Use your environment to grow your presence

When I started working for myself in January last year, I set up from the kitchen table as many solopreneurs do.

Nine months in, I felt like I was either getting a lot of washing done (e.g. procrastinating from work) and/or frequently losing the plot due to too much alone time. It was time to get out of the house.

I rented a desk in a big open plan office near the canal in East London, equipped with a balcony. What made it unique is that only 6 other people worked there, and it was rare that everyone came into the office on the same day.

At the time I joined I’d just started drama school so peace was exactly what I needed. I’d have several hours of focused work time then head to the drama studio at 4pm for my social interaction and creativity outburst for the day.

My course finished in May and over the last few months I’ve found the peace of a quiet office harder to deal with. Running a business can be lonely and having the right people around you when things get tough, or when there’s a big win to celebrate, is crucial.

So I decided that it was time for a change. I’ve found an amazing co-working space in London Fields (also East London) that offers weekly lunches, yoga classes and fancy coffee to it’s members.

The perks are great, but what I liked the most about it when I went to visit is that I walked through the doors and I immediately felt looked after. I hadn’t realised that’s what I needed, but I came away from my visit feeling reassured that this would help to end my loneliness. I was sold.

I am a huge believer in the power your environment has over how you feel and therefore how you show up.

When it comes to pitching your business, how you show up in the room (literal or online) makes a huge difference to how people respond to your message.

If you’re struggling with feeling lonely, full of self-doubt or stuck for new ideas, reflect on how your environment influences you.

Here are my 5 tips for what you could change about your environment that impact how you show up in your next pitch, without having to move.

How to use your environment to influence your presence

• Tidy space, tidy mind - I often find that I start the day with a tidy desk but by lunchtime it’s covered in post-it notes and sheets of paper with notes on. Take 5 minutes out of your day to tidy and reorganise your space for an immediate calming effect.
• See where you’re going - I’m not saying anything new here but vision boards are a great way to help you visualise where it is you want to go. If you dream of delivering a TedEx talk about your business, have a photo of someone on a stage. The more you see where you want to get to the more achievable it will slowly feel.
• Keep your affirmations fresh - Write your own positive affirmations that describe how you want to feel and what you can achieve. Update them every now and again to help you channel a new emotion. ‘I deserve to feel calm’ became my favourite mantra during a particularly tricky month.
• Remind yourself of how far you’ve come - Surround yourself with visual reminders of the clients you’ve helped so far in your business. I have a yellow mug on my desk that says ‘You got this’ which I bought when I booked a client workshop last year. It reminds me of how far I’ve come and the impact I’ve had, which lifts me up on days when it feels hard to remember.
• Choose who you interact with - if you spend a lot of your time working alone consider who in your life makes you feel uplifted. Make a conscious effort to reach out to them during your day or week to give you a boost of joy. Voice notes are a great way to stay in touch with someone if you don’t have time to a call.

Making even the tiniest change to your environment could have a big impact on how you present yourself to the world.

Try some of these out and see what works for you.

For more advice about building confidence and presence, please sign up to my newsletter Present with Grace.