Anyone that has started a new job they feel inexperienced for likely knows the eerie feeling of imposter syndrome. Yet this isn’t solely limited to the professional world, as any new parent with a brand new human baby in their arms may doubt their abilities to raise such a wonder. Doubting yourself is a natural part of estimating your abilities, allowing you to identify areas to work on. Yet sometimes, you can feel this chronically, and it can impede progress.
This is a contributed post. Please refer to my disclosure for more information.
The irony is that this is not just a personal phenomenon. In some case, imposter syndrome can feel its way into the structure of your brand, from your hesitancy to secure new clients, your unwillingness to take any risks, or in some cases, not applying enough effort into your branding and marketing, hoping an audience will configure itself if you sit in the right spot at the right time.
Luckily, business imposter syndrome is more than fixable, and it’s often aided by systemic changes on behalf of the leadership. In this post, we’ll discuss how to integrate that:
Identify Your Marketing Outreach
It’s essential to consider how you’re promoting yourself if you’re overselling or underselling, and if you’re even targeting the right market. If not, that can be a problem. With Alex Croucher you can ensure your marketing outreach, especially within B2B markets, is properly targeted. This seems simple on the surface, but the ability to hit pain points, deliver consistent messaging and even know yourself through your branding is essential to get right.
Properly Gauge Your Capacity
Anyone that has started a job knows that desire to please, to give a good first impression, and to say “yes” to anything asked of them. That said, sometimes this can be a problem, especially if you promise too much, too quickly. If you cannot fulfill client requests due to a lack of capacity, this can be a problem. It’s good to properly consider how many clients you can service at one time, how many products you can manufacture to order by a certain date, and when to add clients or requests to your waiting list, properly measuring how to expand your service if the demand justifies it. It will help you avoid disappointing anyone after a contractual obligation – which can really knock your brand identity.
Undergo Professional Training
Ultimately, as the leader of your firm, it’s important to recognize your business is only going to be as capable as you are, and your vision is. For this reason it’s good to continually invest in yourself. Taking public speaking courses so you can adequately give speeches, motivate staff or head to industry events to launch products and services matters. Rounding off blind spots, like taking a business course on bookkeeping and tax contributions, can help you speak to outsourced or internal professionals using the correct jargon. See yourself as a brand asset, because you are, and your feelings of imposter syndrome will dissipate.
With this advice, you’re sure to beat business imposter syndrome in the most fundamental manner.
