“I was scared to speak”. How one IT business owner gained confidence with local support

When Jarek Borgul set up his IT business he was confident he could deliver an excellent service to his customers. He had worked in IT for years and loved being able to solve other people’s problems.

He began attending networking events in Wrexham so he could showcase the services he offered through his company Insightful IT.

However, what he hadn’t bargained for was how difficult it would be to stand up in a room of 30 to 40 people and tell them about himself and his business.

“When I began networking I found having to stand up and talk about myself was difficult,” said Jarek. “And then I realised that selling my business services with limited public speaking experience was going to be a problem.”

It was at one such networking event that Jarek first met Transformational Hypnotherapist and Confidence Expert Cat Williams. He heard Cat introduce herself and was intrigued by her claim that she could change the way a person behaved by changing their thought process.

“I remember thinking I don't believe what she is saying,” said Jarek. “I didn’t think the way people acted, spoke or felt about themselves could be changed by another person.

“I was very sceptical but I was also curious. I couldn’t understand why people would have a fear of public speaking. It’s not like having a fear of the dark, or spiders which are more understandable. So I wanted to understand what was going on and decided it was worth taking the risk to see if she could help me to speak with more confidence.”

Jarek arranged a one-to-one therapy session with Cat and was astounded at the results.

“When I used to have to speak in public I would get nervous. I was scared I was going to make a mistake and I was scared of being judged,” said Jarek. “But since seeing Cat all of that has gone away!”

Cat is the founder and director of Building Your Confidence Ltd, based in Holt, Wrexham. Her therapy sessions combine gentle hypnosis, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), strengths psychology, coaching and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).

She helps her clients reach the root cause of their fear-based behaviours and re-programmes their mind so they become calmer and more confident.

Cat explained: “There are three core negative beliefs lying at the root of everything I help people with whether that is anxiety, depression, imposter syndrome, anger, procrastination or even physical stress related issues like palpitations or IBS.

“Those causes are: ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I don’t fit in’ or “what I want isn’t available to me’. Public speaking is no different. It is often rooted in one of those three causes and once we get to the root case we can retrain the mind to see things differently.”

Since his session Jarek has been to several more networking events and now feels he can confidently stand up and talk about his business without fear.

“I felt the impact of the session immediately,” he said. “But Cat made it clear that I would need to keep practicing. One of the biggest things I also learnt from her is to prepare what I am going to say as well. So now, as long as I know what I am going to be saying, I am no longer nervous and I actually look forward to standing up and talking.”

Cat offers one-to-one in-person and online sessions. She is also a keynote speaker at conferences and goes into schools and workplaces to deliver masterclasses based on her trademark TEDx talk: Your Mind Is A Stallion, Learn to Ride It.