As a business startup, success is all on you, whether it be getting funding or finding clients. If you can’t trust yourself, how can you do what’s best for your business? Finding that confidence isn’t easy, especially when you’re faced with uncertainty or need to take a leap of faith. Simone Alicia, the founder and CEO of The Self Esteem Doctor (TSED), understands this feeling well; transitioning from education to modeling and now public speaking and coaching, she’s taken many different paths. As a result of this journey, she’s broken down success into an easy-to-follow framework: identify your challenges, then identify yourself as the solution.
Her company, TSED, is a coaching company centered around promoting both personal and occupational growth by increasing mental flexibility. It is, as she describes it, “the grand expression of the self”—a line of work that moves both individuals and organizations toward success by teaching self-esteem. The groundwork for TSED is deeply linked to Alicia’s own specialties, such as interpersonal communication, public speaking and neuroscience. By playing into her own strengths, she generated an approach to business called “flow,” and has been featured on TV programs and podcasts alike.
What is “flow?”
Success for Alicia has always been about working alongside your personal strengths. This doesn’t just mean knowing what you’re good at, but also intentionally moving yourself toward industries that complement your skillset. It’s a combination of identifying the best market for yourself while keeping an open mind.
Before she became a founder, Alicia was an elementary school teacher and then a fashion model. Her time spent in these careers left her open to something strange: people nowadays don’t seem to have any confidence. Whether it be with the kids she taught or the models she worked with, she observed that this lack of self-esteem was an obstruction. It stopped students from performing well on tests, and it made models hesitant to walk the runway. Not only did this help her realize that self-esteem is integral to success, but there was also an untapped market.
She notes that, “While it seems like my journey may have been disjointed, I found this very clear, seamless stream that flows through all of it.” The common thread that pulled Alicia along was the lack of self-esteem that she noticed among children and adults. Not only was there a shortage of it, but that same shortage spoke to her skills of encouragement, motivation, and problem-solving, leading to the foundation of The Self Esteem Doctor.
This is the ideal ”flow.” When you identify an ideal market that suits your skills and you move toward this market, you simultaneously increase the value of those skills. You begin to cooperate with your work. Provided that you pursue the opportunity, your path to success can become more pronounced. Your work starts to speak directly to who you are as an entrepreneur.
You are your route to success
Once you’ve established a relationship with your work, you need to utilize the resources that can be found between you and your industry—you need to network. When networking, it’s important not to try and force anything with a haphazard approach. Instead, it’s better to shift your focus to your capabilities so that you can better connect with your partners.
“I’m much more interested in solutions than I am problems,” says Alicia. Where others may see themselves as part of the competition, Alicia defined herself “as the solution,” and that mindset becomes the groundwork for building a rapport with other companies. It allows you to build strong relationships with others because they will recognize you to be just as valuable as themselves.
When you present yourself as the solution, you’re figuring out two things:
- The human needs of your peers
- The human needs of yourself
By starting with the needs of your clients, you can see where you fit in the relationship. In turn, a connection of genuine mutual interest is formed. From there, the space becomes easier to navigate, and sales come a lot more efficiently. Share something genuine, get something genuine in return.
Navigating the stress of problem-solving
While it’s good to think about what we can do for our business, we want to make sure we’re not avoiding the issues at hand. When you encounter friction in the workplace, whether it be with your partners or your business itself, make sure that you’re deliberately turning your attention towards resolving those issues. “Otherwise, you’re just denying something, trying to suppress it. You’re not searching for solutions,” says Alicia.
When you have knowledge and awareness of your issues, you can approach them with a degree of control. Alicia refers to this process as “chunking up.” Focusing on the details, while important, can lead to a high-stress environment and diminish the quality of your work. Oftentimes, it’s better to allocate a little bit more time and purpose onto larger ideas. This places you in a less stressful sphere and allows you to utilize your full kit when navigating any problems. More importantly, however, is that it keeps you on your toes. You’re still looking at the problem.
For Alicia, chunking up is necessary for success. When she first started her business, she struggled greatly. Her purpose wasn’t clear to consumers, and she was forced to give up the space she rented for her company. She spent time staying with family, where she readied herself to try again by looking at the bigger picture. It was clear that, while there was a communication issue, she still found brief success. This meant that, with a little fine-tuning, she had a sustainable place in the market for her business.
Trust yourself
Starting a business is difficult and everyone wants it to go right the first time. In truth, things are bound to get slippery, and how you react to those moments are the real determiners of whether you find success or not. As you navigate your business, regardless of what it is, always keep in mind your personal strengths. And when you encounter an issue, try asking yourself where you fit into the problem. If you were the key, how would you open the lock?
From there, it’s just a matter of putting your skills to use.
Check out Self-Love and Social Entrepreneurship: Karen Palka on Her Nonprofit, A Beautiful Me.
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