No one is born confident. Thankfully this state of mind can be built, gradually and through experiences, learning, trial and error, and practice. I should know, I’ve been through that process, and it’s why I share my tips and learnings in a new series of interviews conducted by coach Nina Sadlowsky. Nina and I met as colleagues when we both worked in hotel cosmetics, and we instantly clicked thanks to our shared love of dancing, travelling and saying yes to opportunities. She was one of my first #beautyinsider Q&A guests and here we are, reunited again to talk about building your confidence. To discover the full interview all you need to do is sign up online for free here. All six interviews will be released next week, but in the meantime here are a few tips on how to bolster your confidence, which I learned when launching this beauty blog.

1. Do your research

Before throwing yourself head first into a new project, do your research! I decided to launch FRESH BEAUTY FIX while I was taking a digital marketing course, to put what I was learning into practice. A beauty blog seemed like the right approach seeing as I worked in the beauty industry and was passionate about the topic. Even though I had a solid background I still spent weeks researching blogs, their content, layouts and writing styles to get a feel for the market, as well as how they were being promoted. This gave me the foundations to confidently build my brand and decide what role FRESH BEAUTY FIX would play within this environment.

2. Don’t be a perfectionist

Once I had decided to launch FRESH BEAUTY FIX and done my research, I didn’t wait for the perfect time or perfect blog template or perfect social media plan to launch it. I thought up the blog name in 24 hours, selected a WordPress template I liked the look of, wrote a handful of posts and pressed publish. This part of the process was relatively quick because I had done my research beforehand, and felt that if I spent too much time overthinking it, I could lose my confidence and not move ahead with this. Perfectionism will hold you back, when it comes to actually doing it, go for it. You can improve and adapt as you go along.

3. Trial and error

Once you’ve got started, that’s where the trial and error kicks in. Confidence grows from new experiences and learning from them, so you do better next time. I am constantly reviewing my blog’s performance to understand what works and doesn’t work and how I can improve for next time, from content to timing and imagery.

4. Say yes!

‘Yes’ is such a positive and powerful tool: yes to change, yes to opportunities, yes to learning something new. Even if you don’t feel 100% confident that you will excel in a new venture, seize the opportunity if you feel it will help you grow. When I was invited on the QVC Beauty shopping channel as a beauty blogger and fragrance expert I was excited, flattered, but also a little apprehensive: did I have the right skills, the right experience, the right presentation? I’m glad I didn’t let that momentary self-doubt take over, and thanks to my prep and an uplifting talk from my QVC friend (who had absolute confidence in my abilities), I fully enjoyed the experience.

5. Celebrate your breakthroughs

Even if it seems small, any achievement deserves acknowledgement and helps you take that next step. Getting my first article published in The Resident as a beauty blogger felt very rewarding and gave me the confidence to contact other editors and pitch my ideas, resulting in a snowball effect of further published articles.

6. Use beauty to boost your self-esteem  

Beauty can seem superficial but it can also play a positive role in boosting confidence. Finding the right skincare routine to achieve great skin can result in one less thing to stress about the morning before a big presentation. Wearing a bold red lipstick can lift your mood or give you that extra boost even if you don’t instantly feel it. Just make sure you do this to make yourself feel good and not for someone else’s benefit.

If you want to find out about the other confidence-boosting tips Nina and I discuss in the interview, you can sign up here for free. Do you have any tips for growing your confidence and self-esteem? Please share them by leaving a comment below to let me know.