From council estates in Leeds to starting a business in our 60s, I’m sharing how we’re building confidence, one scrap at a time. Real tips, real talk, and a story worth reading.I used to think confidence was something other people had, like a special jacket they were handed at birth.
You know the ones. They speak without wobbling, post on social media without overthinking, walk into a room like they were born to be there.
But over the last year, I’ve learned something that’s changed everything.
Confidence isn’t handed out. It’s built.
And like so much in our world, we’re building ours from scraps, literally and metaphorically.
At Weebert’s World, we make characters from discarded parts. Andy builds them from old tools, camera lenses, and copper wire. I write stories for children, inspired by those creations. And together, two childhood sweethearts from council estates in Leeds, we’ve become pensioner entrepreneurs building a children’s brand from our kitchen table.
Not because we had all the answers. But because we had a dream. And a bit of nerve.
Still, I won’t pretend it’s been easy. I’ve had days where I’ve questioned everything, whether I was good enough, whether we were too old to start something new, whether I should just stay quiet and let the professionals do their thing.
But confidence, I’ve found, is more like patchwork than a jacket. It’s stitched together from the little moments when you keep going, when you speak even though your hands are shaking, when you press publish on a post that feels vulnerable, when you walk into a room full of people and remind yourself you belong there too.
And the more we show up, the more we believe we do.
Here are five things that are genuinely helping me build my confidence, especially as someone starting something new later in life, with no formal background in business, media, or animation.
1. Stop waiting until you feel ready.
I used to wait for the moment I felt like a “real” businesswoman. It never came. What I’ve learned is this: confidence doesn’t come before the action, it comes because of the action. Start messy. Start scared. Just start.
2. Support each other’s wobbles.
Andy and I are both building our confidence. Neither of us feels brave all the time. But when one of us starts to wobble, the other steps up. That’s the beauty of doing this together after over 40 years, we’ve learned how to hold each other steady.
3. Say it out loud.
The more I say “Weebert’s World is going to be the best children’s brand in the world,” the more I believe it. Words are powerful. Even if no one else hears them yet, you do. And that counts.
4. Celebrate the small wins.
This week we filmed Andy sharing a free children’s activity we made, how to make a paper helicopter (you can download it on our website). It’s not a Netflix deal, but it’s ours. And it’s helping children laugh, learn, and fly. That’s a win.
5. Tell your story. Honestly.
I’ve stopped trying to sound polished. I just tell the truth. That we’re 60, that we’re learning as we go, that we don’t have it all figured out, and people listen. Because deep down, most of us are figuring it out too.
So no, I wasn’t handed a confidence jacket.
But I’m stitching something together, from lived experience, from late-night pep talks, from sweaty palms and unexpected wins.
If you’re building something new, at any age, from any starting point, I hope you know this:
✨ You’re not too late.
✨ You’re not too much or too little.
✨ You’re not alone.
You’re just at the beginning of your own patchwork.
And the more you show up, the more it holds together.
I’d love to hear your story, whether it’s big or tiny, still blooming or full of doubts. Email me at contact@weebertsworld.com or leave a comment. Let’s keep encouraging each other — because confidence grows faster when we grow it together.
love Lotty x
