Today’s guest is the wonderful fellow introvert, business, and mindset coach, Jess Williamson.

Based in sunny Perth in Australia, she discusses all things mindset and what can hold you back in your biz ⚡.

There is so much incredible value in this podcast and I am so grateful to Jess for sharing this with us! 

Her actionable tips aim to help you create an overflow of abundance whilst still living a freedom lifestyle. I’m sure this will relate to so many of you, and I promise, it’s a good one!

So, let’s dive right into these stellar mindset tips for introverts and begin!

Note: this is a summary of the things Jess and I spoke about. For her exact words, listen to the podcast audio!

 

LISTEN HERE

 

 

 

WHO IS JESS WILLIAMSON?

Hi! I’m Jess and I’m a business and mindset coach, with a podcast called Couch Chats. I’ve scaled four different businesses, and for the past four years, I’ve been coaching. This is something I’ve found that greatly aligns with who I am and is something I am truly passionate about!

During my coaching process, I delve deep into mindset and how to shift our limiting beliefs to create new ones.

And as my background is in marketing, I also dig into that as well as simple business strategies. 

 

 

YOUR JOURNEY IN BUSINESS AS AN INTROVERT

If you rewind six years ago, I definitely wasn’t the ‘face’ of any brand.

Just like you (Mia), I was hiding, even though I was kicking massive goals.

I had always had a deep belief that I was capable of anything, but I just didn’t want people to know the face behind the business was me.

My swimwear brand scaled to be featured at New York Fashion Week, where I had a crazy experience that pushed me out of my comfort zone. 

During one of my shows, a model walked me allllll the way down the catwalk (which, as an introvert, was terrifying).

But, it was one of the best things to happen to me. As it was too awkward to stop or turn around on the catwalk, I was forced into having my photos taken alongside my designs, and I now have some incredible footage of me from that day!

 

 

MY PERSONAL BRAND

From there, it still did take me a while.

I had a personal Instagram which I used every now and then, but finally three years in, I decided to start a personal brand account. 

Things really began to change for me when I asked to speak at an event.

I know, I know! As an introvert, this sounds crazy!

But here’s why.

I said to myself, I’ve got a business. What are some cheap and free ways to market it? I believe so much in my business and myself, so I’m going to put myself out there. 

There were so many women in business events going on, and finally, one said yes.

She only gave me a small five-minute slot before any of the main speakers, but I still practiced for four weeks prior and had sleepless nights. 

The slot was a 7 AM breakfast event, and there were probably only 30 people there. But I still remember thinking to myself, is it bad to have a vodka shot beforehand?! (Btw, I don’t recommend this 😂)

During my short speech, my arms were nervously flying around so much that I dropped and broke the clicker. 

The clicker that was meant to be used by every other speaker that day.

After I’d finished, we were mingling, and although I was embarrassed, one girl came up to me and thanked me.

She told me how inspiring my talk was, and I was shocked!

But it taught me to remember that just because we think we are doing something shit or we’re embarrassed doing it, we never know how we’re being perceived. 

So now, in any situation online or speaking in public, I just assume that it’s received in the best and most amazing way. This has really helped me.

 

 

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE LOUD TO BE NOTICED. 

I was booked to speak at an event two years ago and I still thought I had to channel my inner extroverted self to prep myself. 

But then I asked myself, why? Being an extrovert is unnatural to me.

For so long, I thought to be heard or taken seriously, I needed to be louder.

But that isn’t my authentic self. 

 

 

THE MINDSET QUEEN

Luckily, I’ve always had a crazy mindset that anything is possible. 

As I grew and gained more of a profile and online audience, I felt more seen. 

One thing most of my clients come to me to discuss is a fear of failure. 

But when we think about failure a bit deeper, we can only fail if we do something that’s not aligned with us. Or fail because of someone else’s expectations of us. 

Let’s use the example;

Your business isn’t making as much money. But there is always a way to make a business work, even if it’s not easy, there is always a way. 

But then there’s sometimes the need for stability and financial security.

If you leave your business to get a steady job and income, you haven’t failed!

You only fail when you let your fear of what other people think of us affect you. 

We can only be judged on taking the best actions for ourselves. And if people misunderstand that, then that’s on them!

Failing is another word for learning. 

If I had always had this false mindset on failure, there would be so many times I could say I’ve failed.

Like when I emptied my bank account and went into minus figures when I was just starting out.

Or when I’ve spent thousands of dollars on possible scams. 

But I don’t think of it like that.

Over the past year, I’ve made $250k in profit. When I emptied my savings and felt burnt out those years ago, I could have so easily said business isn’t for me. It’s too hard. 

But I had the deepest belief that I was capable of success. 

Yes, it was a shit situation. I had my cry and my breakdown, but I always found myself asking; what is the next step to make this work?

 

 

FEAR OF JUDGEMENT HOLDS US BACK

Especially with introverts! 

