Woman in Business: Taking a leap...

CAN you feel the edges of your business comfort zone? Maybe there are things you really want to do but don’t dare to, whether it’s setting up on your own, going for that dream promotion or making that career leap. Or maybe there’s a new project you want to set up or service you want to offer but it feels like a big risk?

Sometimes, in life and in business, stepping out of our comfort zones can lead to us reaping huge rewards. In the self-help classic Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, Susan Jeffers points out that fear never really goes away, but you can choose to stay safe, not dare and feel scared of making the next move, or you can feel the fear and do it anyway, then your fear is of the next step.

Either way, the fear is there, but in the latter case, you’ve moved on and you have the experience of knowing you’ve done it before – and so you can do it again.

Many people I work with fear putting themselves ‘out there’ by writing a blog (if this is you, and you want to beat that fear, tweet me about my workshop on the 23rd).

Some people are nervous about exposing their brand on social media, and some people dread making sales calls. My own fear, until recently, was just about anything audiovisual.

An unexpected opportunity to host my own radio show on BBC Sussex will see me making a big leap out of my comfort zone on Saturday night, and, as I was already feeling mighty uncomfortable, I joined in the online  VEDA challenge.

VEDA stands for ‘Vlog Every Day in April’ and requires participants to upload a short video of themselves talking about a different prescribed topic each day.

There’s no pressure, but each day I can feel myself getting more used to the camera and more used to the technology.

VEDA is a great example of how you can push your comfort zones gently – the radio show is a great example of taking a deep breath and jumping way out of your comfort zone!

Enough about me and my comfort zones. Where are yours? Is a gentle push called for, or a giant leap? What would your life and business be like beyond those boundaries?

Tweet me @coachbythecoast or go to www.facebook.com/womaninbusiness

• Claire Bradford runs Straightforward Coaching – www.straightforwardcoaching.com