How to Trust Your Gut in Business Decisions

There have been so many moments in my business where I knew what the right decision was… and still hesitated. Not because I didn’t have the answer—but because I didn’t trust myself enough to follow it.

I was starting with a new client. He had over 30 employees. On my first day, I was excited to get started and develop a marketing plan. When I arrived at the office, I smiled at everyone and made small talk with as many people as I could. Then I entered the boardroom and everything changed. I walked in and every one turned and stared at me. I felt like a fish out of water. I sat in the only empty seat as my new client introduced me. 

I don’t need to go into all the problems I had with this client. That wouldn’t be fair or professional, but I dropped the client six months later. I knew that first day in the board room I didn’t belong there. The team most certainly didn’t want me there. My gut was screaming to me, “Leave! Leave! We’re not welcome here.” I didn’t listen to my sweet gut for several reasons. I needed the client for income, I love a good challenge, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could make it work. 

When I reflect back on this experience it has been an anchor point for me. Every time I ignore that initial instinct, I find myself circling back to it later thinking, “I knew that from the beginning.”

Learning to trust your gut isn’t about becoming impulsive or ignoring logic. It’s about learning how to recognize your own internal clarity—and having the confidence to act on it.

Trusting Your Gut Isn’t Random—It’s Pattern Recognition

We tend to think of our gut instinct or even our intuition as something vague or emotional, but in reality, it’s often built from experience.

Your brain is constantly processing:

• what has worked before

• what hasn’t

• what feels aligned

• what feels off

I’m sure you know the feelings of “this feels right” or “something is off here.” This is your brain connecting patterns faster than you can consciously explain. Our brain is meant to protect us and process information from our past experiences.

In Whole Brain Living, Jill Bolte Taylor explains that the brain and the gut are deeply connected systems that work together to guide our thoughts, emotions, and decisions. The brain acts as the body’s command center, constantly processing information, analyzing situations, storing memories, and helping us make sense of the world. According to the Whole Brain Living model, different parts of the brain contribute different perspectives to decision making. Some parts focus on logic and organization, while others are more emotional, creative, compassionate, or intuitive.

Together, these systems help us evaluate choices, solve problems, and respond to life experiences.

The gut also plays a powerful role in decision making. Often called the “second brain,” the gut contains millions of nerve cells that communicate directly with the brain through the nervous system. This connection is sometimes referred to as the gut-brain axis. While the brain may analyze facts and outcomes, the gut often contributes feelings, instincts, and emotional signals that influence our choices. People commonly describe this as having a “gut feeling” or intuition.

In Whole Brain Living, these inner sensations are important because they can provide insight beyond pure logic, helping people recognize what feels safe, meaningful, or aligned with their values.

Taylor’s work emphasizes that healthy decision making happens when the brain and gut work together rather than against each other. The thinking parts of the brain can organize information and weigh consequences, while the emotional and intuitive systems—including signals from the gut—help people connect decisions to their feelings and personal experiences. When individuals learn to listen to both systems, they can make more balanced choices that support not only productivity and logic, but also emotional well-being and authentic human connection.

You Don’t Need More Information—You Need More Trust

There’s a point in decision-making where more research doesn’t help. There comes a point when you have to dig deep, take the information you have and allow it to pour into your body. Your brain will begin to process information and your gut will begin to process the emotion behind the information.

I have witnessed this first hand. As I was building my marketing consulting business I would meet with a potential client and then have a “gut check” afterwards. I would check in with this questions:

• How does the client make me feel?

• Do I feel excited to help this client promote and grow their business?

• Do I think this client is a good person who has a business that wants to help people?

These questions may sound fluffy to you and that’s fine. It’s easy to have the logical brain questions:

• Is the money worth the workload?

• Does the work align with my skill set?

• Do I have the capacity to take on another client?

Its easier to answer the brain questions because we’ve been taught to live in the brain. What I mean is our school system, work system, even our healthcare system all teach us to see a problem and find the logical and best solution. We feel safety in this system and logic. Until we don’t.

Certainty isn’t what builds strong businesses.Self-trust is.

The systems we live in, give us a false sense of certainty, maybe that’s too harsh. Perhaps it’s better to say the system gives us a sense of ternary certainty. We feel great about a decision until that decision leads to a poor outcome. You may begin asking yourself well how do we get a better outcome?

At some point, you have to ask yourself:

“If no one else weighed in on this, what would I choose?”

That question will usually give you your answer.

Start Practicing With Smaller Decisions

Trusting your gut doesn’t happen overnight—it’s built through small, consistent decisions.

Start with things like:

• How you structure your day

• What you say yes or no to

• How you communicate with clients

• What opportunities you pursue

Each time you listen to yourself and act on it, you reinforce that trust. And over time, bigger decisions feel less overwhelming. Not every decision will be perfect…and that’s okay. One of the reasons we hesitate to trust ourselves is because we’re afraid of being wrong. But trusting your gut doesn’t mean every decision will lead to a perfect outcome.

It means:

• you made the best decision with the information you had

• you stayed aligned with yourself

• you’re willing to adjust if needed

That’s how confidence is built—not from perfection, but from consistency.

What Helped Me Build Self-Trust

Here are a few things that have helped me strengthen this in my own decisions making skill.

The first one is huge. I pause before reacting. My husband knows I need time to let things marinate. Giving myself space to hear my own thoughts before I hear outside opinions allows me to understand where I’m at with a decision. 

I also limit the number of people I ask for advice. Did you ever as a kid or even as an adult go to someone for advice because you knew they would tell you what you wanted to hear? That can be a better tool than you think. If you’re seeking advice from someone because you know what they’re going to say, what you’re really doing is seeking validation. When you’re seeking external validation on a decision most likely, that decision is the right decision. Trust yourself and that gut reaction.

I often reflect on past decisions and outcomes when I’m building self-trust. I’ve made several and I mean several bad decisions in the past. Now I’m able to evaluate times when my gut was right. I will say I’ve discovered more about myself during those moments when I didn’t listen to my gut and when I had a poor outcome. We live and we learn. Right?

One Last Thing

Your experience, your perspective, and your instincts are all part of how you lead and make decisions. Trusting your gut isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about trusting that you can handle whatever comes next. If this is something you’ve been working through, I’d love to know— when was the last time you trusted your gut in a business decision?

Always Remember,  

You’re not alone in this .

Katie