Clients come to me worried about what friends and family may think. They’ve already been placed in a ‘box’, and starting a business places them outside where others already placed them.

You can experience judgment from yourself and find yourself thinking ‘who am I to do this?!’

Then there’s the fear of judgment from strangers online. 

As introverts, we’re naturally quieter. Our energy is different. We need to be alone to recharge. Sometimes for us, we can believe that being seen is unsafe, and opens us up to ‘haters’. 

But the truth is, no matter what you say online, someone is going to judge you.

By me sharing my income last week, someone out there will think I’m arrogant or I’ve overshared. 

However, I come back to my WHY.

Why I shared this in the first place and how it is going to help someone. That’s what’s important.

 

 

FEAR OF SUCCESS

We often tell ourselves that success = hard work.

Success can look scary!

Success means I have to sacrifice my free time or resting or spending evenings with my friends or family.

And then comes procrastination and lack of motivation. We tell ourselves we need a new planner, or notebook or whiteboard to tick off our to-do list…then hours pass and we haven’t actually done anything to move us closer to our goals.

If your brain sees something as a problem, then it’s going to distract you. 

 

 

BREAK DOWN YOUR LIMITING BELIEFS

When you look closely at your limiting beliefs, there’s always something deeper to discover. 

If you’re lacking sales, you might experience a mindset block.

Then you end up in a downward spiral and tell yourself the same narratives, and experience the same roadblocks. Ultimately, the beliefs you tell yourself have nothing to do with your sales strategies. 

On my website, I have a free ebook identifying the main four steps to identifying these limiting beliefs and the core issue.

For example, when you blame yourself for nobody buying your product, even when you’re trying your best and showing up online, go a level deeper.

What is the belief around sales?

Your limiting beliefs might be;

I don’t believe people are going to buy my product.

I’m not worthy of my prices. 

I’m not an expert in my field and I don’t have enough experience.

Then we dive even deeper into these beliefs. 

I listen to my clients and read between the lines. 

Think to yourself: What is a new affirmation that you want to believe?

“I am a magnet to my dream clients and they love to pay me more for XYZ.”

 

 

REWRITE YOUR BELIEFS

When we want to rewrite a limiting belief, we can shape our brains by changing it over and over again. 

It eventually becomes ingrained in our subconscious minds. 

Think about driving a car. Sometimes you get from point A to B without even thinking about it, because you have made the journey so many times.

Or the way your body works. You don’t actively sit and think about your beating heart. 

If our subconscious mind can keep us alive, we can change the way it thinks, and affirmations are a great place to start.

But instead of saying something that will be hard to believe (like I’m a millionaire), tell yourself every day;

I’m getting closer and closer to becoming a millionaire. 

You’re then creating the belief that this is happening. 

Change up your affirmations as you get more confident and reframe your limiting beliefs.

 

 

HOW DO YOU STAY CONSISTENT ON INSTAGRAM AS AN INTROVERT?

Days when I’m not feeling it, I post an image and just write some detailed content.

I don’t always want to show my face, so I pre-record some of my stories to be used later on in the week.

Each weekend I have a total break from social media to reconnect and be more present, and I build a lot of space and rest into my working week. 

Showing up online daily usually takes me about 20 minutes, including writing and thinking time.

The key to this is being intentional. If you’re not intentional, you’ll get lost scrolling and replying to DMs. 

Every post and story has an intention. An intention to sell.

Whether it’s selling an idea, a lifestyle, or a service. They’re all intentional.

And if I do this, it’s no longer a chore! 

 

 

THE FREEDOM LIFESTYLE

If you do have time out during the week to rest, guilt can set in.

You might start thinking ‘I won’t hit my goals’, or ‘it’s not safe to slow down’. 

My biggest affirmation in life is telling myself it’s safe to slow down. 

I can still create huge levels of success.

If I slow down, I will still hit great goals. I can create any reality I dream of!

Get rid of the belief that success = hard work.

When I had my swimwear line, I never went to the beach. Can you imagine that?! A swimwear line and never even stepping foot on the beach.

And then even when I did, I would tell myself I’d film content, so that every second of the day was productive.

Getting rid of this belief was a huge shift for me.

 

 

SET UP YOUR BUSINESS IN A WAY THAT ALIGNS WITH YOU

Is your business set up in a way that can allow you to earn the income you want and work however you want? 

A lot of people say to me how do you work so little?

Well, I do work, but I work intentionally. I schedule my calendar so I have my rest breaks, my two-hour lunches, and my beach time. 

Set up your business structure in a way that suits you. 

Courses are amazing but can be hard to sell, and I’ve found adding in the option of 1:1 support works best.

You don’t have to only build a course or do things a certain way as someone says. 

Build a business model that allows you to have some time back. 

 

 

Wow, what an amazing episode focused on mindset tips for introverts with Jess today!

Thank you so much for sharing, and as always, thank you for listening! ✨