I want to confess something, which I'm hoping might help those of you who are not comfortable with the thought of putting yourself out there when starting up in business. I'm an anxious introvert. I have learned to hide it for the main part, so only those who know me well, know that I'm madly dodging my 'inside voice' in social situations. (Did I say hello? Did that come across as too chirpy? Oh crap, what's her daughter's name again? She'll think I don't care!).  I recharge in my own company, and to be honest, lockdown has been no hardship. To add to this, self-promotion is a big 'no-no' in these parts, so for years, I would reply to the question of 'what do you do?' with a shrug and 'Oh I write stuff for people'.  Queue Business Coach daughter, who, were it not for our similar features (and a really painful memory of childbirth) I swear was swapped at birth. "You have to get better at selling yourself", she told me once, as I was considering taking my side-hustle to the next level. "But what if I fail?" "You're not going to find out, are you?" She had a point. She's half German; very efficient. As time has gone on, I've learned to appreciate the joy and privilege of being good at something I love.  The fear of others thinking I thought I was 'all that', and the greater fear that I might actually be 'some of that' (the fear of success, etc) have both softened a little, as my business has grown and my clients keep coming back. It was a risk worth taking, but I would never have found that out if I'd stayed where I was. Starting up in business demands that you step out of your comfort zone and see what's out there. We all know this - but we're put off by the fact that there just isn't an easy way to do it, and the consequences of getting it wrong can seem paralysing. But when we stop focusing on the fear of what we're about to do, and pay attention instead to how it will feel to succeed, it definitely helps. Worst-case scenario, it all goes Pete Tong and you move to Plan B (in my case, a steady, but uninspiring 9-5 job). And best case? For me, it was roaming the planet as an ageing, sandal-wearing digital nomad. This probably isn't on everyone's vision board, but it was my dream. And when the world opens up again, I'll get back on it. Anxiety means that we often generalise stressors to encompass a world view, believing that everyone will think this of me, or everything is going wrong when it's simply not true. And I've learned that anxiety is not part of being an introvert. They are two very different things. People ask what I do now, and I actually tell them. In detail. Whether they're interested or not:)