Overcome Impostor Syndrome as a Small Business Owner

I was so excited to write this blog but then thought, “who am I to write about this subject? I’m not a psychologist. What could I possibly say that could make a difference?”

Do you see what I did there? That’s imposter syndrome. 

I was in a wonderful Twitter Spaces discussion about Imposter Syndrome that lasted two hours. There were two people who said they didn’t think they “suffered” from Impostor syndrome. I thought, “I can’t imagine not having feelings of inadequacy at some point with some aspect of my life.”

We’ll get more into the word “inadequacy” later.

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Lo and behold, while they were speaking, they caught themselves saying something that resembled imposter syndrome. 

Awareness is the first step to understanding if you may have imposter syndrome. Let’s cover a few things here:

  • What is impostor syndrome
  • How to deal with impostor syndrome
  • Tips for overcoming impostor syndrome
  • Benefits of having impostor syndrome

What is it? In my own words, we feel we’re not worthy of the success we see others experience. We have doubts and uncertainty about our capability because we don’t have evidence (results) of what we could accomplish.

Here’s what others say:

PsychologyToday.com “…undeserving of their achievements and the high esteem in which they are, in fact, generally held.”

VeryWellMind.com “…the internal psychological experience of feeling like a phony in some area of your life,…”

ChatGPT: “…feelings of inadequacy or self-doubt that can occur among high-achieving individuals, despite evidence of their competence.”

I wear contact lenses. I also wear reading glasses on top of my contact lenses. That’s how poor my vision is. It’s bad, really bad since the age of five. 

  • I don’t dwell on it. 
  • I don’t lose sleep over it. 
  • I don’t feel bad about myself because of it. 

I’ve learned to live with it, manage it and overcome the challenges when faced with the inadequacy of my vision. 

There’s that word again, inadequacy.

What can we do to overcome it if we have this tendency?

First thing is to honor it, embrace it, show it some love, and give it some grace. Acknowledge it by saying, “oh good you’re here to remind me that I have some unfinished business to do.

Once you do that, you can focus on arranging a plan of action toward a goal. I’d find it difficult to believe that someone will decide to run a marathon if they’ve never engaged in running as part of their regular routine.

Practice makes progress. Progress yields results.

impostor syndrome has benefits once we’re aware that we’re looping with the negative side effects of it. With ambition, whether it’s an endeavor of a personal or professional nature, imposter syndrome could be the nudge we need to realize that something is important enough for us to pursue. 

We could be faced with internal cues that we want more than our current situation provides. Maybe we’ve reached the saturation point of the status quo and long for a challenge to achieve a higher level of success.

In the days of ancient humans, adrenaline kept them safe when there was a threat in the vicinity. Imposter syndrome is like anti-adrenaline. It can keep us stuck to avoid the danger of an emotional breach.

impostor syndrome keeps us safe from failing and from embarrassing ourselves if we fail. However, the flip side is that it could also extinguish the flame of desire for success. What do I mean? 

If you have a goal that is outside the normal competence you possess, and you don’t go for it because you think you’re not worthy, you give up on that potential of achievement.

What’s next when this happens?

My recommendation is to put in writing exactly what you’re worried about with trying something that makes you nervous and fills you with doubt. Then, write down the potential failures and possible successes. 

Then phone a friend and ask tor help to discuss baby steps toward the goal and an outcome that could encourage you to continue or a signal telling you “do not pass go.”

Find me on Twitter @HeyLindaRey where I host business banter spaces and/or on Geneva where I have a group of small business owners who support one another.

Hang out with other small business owners who support one another before, during and after things get glitchy.

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4 Myths and Mistakes in Marketing During a Crisis

