Summary: We all have that moment in our business where it feels a bit uncomfortable. Maybe you feel out of place or are second-guessing yourself. Maybe you’re anxious about the next step that you’re going to make, and it is leaving you feeling like a fraud.
This is called imposter syndrome in business.
So, how can you leverage this and turn it into a positive thing for your business?
In this article, I will be talking about three powerful ways that you can embrace and utilize that entrepreneurial imposter syndrome to your benefit.
What is imposter syndrome?
Let’s start off by defining what imposter syndrome is and how this may show up in your business.
Imposter syndrome is a term that first came to be during a study in 1978. The study looked at feeling like a fraud in your environment. With imposter syndrome, there is a common notion that it is the responsibility of the person for having it, but in reality, it is the responsibility of the environment for creating it.
Imposter syndrome has shown up for me in my businesses as well.
A lot of people ask me how I got into business consulting. My first business was no longer serving me, and I wanted to go something where I was able to geek out on business, and teach, both things that I love. I wanted something where I could empower and transform lives. I get to work with a lot of different business owners in different industries, all with different personalities.
My imposter syndrome showed up when I started asking myself questions such as ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What success can I share?’ Sure, I had done it all in my own business, but I was really struggling to say where my credibility was in my future work. For me, imposter syndrome showed up as feeling out of step and not being good enough.
I have learned ways to step through this, though, and actually use these feelings to my advantage. I am going to share with you three tips on how you, too, can embrace this feeling.
3 Tips to Embrace & Utilize Entrepreneurial Imposter Syndrome
1. Embrace your day one.
This tip is all about breaking down the barriers created around newness. There is always a fear of judgment at the beginning. I often hear people trying to use their newness as a qualifier. “Oh, I have only been in business for a year,” or “Well, I don’t really know what I am doing because my business is so new.” This is self-doubt and a form of imposter syndrome.
The important thing to remember is we all have a day one. You can’t have a day ten or a day one hundred without a day one. It is easy to try to compare yourself to others in your industry, but even those bigger names in your industry all had a starting date too. If you don’t have a day one, then you can never get past day one.
2. Find confidence through courage.
I interviewed a woman who had several businesses and had been through quite a few catastrophic failures. She shared the ways she came back from these failures, and as she spoke, something stood out to me… courage is not about the absence of fear. Courage is about the ability to step through the fear. Though fear is a healthy feeling, it is also a feeling we jump to first in situations that may be new or unfamiliar.
You have to have the courage to get fear out of the driver’s seat. Have the courage to stand up to your fears so that you can cultivate the confidence you need in your business.
3. Build your competence.
The final tip I want to share with you today is that you have to build your competence. It is easy to feel like you don’t have confidence when you aren’t sure you are competent in what you are doing. You wouldn’t get behind the wheel of a car without knowing basic things such as the gas pedal is to go, the brakes are to stop, and the steering wheel changes your direction.
One of my favorite quotes by Brene Brown says, “One day you will tell the story of how you overcame, and it will be someone else’s Survival Guide.” You can feel a bit like a fraud if you feel like you aren’t competent enough to share the things that you are.
You may wonder why someone would listen to you or buy your product, but an important thing I have learned is that people are allowed to make that decision. I value my freedom and choice, and those I interact with should be allowed the same.
Keep making an offer and rewrite your story. Maybe it will be what inspires others.
Final Thoughts
As entrepreneurs, we are the ones building our environments. You can shift your environment for yourself and your team.
There is nothing more powerful than a team that has the competence to try, who’s not afraid of the repercussions, and who is embracing the learning and using it to fuel their future. And that I think is very possible for you. If you need help getting your rockstar team, let’s chat!
If you enjoyed this article, check out 5 Ways to Use Leverage in Your Small Business to Scale Successfully.
