153- Belonging in your business — not having Entrepreneur Imposter Syndrome

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In this very brief episode of The Struggling Biz podcast show, we discuss the bit of self-doubt that occurs with almost all entrepreneurs as they make their way toward their success. In fighting to stay afloat in the world of small business, they may have the silent voice in their mind that creates the self-doubt that asks if they really DESERVE to be where they are, or if they really have the CREDENTIALS for success or if they really can overcome the obstacles before themselves.

In his podcast episodes and email episodes from his show, The Daily Creative, Todd Henry (an avid podcaster, author and consultant from his flagship podcast show and book, The Accidental Creative) deals with the lingering voice of self-doubt that leads to what is called imposter syndrome. And he addresses this issue in the first quarter of 2022 with an episode in which he directly asks the questions of whether you deserve to be where you are, or whether you should be at your position as you begin to tackle the problems. He does this after he addresses and defines the terms of imposter syndrome:’

“Who are you to start that business?”

Sound familiar? You’re not the only one who occasionally has these thoughts. The term impostor syndrome refers to a set of beliefs that imply that you don’t really belong in the room, in your role, in leadership, writing that book, giving that client pitch. If allowed to infest your mindset, these beliefs can cause you to shrink back from opportunities that you are perfectly suited for but have convinced yourself simply aren’t for you.”

But then, Todd delivers key words of confidence to his members of his distribution list and key entrepreneurs (like yourself) in moving your career forward and toward business success as an entrepreneur: “You belong in the room. You belong in the conversation. You have every right to attempt to write that book, give that speech, make that pitch, interview for that job. Sure, you might fall short. But it’s far easier to live with a temporary failure than it is to live with never knowing what you might have been capable of accomplishing if you’d only tried.

If you’re willing to be in the room, doing the work, then you belong there.”

So the key Question from Todd to his readers and listeners of his podcast episode from The Daily Creative becomes: “Is there any place where impostor syndrome is preventing you from trying something new?”

To give the audience the benefit of the doubt, Todd agrees with the statement that has the element of presence and perseverance with the entrepreneur — if you can stand the heat, then you do belong in the kitchen and you do belong being the chef.

So where does an entrepreneur find the answer?

The answer is something that only yourself can deliver to yourself, often with much introspection, reflection, soul-searching and judging the successes of your own business. If you say “yes” to this question, then you are on your way to strengthen your resolve, make your skin even thicker and prepare for the land mines and roadblocks and obstacles which you are now confident to overcome in your small business.

We hope that you, too, will gain this confidence after your study of yourself and your self-reflection, so that your understanding is now better and thus, you, too, can avoid the imposter syndrome.

Thank you for your attention.