Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in your Business

Aug 25

I think it’s safe to say that every business owner experiences imposter syndrome. With so much of our marketing being on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, it’s easy to get detached from your own brand and start looking at what everyone else is doing. How can we not, when we have access to the most successful brands in our industry, right at our fingertips?

But here’s my personal take on it…

It’s a good thing to experience imposter syndrome.

Only if you allow it be an opportunity to explore your own brand though. I strongly believe that most businesses fail because they let imposter syndrome cripple them, instead of recognizing it for what it is: a strong sign they’ve grown.

You’re going to hit a point in your brand when you feel uncomfortable, when you feel like you don’t know where you fit in within your industry. That’s usually the time when you start to compare yourselves to others.

You hop over to an instagram account of your ‘competitor’ - someone who’s been in the game a similar length of time to you, and offers similar services. You instantly notice that she’s got 2000+ more followers than you, and she looks so much more professional than you do. Then you flip back to your account and start tearing yourself apart.

You are not her.

She doesn’t have kids, she lives in a different country or province or state. Her routine is completely different than yours, and your values may be similar — but they’re not the same. You have to give yourself the harsh personal talk that your brand growth is going to be completely different than hers. And while you may both be in the same industry, or have similar target audiences, people are going to choose you over her based on YOU. Your personality, your humour, how your brand makes them feel.

There’s so much fluff out there about making your brand stand out.

And I want to reframe that for you — you don’t need to try to stand out, you need to be original. And how do you be original? You be yourself. The best things are cheesy because they’re true: nobody is you. Now in the world of branding your business, social media marketing and marketing your business online, it’s easy to follow the trends. We think “hey, that’s working for that successful person! I’m going to do it too”. But here’s the kicker — your dream clients aren’t the same as theirs, and your dream clients aren’t going to be able to tell you apart from that successful brand because you look exactly like them.

They won’t be able to find you.

I don’t have an issue with brands built in Canva. What I have an issue with is the lack of personalization and originality that Canva built brands have.

There are over 2 million business owners who have access to Canva, that means they are all pulling fonts, illustrations, social media templates and more from the same pool. It’s no wonder that everyone looks the same online!

At some point, you should hate your logo.

It’s another sign that you’ve outgrown who you were when you started your business. And again - this leads to imposter syndrome. It’s like when you go through puberty, or when you become a mom, you have to spend some time trying to figure out who you are as this version of yourself.

What you were doing before might not work for this version of you. That includes your branding, your brand identity, your services, and your marketing.

As a brand, you’ve likely chiseled away a more clear philosophy or mission statement. You’ve refined your offers and have narrowed down what specific transformation they provide, and who its specifically for. You’ve spent some time in your business and have developed your systems, you have your routines and you know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to getting the job done — whatever that job may be.

The quality of your services is higher.

You’ve gained more knowledge.

You have more experience and more client transformations to back you up.

Now you need a brand that matches where you are now.

Something that’s original, a little more robust than just a single logo (because truly, that’s not going to stick in peoples mind), and something that accentuates your personality.

One of the biggest struggles business owners face when building their brand

Is being too close to it. Seriously, when we’re so close to our brand it’s hard to see the big picture of it. I struggle with this, and i’m sure you do too. You constantly question whether a colour palette is the right one, or if you should share the real-life mess of your living room on stories, or if you should go with this font or that font for todays social media post.

When you’re too close to your brand, you miss the golden threads that make you, you. This is why working with a brand designer (ahem, us) is so beneficial. We are the ones who look at you and your business as a whole and create a brand that is original to you and showcases the quality of business that you are.

So if you’re struggling to overcome imposter syndrome,

Here’s what you can do:

Figure out what isn’t working for YOU anymore, given this new time, situation, and level of experience you’re now at
Unfollow others in your industry, and ditch the ego trip that’s trying to take front seat of your life
Identify what needs to change — is it your brand identity that’s no longer a match? How you’re marketing online? Do your services need to be shorter, longer or a higher price?
Don’t be afraid to get some help. Whether that’s asking your past clients for their experience so you can fine tune your messaging, or outsourcing your brand, website and marketing. Growth means you don’t need to do it all anymore, get help from a professional and lighten the mental load (is this a therapy session?)

And lastly…