Beating Imposter Syndrome

Something that is very common is that people who start their own business or begin freelancing feel like they aren’t as good as everyone else. Not only that, but they start to believe that they shouldn’t have the job, career, clients and responsibilities.  Is it because they don’t have the skills? Not at all. In fact, usually, they are even more qualified than they let on. So what gives? Imposter syndrome is surprisingly common in small business owners and freelancers and anecdotally impacts women more than men. So how can you kick imposter syndrome to the curb and get on with testing out a range of ​​UK side hustles

Self-Talk

What are you telling yourself when you are applying for work, pitching and taking meetings? Do you keep asking yourself how you got the job? What about the ‘I’m too’? Saying I’m too old, I don’t have enough experience, I am not as good as XYZ person. 

If you keep telling yourself you aren’t qualified for the role; you will compound that feeling further. It believes that you aren’t good enough or that you shouldn’t be in the role. What you say to yourself has a huge impact on how you will tackle your day—negative self-talk sticks. 

Comfort zone

Sometimes because we are so convinced that we don’t know enough, aren’t fast enough or not qualified enough – we don’t apply for the things we really want. If your dream client has become available, and you don’t pitch – you will always wonder ‘what if’. And ‘what ifs’ can be distracting and upset your balance even more. Step outside of your comfort zone, and let yourself explore the boundaries of what you can do. Because whatever you don’t know, you will learn. And whatever you can’t do right now, you’ll be able to do soon enough. Begin to feel more secure in your capabilities, and you will naturally grow. 

Talking body

Your body language says a lot about your mindset, and if you feel nervous or like you shouldn’t be somewhere, you will most likely have closed or nervous body language. The people you are talking to will pick up on that too. 

Trying the superman pose ahead of taking meetings, or even if you are just sending emails, will give you a big confidence boost. That confidence can be enough to help you get beyond how you feel about yourself for a little while. Becoming more conscious of your body language will help you to be more assertive and secure in your skillset. 

Success

When you have imposter syndrome, you are more likely to downplay your achievements and act like they are much smaller or less significant than they really are. But awards, nominations, published works, working with big-name clients, scoring great reach, and creating great functions with code should be celebrated. 

If you haven’t looked at your own success in a while, now is a great time to write it down and use it to remind yourself that not only do you deserve to snag big clients, but they’d be lucky to work with you!

Perhaps you are new to working from home, freelancing or running a small business, in which case these tips can help you too: ​​Starting Off A Career from Home – BEYOUROWN.