5 Ways to Crush Your Imposter Syndrome When Starting Your Own Business
According to a recent study, “75% of executive women identified having experienced imposter syndrome at various points during their careers.”
Let’s face it - starting a business is hard no matter the field. Not only are you dealing with setting up your entire business system, but you’re also likely dealing with feelings of doubt and questioning yourself every step of the way. If you’re a woman starting your own business, you’re likely experiencing imposter syndrome, which can really affect your day-to-day life.
If this is you, follow the below tips to boost your confidence and kick those imposter feelings to the curb.
Get To Know Your Business
Become familiar with the other top businesses in your field and your direct competitors. Read books about your business field so that you can learn the lingo and become more of an expert in the various aspects and details of your business.
Read reports and sign up for news blasts about what’s going on in your industry so that you can stay the most up to date.
Check out this Forbes List of popular newsletters for entrepreneurs below. They include everything from mindful leadership tips to tax insights to help with legal questions:
2. Get To Know What’s Going On in Your Business Community
Joining a community of like-minded individuals either in your industry or with other female entrepreneurs can be incredibly enriching.
If you get to know other leaders in your business, not only will you learn from them and their experiences, but now you’ll also have informed peers to bounce ideas off of. This is an incredible confidence booster! Here are some great ways to make new connections in your business:
Go to networking events:
This is a great way to make connections, you can often find these types of events through browsing networking sites. You might also want to keep an eye on your college alumni events, social media, and local organizations.
Join Relevant Facebook Groups.
You can find groups in your industry or other female entrepreneur groups.
Sign up for newsletter updates from networking sites for updates on events.
3. Create a Morning Routine - It Really Helps!
What centers you so that you can hone in on the most important tasks for your day? Is that a walk, a to-do list, a healthy breakfast? For some people it’s getting up early to have some personal time before work.
Creating a morning routine that centers you and aids you in staying focused throughout the day is incredibly important in building a confident mindset.
Here are some tips for creating a great morning routine:
Get a good night’s rest.
Wake up early enough that you have some personal time in the morning before work:
This is great for exercise, meditation, spending time on self care, affirmation writing, saying healing mantras, & anything that helps you center yourself first thing.
Make a brain-fueling breakfast - food that fuels you but keeps your mind clear, usually protein, healthy fats, nuts, fruits & veggies, and some carbohydrate:
Here’s some great breakfasts ideas to spice up your week:
Protein berry smoothie & avocado toast
Eggs w/ avocado, berries, & toast w/ nut butter
Cream cheese bagel w/ salmon & berries on the side
Yogurt w/ flaxseed, walnuts, & honey
Oatmeal w/ nut butter & berries
Eggs & black beans & guacamole & toast
Spinach cheesy eggs w/ avocado, berries on the side
Write your to-do list and goals for the week.
Drink a big cup of water & have your coffee or tea.
4. Get Organized!
If you have trouble staying on top of some of the details of your business you may want to try a digital organization tool.
The Google Workspace is a great place to start because everything is integrated and the Google Drive system is incredibly intuitive. If you need more of an active organization system, check out some of these digital organization tools below:
For Organizing Information:
For Staying on Top of Projects:
For Creative Collaboration:
For Scheduling:
For Task Management:
For Video Creation:
It’s also super important that you’re able to track your invoicing and payment properly, especially if you’re a small business. Here are some great resources for invoicing, tracking payment, and utilizing other accounting tools:
Invoicing & Payments Apps:
Create contracts, send invoices, track payments, great for small business owners.
Send invoices, track payments and expenses.
Send invoices, track expenses and income, pay employees.
Free and has finance features like income statements and balance sheets.
Free invoicing with five or fewer customers.
Free invoicing for up to 50 customers, has some extra features like personalized branding.
Free invoicing with in-app purchases.
Free invoicing.
5. Maximize Your Website Potential to Get More Customers
Reinvigorating your website is a major confidence booster. Use some of these tried and true tips below to keep customers on your website longer, help more customers find your website, and create more return customers.
Helpful Website Tips:
Have More Website Copy on Your Home Page
This keeps the reader on your page longer which helps your SEO.
Have a Welcome Section on Your Homepage for Customers
This should welcome customers in and explain what your business does and why they need it. Speak directly to your customers here and address their desires and pain points.
Have an Opt-in Button Pop up on Your Homepage to Get Customer’s Emails
This can help you make an email list for tracking your potential customers. You can send out newsletters and information and build a relationship with these customers so that they come back again and again to buy.
Spend Time Researching Keywords for Your Business
For example, if you’re a photographer, what type of photography do you do? If you specialize in engagements and weddings, include these keywords throughout your website more so that it flags for Google exactly what you do. This will help with your SEO so you can pop up at the top of Google more when people search for those types of photographers.
Write More Blogs
Research shows 2-4 blogs a month really helps with SEO for businesses. It also helps businesses build a relationship with customers so that they keep coming back.
Think About Investing in Facebook or Instagram Ads to Drive More Traffic to Your Website
If you need help with any of these types of business updates, contact me for a consultation!
Stay patient with yourself - building a business doesn't happen overnight! It’s okay to have doubts sometimes, just take it one day at a time and figure out your action items for each day that’ll help you move forward. Fighting imposter syndrome is exhausting, but implementing some of these tips will help you gain confidence as you grow your business.