First, we wish everyone health and safety during through this COVID crisis. I will outline 4 myths and mistakes in marketing during a crisis. And stick around until the end, I’ll share 3 takeaways you could implement right away. Given our new paradigm, I’ll put a positive spin on the 4 myths and mistakes in marketing that i’ve seen.  Not all businesses are suffering financially, but all businesses have changed in some way whether it’s a process or protocol of doing business to ensure safety. People are looking for new ways to connect including efficient ways to do conduct their business. It’s more important than ever to stay in touch with people whether it’s email, a text or direct messenger in a social media platform. The number one priority is reaching out to all of your clients to see how they are doing and a polite nudge to remind them that you’re available if they have any questions about anything during this overwhelming time. We can call it marketing or we can call it staying connected in a meaningful, purposeful way.  If you are looking to do more than just survive in your business, it’s more important now than ever to either level up your marketing or at the very least, START marketing if you’ve been putting it off or getting by with minimal efforts.  If people don’t hear from you now when they need you the most, they will find another resource they feel can rely on. I’ve heard more than a few times, “I don’t hear from you all year and now you show up. It’s too late.” The best part is that because we’re in the digital age, the currency is time. You don’t need to invest in big advertising budgets like the Mad Men days. No magazines print ads, no billboards, no Super Bowl ads.  Here are four myths and mistakes people make when it comes to marketing. Myth #1 – I don’t know what to say. There’s more to what you do every day than you realize that people would be interested to know. You know a lot more than someone who isn’t in your business but doesn’t business with you. Delivering value of what you can offer someone will help to show that you’re present in your business and available when they need you. For people to know, like & trust you, it’s ok to show your personal side. I like to work in my yard so i’ll post projects in and around the house. It helps to show that you’re human. It will also help to show how people can relate to you. YOU are a brand whether you own a business or work for a business. You do not need to sell your product or service every time you’re marketing.  Myth #2 – I don’t have time. Some people may not think they have the time because they may not have seen results worthy of scheduling the time for this task. If you carved out 10-30 minutes every day or every other day dedicated to intentional and meaningful engagement, you would see results in how people pay attention to you.  The more you spend engaging on a platform, the more you get noticed even if you don’t think the metrics are displaying a lot views.  Business is about relationships. People have to know how to relate to you but if you don’t exist online, then they won’t know how to find you or know how you can help them. Myth #3 – I don’t have an audience. If you didn’t have an audience you wouldn’t be in business. You have people all around you, but perhaps you didn’t think of them as an audience. With the INFLUENCER movement, if you don’t have a million followers or get a million views on a post, people think they’re doing it wrong or that it’s a waste of time because they’re not getting those results. The flaw in this mentality is that we have to appreciate that for any number of views we get online is less time we have to be in our car driving to a meeting with just one person. Don’t look at the views or the metrics if you’re just starting out. Focus on the practice of developing a new habit of scheduling time to devote to marketing. If you aren’t creating content, then curate quality content that you trust and that you find relevant to your business. Myth #4 –There are too many platforms. Who doesn’t like having choices? To be able to pick from Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest, YouTube or any other platform you are familiar with means you get to enjoy however you feel most comfortable when delivering your content.
  • Maybe you want to practice with video so you may utilize Facebook Live because you’ve been on that platform longer or you save your videos to your Youtube playlist.
  • Maybe you want to be more business-like while extolling the virtues of your products and services, so you go to Linkedin. 
  • Maybe you like snapping photos and want to include a meaningful, inspiring message, so you go to Instagram or Pinterest.
  • Or the newest darling, maybe you want to bust a move or deliver a message with curated music in the background, you go to TikTok.
There are so many tools these days to help develop content. It’s a matter of EXECUTING. And that is where people fail. Even if it means that you are going to pick one goal, but you’re not sure how to go about it, the RESEARCH is a form of execution.  Research is learning and learning gives us more confidence with something new. I think a formula for success can be described as follows: Schedule + Research = (a higher probability of) Execution. Here are 3 takeaways to ponder: 1. Cultivate your email list. it’s the only digital asset you own. The platforms own your content once you publish it on their site. 2. Do video. If you’re shy or you hate how you look on video, I will tell you from experience, no one is analyzing you the way you think they are. Video is so valuable and helps to deliver your message in such a powerful way. The statistics of how people connect with you is undeniable. Practice with one minute videos. It’s a great, safe start. 3. Repurpose your content. What do I mean by that? If you write a blog, do a one minute video on the topic of the blog you recently published. If you did a video about something important about your business, write a blog even if it’s only 200 words. Then, put the video on your website with the blog. Then grab a section of the blog and draft a post to Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, etc. about your blog and video. Check out our Be GRAM-Tastic Instagram course. If you want to find out more about it, Schedule a call with us by clicking on our online calendar here.

How We Avoid Prospecting

Professional salespeople know when they wake in the morning they have to do the one thing that is sure to guarantee an income:

Prospect for new business.

In a way, salespeople begin everyday looking for a new “job”, don’t they? Because without a new client to purchase what they’re selling, how is there any any hope of a paycheck in the future? Even if that salesperson is a salaried professional, without showing results for their employer, there’s no guarantee the employer will continue to employ that salesperson.

I think therefore, we can agree that a professional salesperson, whether commissioned or salaried, knows that prospecting for new business is the number one priority for their days, each and every day.

That’s not to say they all follow through on the actions necessary to prospect. “Prospecting avoidance” is a commonly understood malady in the sales profession. Sales Managers everywhere constantly harangue their sales teams to hit the pavements, ring the doorbells, make the calls, set the appointments, to fulfill the promise of prospecting.

Avoidance of prospecting comes out of the simple psychological fear of rejection. We all have it. Besides, as simple as prospecting can often turn out to be when you actually do it, it can also be as difficult to initiate.

It’s no wonder then that business owners who are NOT professional salespeople may suffer from this very disease of prospecting avoidance. The creative excuses people come up with to avoid having to make prospecting calls are legendary. Yet, as the owner of your business, unless you have a professional salesperson or sales team working for you, you must must, must, Prospect for new business.
The only way to overcome your avoidance of your emotional pain about Prospecting is to simply attach a level of importance to this task.

We hear so often from Business Owners of being distracted with other important tasks: making payroll; attending to a malfunctioning machine on the shop floor; taking a call from the accountant/attorney/spouse/pesky customer/excellent customer/number one account/printer/fleet mechanic and on and on and on.

The Business Owner has attached a level of importance to each and every one of these tasks. Attach that same level of importance to Prospecting. You must. Absolutely must. Your business health, wealth and survival depends on you doing so.

Once you make Prospecting as important an activity as any other in running your business, all those other avoidance afflictions melt away into nothing. Fear of rejection disappears. Procrastination towards your Prospecting Plan converts to an optimistic sense of urgency.

And, yes, you may even like Prospecting.