You're not alone! Marketing yourself and your business is challenging for all of us, even those with outgoing personalities. Nobody feels entirely comfortable selling themselves. But that's exactly what a mompreneur has to do almost every day to drum up new clients and customers and keep the old ones. Your shyness is part of your personality and may be hard to change, but we do have some practical tips to help you deal with it in the business world.

• Establish a routine and a rhythm. Making cold calls to follow up on leads or establish new ones is a tough challenge but has to be done from time to time. Write down exactly what you're going to say on an index card and keep it by your phone. Memorize your conversation, if possible. Practice it in front of the mirror.

  To get into the rhythm, call a friend or two before you start making your business calls. That will put you at ease. Then plan on making three to five calls at once -- during a quiet time when you won't be disturbed by kids and spouse. Once you make that first call, the next two or three will be much less painful. And you'll have had a chance to practice.

• Don't take rejection personally. If a secretary refuses to put your call through, or you're brushed off by the potential client or customer, don't get discouraged. People are busy these days, but persistence can pay off. Leave a friendly voice message, or follow up the "brush-off" with an email or letter. Then call back again in a couple of weeks.
• Use email to communicate more comfortably. Although email is more impersonal, it's a good way for shy people to articulate their thoughts effectively. You'll have a chance to carefully formulate your message and rework it to your liking before sending it off. And you won't meet immediate rejection (unless you get an auto-response). Just be careful not to bombard others with tons of email; an initial contact and a follow-up a week later (if you don't hear back) is good etiquette.
• Set up a Website for your business. A friendly Website, with clearly designated areas on the home page for potential clients and customers to contact you, is a great way to market yourself without directly confronting people. iVillage offers free Web pages, so you can get started now.
• Join in community chats and boards. Conversing on the message boards and in the chat rooms here on iVillage and other electronic communities is a safe way to test the waters. You'll get feedback on your ideas from others in the same boat, and gain confidence in yourself. And you can accomplish all this anonymously, if you wish.
• Get involved in a professional networking group. If attending person-to-person networking events, such as luncheons, workshops or meetings, scares you silly, get involved on the committee level. Working on a small committee with other businesswomen in your field can give you terrific contacts and friends. You'll feel a lot more secure marketing yourself among a small group of friends who appreciate your hard work and talents. They can help pass your name along to people who can use your services and give your courage a boost, so you'll feel less shy about selling yourself to strangers.