Are you thinking about starting your own gig, but just haven’t mustered the courage to dive in?
I regularly get e-mails from handy people that aren’t quite sure if they are skilled enough to run their own handyman operation. After digging deeper to find out more about these pre-entrepreneurs, the answer is almost always a resounding YES!
To be completely honest, I didn’t have much experience when I started my business. Other than my last job working as an engineer, I held a part-time job installing granite counter-tops for a couple of years, and before that, a job installing car audio.
But, I had little or no experience with most common handyman tasks. I had to learn as I went. In fact, as I write this, I’m still not nearly as experienced as most handymen out there, yet I’m still able to pull in a decent income.
If that isn’t motivation enough for you to take the leap, here are some tips to boost your confidence.
Assessing Your Skills for a Boost In Confidence
Assessing your skills and accomplishments is a HUGE confidence booster. The other day I was hangin’ out at my good friend Mike’s house and he mentioned something that prompted this post. He had recently submitted a resume for a new job and was showing me his resume/presentation that he put together.
I could tell that his confidence was unusually high that day. As we went on discussing the resume, he mentioned what a huge confidence boost writing it was. He went on describing how going through his responsibilities and accomplishments at his old job made him feel great. Actually writing down and evaluating everything he had done really put things into perspective and allowed him to realize his value.
It got me thinking to back when I worked as an engineer and had to do my yearly reviews. Every year I would have to go through and list my projects, describe how they went, and analyze my own performance. My boss would use my self review to help him determine my raise. Each time I did this, I realized how much I was doing. These self reviews gave me the confidence to walk into my review and demand a substantial raise (which worked). Even though I knew everything I’d done the past year, actually putting it down on paper made all the difference.
It’s easy to get caught up in the pressure of daily tasks and responsibilities and forget about what we have accomplished. This is especially true while going through a rough patch. Evaluating your achievements is an amazing way to lift your spirits.
You too can achieve a confidence boost with a similar exercise. Sit down and list all of your handyman skills, home improvement projects you’ve worked on in the past, repairs you figured out by yourself, and accomplishments you’ve had (even accomplishments not related to being a handyman). You can even write a fake letter as if you were trying to get hired by another handyman business, explaining why you are the right man for the job. You’ll have new respect for yourself and a boost in confidence.
Not only that, but you’ll be more prepared to sell your services to potential clients. By doing this exercise you’ll gain insight into your strengths allowing you to leverage them when it comes to providing value to customers.
If you are even remotely uneasy about your abilities, use this exercise to feel better about your skill set and empower yourself to achieve your goals.
