Imposter Syndrome - who has felt this before in their business?
I didn’t realize how many people have dealt with imposter syndrome until I released my course, The Virtual Breakthrough. I had a couple of my students reach out to me about this topic so I added this lesson to the course.
I thought it was important enough to share with you all as well.
Imposter syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. 'Imposters' suffer from chronic self-doubt and a sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence.
-Provided by the Harvard Business Review
Imposter syndrome might show up for you in your VA business in a few ways.
You might experience feelings of:
- “I feel like a fake because I just started my business.”
- “I feel anxious or have self-doubt when I’m on sales calls.”
- “I don’t know how to help my clients, I just started this VA thing!”
These feelings are actually fairly normal when you’re starting a new business endeavor. It’s a huge learning curve and you see so many people who (probably) have been doing this for years. It can feel easy to get discouraged by this but it’s important not to compare yourself to others because EVERYONE started somewhere with their business and had to learn all the ropes.
I’ve compiled a few scenarios to help you overcome imposter syndrome.
When someone doesn’t hire you.
If someone doesn’t hire you, tell yourself that it is for the better and that your ideal client WILL come along. Not getting hired is a learning experience of things you can do better next time on your calls. Also, keep in mind that everyone has gone through this same experience.
Don’t get emotionally attached going into the call!
This can be more difficult for some than others but go into every call as if you will be okay if they hire you or not. You don’t want to get attached before the call in case things don’t go the way you want them to.
Be kind to yourself.
Especially in the beginning of your business! No one can beat you up like you can so be gentle to yourself as you’re learning. When you’re starting your business there are so many things that seem like a confusing struggle right now but they will become so easy to you in the future. Let the struggles make you better and learn from every mistake.
Keep the end goal in mind.
Visualize yourself getting to where you want to be in your business and don’t give up on your dreams, even when imposter syndrome creeps in. You know what you’re capable of and once you get past this learning curve you’re going to do incredible things.
Imposter syndrome shouldn’t deter you from going after your business dreams. It’s easy to feel like you don’t know what you’re doing at the beginning of anything but you will learn and you will become an expert in your industry if you keep with it.
Rooting for you,
Meridith McCarty
