By Joe Apfelbaum, EO New York member and CEO of Ajax Union

Nothing is worse than standing in front of a group of your professional peers and not feeling confident, even though you’re an expert in your subject. Well, maybe one thing is worse — the sound of someone snoring during your first public-speaking event!

When Google approached me to lead seminars on their behalf, I happily agreed to become the only certified Google Trainer in New York City, New York, USA, because I would be teaching the masses what I was already teaching successful business owners and entrepreneurs one on one. During my first Google seminar, I visibly recall using the word “basically” one too many times, and pacing in front of my audience. People still loved my passion and my knowledge, but I cringed thinking about the next time that I’d have to do this. I was exhausted from anxiety and overwhelmed by dread.

I’ve come a long way since then. As a certified Google trainer and an expert in business and online marketing, I know that I was qualified for my first speaking event. But in my head, my first presentation was a train wreck. There are many skills that I now recognize I was lacking at that initial presentation. In addition to not being aware of my nervous ticks, I was also overweight and felt constantly lousy about it. I was lacking the courage, the confidence and the morale. I felt entirely unprepared. I needed to change.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Do something that scares you every day.” I couldn’t agree with her more. After that disappointing event, I made it my mission to become the best presenter I could be. I became more motivated than ever to improve my public speaking. I spoke to everyone I knew and analyzed every speaker I saw to learn how to speak successfully. But even with these skills, I knew there was something out of sync. I was preaching for people to improve on their business, yet there were things that I personally still had to overcome.

I turned to my friends, and started using social media. I had dozens of people inspiring me. I began running for Facebook likes — one “like” per pound. In 90 days, I lost 33 pounds. Every pound I lost was a bit of confidence gained. I re-established my relationship with Amazon.com and ordered an instructional book every week. I attended more networking events in one month than some of my colleagues attended all year. I knew that in order to improve as a speaker, I had to allocate time from my daily schedule to learn. And by motivating myself, I learned to motivate others.

It worked. Today, my business is blossoming like never before. And recently, we ranked #178 on Inc. Magazine’s 500|5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in America! We were even featured on Fox Business Network and  interviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

I never thought I’d get over my first experience of fright onstage. But I now realize that I owe my initial audience a “thank you.” Without such a disastrous first speaking experience, I would not have been so acutely aware of how much room I had to improve. Public speaking helped me affirm that as a CEO, I am a role model. I want to be motivated, to live longer, to learn as much as I can. This fall, I spoke at the American Airlines Small Business event to a crowd of 300. Last month, I helped more than 100 B2B business owners in a two-hour workshop presentation. I didn’t flinch, didn’t stutter and didn’t skip a beat.

It’s not that it was easy. Balancing a 10-hour day at work, a four-hour networking event and countless hours with my three kids was a challenge then. It’s still very much a challenge today. But public speaking helped me go from being a good CEO to being a great CEO. It has become my passion, made me a leader and taught me to face my fears – both in my personal life and in my corporate engagements.

So what’s my advice for proprietors who want to improve their business? Begin with public speaking. Be proactive. Own your day. Give it a chance, work on it and work on yourself in the process. You’ll grow — both as a leader and as an individual. I know I did.