5 Tips for New Entrepreneurs

Starting a business asks you to make brave choices before you feel ready — these five tips keep you steady when self-doubt gets loud.

Updated August 2025
In this piece, you’ll find five practical tips for your first year in business, the answer to why “self-sabotage” often masks self-protection, and the simple ways to build self-trust when doubt gets loud.

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When I first decided that it was time to start my own business, it felt both dangerous and slightly dramatic. I was going against what I had been raised to do (work a stable 9-to-5 job) in exchange for something that had become increasingly important to me: freedom and challenge.

One of my favorite memories of last year was this trip out to Colorado. So much hiking and lush conversations with friends both old and new.

• “Freedom” to work from wherever, to travel as I wanted, to live overseas part-time, and to have my work be driven by intellectual curiosity.

• “Challenge” because I realized that by not pushing myself to grow, I felt incredibly down and disconnected. I needed to keep learning and growing or every day of the year would start feeling like a grey, cold February morning.

Some months I was seriously knocking it out of the park, and others felt like I had to throw out the baby with the bathwater and just start over. I was okay with that, though. I knew it would be an uphill experience and I was ready for it.

Years later, I now specifically coach entrepreneurs and business owners, and in our work together, I do my very best to give them the shortcuts and lessons I wish I had. And, rather than be stingy, I wanted to start paying it forward and share some of that advice with the interwebs.

Related Post→ What Self-Doubt Sounds Like as a Business Owner

1. Bring awareness to creeping perfectionism. When you’re just starting out, the temptation is to wait until you feel “ready.” The truth? Readiness is built through action.
   
   Example: One of my business owner clients wanted to launch a workshop but kept “researching” instead of opening registrations. We reframed her self-doubt as self-protection — her mind was trying to avoid the risk of low sign-ups. By naming that, she could choose to move forward anyway.
   
   Action Step: Choose one next step for your idea that you can complete in 20 minutes or less. This moves you from waiting to building self-trust through small wins.
   

2. Hire yourself every day. Confidence comes from keeping promises to yourself.
   
   Example: In self-doubt coaching for business owners, I often see people promise they’ll “work on the website” but leave it vague. That vagueness gives self-doubt space to creep in. A first-year entrepreneur I coached switched to a micro-promise: “Upload the new About Me photo before lunch.” She did it, celebrated it, and felt more capable.
   
   Action Step: When you set a task, make it tiny and measurable. Each kept promise is proof — to you — that you can rely on yourself. This is the primary way we heal our self-doubt.
   

3. Be Aware of Your Mental Health. Be willing to get visible before you feel confident.
   
   Example: A client delayed posting on LinkedIn for months because “I’m not an expert yet.” We explored how overcoming imposter syndrome isn’t about never feeling doubt — it’s about letting your work be seen even with doubt riding shotgun.
   

   Action Step: Post one short, helpful tip for your audience today. Don’t edit it to death. Treat it like a conversation, not a performance.
   
   

4. Tune into the lessons. Let mistakes be teachers, not verdicts.
   
   Example: One new entrepreneur sent a proposal with a typo in the headline. Instead of spiraling into “I’m not cut out for this,” we looked at what it meant — her process needed one more proofreading step. That shift from self-criticism to curiosity is at the heart of building self-trust.

   Action Step: After something goes sideways, write down one thing you learned. That turns the moment into fuel instead of proof for your inner critic.
   

5. Build a support network. Find support that holds you accountable and believes in your potential.
   
   Example: In business coaching for new entrepreneurs, having a trusted space to share the messy middle can keep you moving forward. One client said knowing she had a session coming up helped her stop overthinking and just try the thing.
   

   Action Step: Identify one person — a coach, mentor, or peer — you can share both progress and stumbles with. Consistent check-ins keep self-doubt from running the whole show.

   Related Post → Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Self-Doubt

And, here’s the biggest tip to keep in mind: You’ll forget all of this soon (maybe even tomorrow). And, guess what? That’s OK.

At some point, you’ll throw all of this out the window and you’ll procrastinate, be a perfectionist, will let yourself get away with murder (figuratively, of course), will take on projects that you may not have room for and waste massive amounts of time trying to do something that you should just leave to someone else.

I know because I still find myself falling into old habits all the time. Just last week (!) I fell under the spell of my Virgo perfectionism, which is something to behold. Hours were spent organizing things that had little importance. Looking back, I see how I was avoiding failure. I’ve let it go and I’ve moved on.

So, be kind to yourself and remember the most important thing of all is to jump back on that horse when you fall off.

Related Post → The 6 Types of Entrepreneurs: How Your Personality Influences Your Business Strategy

I’ve worked with many new entrepreneurs over the years (if this sounds like you, hello!). Here are some common questions often covered in our first sessions:

• I keep delaying my launch. Is this self-sabotage?

  In self-doubt coaching, we see this as self-protection. Try a micro-experiment (a tiny, low-stakes version of your offer) so your nervous system can gather evidence you’re safe to show up.

• How do I price my first offer with self-trust?

  Choose a price you can say out loud without bracing, then commit to offering this a few times at that price. Review the outcomes and adjust — self-trust grows from evidence.

• I’m afraid to niche too soon. What if I get it wrong?

  Treat your niche as a season, not a life sentence. Name a working niche for 90 days, create, talk about, and market content/offers to it, and decide with data rather than dread. That data will be both how it lands for you (sometimes you just know when it fits) and what the market is responding to. Adjust as you see fit.