You can build a business, make difficult decisions and lead a team and still feel nervous when it’s time to stand in front of a room and speak.
I know that feeling.
As the owner of Lift & Glitz Training Studio, I’m comfortable coaching women, talking about fitness and helping someone take that first step toward a goal. But preparing to give a seminar brought a different kind of pressure. Being the person everyone is looking at can make you suddenly question things you know perfectly well.
During a recent episode of the Lift & Glitz Podcast, my husband, Anthony, and I talked about how we’ve grown together and how our roles have evolved. One example that stood out to me was the advice he gave me before that seminar. He helped me think about how I would carry myself and take command of the room.
That conversation reminded me how much of entrepreneurship involves learning to trust yourself.
When you start a business, you spend a lot of time figuring out the practical pieces: what you’ll offer, how much to charge, how to attract customers and how to keep everything running. You learn through experience, sometimes the hard way.
Somewhere along the way, you also have to grow into being the person who leads it.
That growth can feel uncomfortable. Your business may be ready for its next step before you feel ready to take it. An opportunity comes along, and suddenly you’re introducing yourself, explaining your vision or speaking to a group of people who expect you to have something valuable to say. Even with years of experience, it’s easy to focus on what could go wrong. Will I lose my train of thought? Will people connect with what I’m saying? Am I explaining this clearly?
Those questions can take up so much space that we forget why we were asked to speak in the first place. We have something to share. For me, that includes years of working with women, building a community, navigating challenges and learning what it takes to keep a business moving. I’m still learning, but that doesn’t erase the experience I’ve already earned.
Anthony’s encouragement helped me see that more clearly. Sometimes, someone close to you can recognize your ability when you’re too caught up in your nerves to recognize it yourself.
Having that support has meant a lot to me. Business ownership carries a kind of responsibility that can be difficult to explain. People come to you with questions, concerns and decisions. You’re expected to provide direction, even on days when you could use some encouragement yourself. A conversation with someone who believes in you can help you walk into the next challenge with more confidence.
I’ve also learned that owning the room doesn’t require a particular personality. You don’t have to become the loudest person there or copy someone else’s speaking style. You can be warm, approachable and honest while still speaking with authority.
Preparation helps. Experience helps. So does giving yourself permission to pause, breathe and finish a thought without rushing through it.
Most of all, confidence grows through practice. You speak up in a meeting. You have a conversation you’ve been putting off. You accept an opportunity that makes you nervous. Each time, you give yourself another experience to draw from.
This lesson reaches beyond entrepreneurship. It applies when you’re interviewing for a job, advocating for yourself, sharing an idea or stepping into any unfamiliar role.
I’m proud of the business I’ve built, and I’m still growing into the opportunities that come with it. Talking with Anthony on the podcast gave me a chance to reflect on that growth — and on how much his support has helped.
The next time I walk into a room to speak, I may still feel nervous. But I can bring those nerves with me, take my place and trust that I have something worth saying.
Rachel King is the founder and CEO of Lift & Glitz Training Studio, a women-only fitness community with locations in Northfield and Galloway, New Jersey, and the host of the Lift & Glitz Podcast: Lift Your Strength. Glitz Your Life.
