front of me.

It was finally at that point that I reached out to my crew. I came clean. I got really honest. And I laid it all out for them.

For me, getting honest was the path forward.

Yes, my supporters comforted me, gave me new ideas, and asked tough questions. But I had to get really, really honest first.

Without getting honest about how low I was, I couldn’t have accepted their support. I couldn’t have taken different actions. I couldn’t have made the big decisions I needed to make.

As you know, honesty, transparency, and candor are very important to me.

It’s our goal here at What Works to create a safe space to get real about the ups and downs, ins and outs of small business ownership.

Honesty creates a space for us to examine what’s really going on and what we can do about. Honesty helps us identify the real challenges beneath the logistical obstacles we wrestle with on a daily basis.

Honesty levels the playing field.

Honesty helps you see that your challenges and my challenges aren’t so different after all—even if they present in different ways.

It’s time for us all to get open and honest about confidence.

We decided that this August, we want to tackle a candid conversation about confidence in a big way.

And so, we created The Candid Confidence Project.

We know you have big goals for the rest of this year. There are numbers you want to hit, things you want to create, and relationships you want to nurture. And, we know those goals can often make you question your ability and readiness.

The Candid Confidence Project is designed to guide you through examining your own stories about confidence, how you handle insecurity, and how you find the drive to level up.

Here’s what’s coming:

• Here on the podcast, we’ll be sharing a new candid conversation about confidence every Tuesday and Thursday in August, kicking off on August 1st with my own reflections on confusing status with confidence.
• We’ll also be sharing written stories from successful small business owners every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
• Plus, we’ll be hosting a public conversation about confidence each weekday in August on our Instagram account, @explorewhatworks.

The Candid Confidence Project is not about the leap to get started…

…it’s about finding the confidence to continue, to change your plan, and to do hard things.

You’ll hear how Jamie Varon spent a year in France reexamining personal satisfaction, updating habits, and finding joy in living effortfully. You’ll hear from Abby Herman about how her confidence wavered while raising her prices—and led her to up-leveling her whole life. You’ll hear why Lauren Caselli spends over $1000/month on therapy. You’ll hear how Lou Blaser took action without confidence—only to discover that confidence is actually the willingness to try. Plus many other stories of navigating insecurity and leveling up.

To get The Candid Confidence Project delivered to you each weekday in August, go to explorewhatworks.com/confidence