How Your Body Image Affects Your Business

If you’ve ever felt intimidated by a business woman you feel is better looking than you;

If you’ve ever skipped an event because you didn’t think you belonged there;

If you regularly undercharge or over-deliver because you feel constant pressure to add value;

If you prioritize giving time to other people and other commitments over your business;

If criticism or negative feedback make you question if you’re on the right path;

 

Please. Keep. Reading.

 

 

Raise your hand if you’ve ever creeped your competition, or your inspiration, on Instagram.

Now raise your hand if you’ve ever paid attention to what that person looks like.

Now… raise your hand if you’ve ever criticized your own looks after doing this.

Is your hand up? Mine sure is.

As a woman, you are born into a world that almost instantly begins to assign value to you based on your appearance.

At some point in the first 15-20 years of your life, you begin to form an identity largely based on your appearance and how others react to it. This experience will be completely different for everyone, obviously:

• maybe you bounced through high school looking like a Kardashian;
• maybe you struggled through feeling more like Shrek;
• maybe you were one of over 10% of high school and college-aged girls who struggled with an eating disorder
• maybe you got lucky and just didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought from a young age (do you exist?)

Regardless of how you experienced your younger years, most women emerge into adulthood with a deep-seated internal belief that their appearance determines their worth.

The problem with this is that over 91% of us are not happy with our bodies. (Yes, 91%.)

So if we’re not happy with our appearance… and our appearance subconsciously determines our self-worth…

Houston, we have a problem.

Not just for you as a human, because you deserve to feel good in your own skin all the time.

Not just for you as a mother, who is already giving up pieces of herself to others and learning to love a new body, one changed by pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum life.

But for you as a businesswoman, because your sense of self worth directly affects your success and longevity in business.

After all, people buy from people, not from businesses. How can you sell yourself if you’re not sold, on  yourself?

~

Don’t believe me? Consider this.

Successful entrepreneurs of all kinds have one very important thing in common: Self Confidence.

They believe in themselves. They believe they have a right to:

• take up space in successful circles
• spread the news of their success
• live a life that other people won’t reach for

 

When you possess self confidence, you are able to:

1. Comfortably surround yourself with confident and successful people;
2. Be open to criticism and able to channel it into growth;
3. Take calculated risks;
4. Price appropriately and scale successfully; and
5. Dictate your own schedule without guilt.

 

These are things that come when you have a strong sense of self worth; and they are instrumental in allowing you to grow your business to a whole new level.

So practice a little self love today, mama- you might be surprised where it takes you.