how to Manage Imposter Syndrome & Become more Confident as a First Time Business Owner

If you’ve ever stepped out of your comfort zone, it’s likely you’ve felt a dose of imposter syndrome. Especially if you’ve started a business from the ground up.

Feeling like an imposter as a first-time business owner is a common experience! But it doesn’t need to end there. You can take steps to build your confidence in your leadership role.

Here are some strategies to help you become more confident as a first-time business owner:

1) Acknowledge how you are honestly feeling

Sometimes, recognising and acknowledging the deeper issue on hand - is 50% of the solution.

Imposter syndrome is a common phenomenon. Even for many successful leaders!

Stepping outside of your comfort zone and trying something for the first time is a big deal. A toddler taking their first steps would never feel ashamed for falling over. We would never scold them for “failing” on their first go.

But as adults, we set the bar so high for ourselves and forget that we need to give ourselves the same patience that we would give to a toddler walking for the first time. It takes time to become competent at a new skill. It takes trial and error. And perseverance too.

Remember that feeling imposter syndrome is a normal part of growing. It’s inevitable when we try things for the first time.

It might sound too simple - but a part of managing our imposter syndrome starts with simply acknowledging that we feel incompetent, or out of our depths.

And reminding ourselves that it’s such a normal feeling that just shows that we’re trying something new.

2) Develop a growth mindset

No one is perfect from day one.

Even the most glamorous, charismatic, accomplished leaders. It’s taken me years to learn that the leaders, public figures and celebrities I look up to weren’t always “great”, “accomplished” or “recognised” from the day they were born. No matter how awe-struck we may be by their successes and accolades, even the most-loved celebrities likes Taylor Swift are not perfect. (Nor will they ever be).

Imposter syndrome often stems from feeling ashamed that we don’t have it together. That we’re not cut out for it. Because we’re not perfect. But no one is perfect, and aiming for perfection is setting the bar up so high that failure is inevitable.

Leadership, influence and competence - alongside many other admirable traits that great entrepreneurs have - isn’t something we’re just “born with it” or “born without”. The degree to which we embody these traits isn’t determined at birth and set for life there onwards. Character and personality traits like these are more like a muscle.

The key to developing any skill, characteristic or quality that great leaders or entrepreneurs embody always starts with a growth mindset.

This growth mindset is shaped by an intrinsic drive, self-belief and self-efficacy. It rests on the belief that effort matters. That you can, in fact, grow in your competence and confidence through showing up consistently.

Be patient with yourself, set realistic expectations for your progress, and commit to showing up knowing that your dedication will pay off over time.

3) Focus on Building Competence & commit to continuous learning

One of the beautiful things about life and business is that no one ever has it all figured out. There is always something to improve in. There is always something to grow in. There is always something to realise and learn and be inspired by.

A crucial element of a healthy, thriving business is the mindset of the founder. If you, as the owner - stay committed to lifelong learning - you will be better equipped to adapt to the business landscape, which is constantly evolving.

Developing a growth mindset means you believe that if you put the effort in, you are capable of improving and becoming competent at whatever you put your mind to.

When we’re unaware that we’re incompetent at a certain skill, or in a specific characteristic - it’s only natural that we’re indifferent. When we don’t know we can’t do something, we don’t care. We can’t care. Because we don’t know.

But when we’re consciously aware of how incompetent we are at something - this is when our imposter syndrome starts becoming loud.

Conscious incompetence is discovered when we step out of our comfort zones for the first time. The cure to the imposter syndrome we feel when starting something new, is to put in the time, effort and dedication to improving.

Developing a growth mindset can help set us up to set the goals and take the action needed to refine a skill and become competent. When we put in the work and see that we are capable - this will in turn, build our confidence.

If you continue to show up and do the thing that once was new, uncomfortable and unfamiliar (and commit to learning from your mistakes and failures) - you will not only become consciously competent. It’s likely that you might be come unconsciously competent. Which means you can perform a skill or duty without even knowing it.

This is how you become an expert in a field.

Invest in your own development by acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary for your industry and role. Attend training, workshops, and courses to build your confidence in your abilities.

Keep showing up imperfect. Keep showing up before you’re ready. You’ll soon look back and realise that you have grown to a level of unconscious competence through your persistence.

4) Put yourself out there to build meaningful connections

When you’re first starting out, it’s so important to get connected. Find fellow business owners in your niche online to connect with and support. Reach out to business owners in your physical location to grab coffee with.

Remember that you don’t need to figure everything out alone - even if it’s tempting to drown in overwhelm and self-doubt.

There are so many factors involved i starting, running and scaling a business — and it’s rare that you’ll have it all figured out overnight. Let’s be real. No one has it figured out.

Rather than trying to protect everything we know and create distance between our “competition” — being intentional to connect with other business owners can be a game changer.

Investing in the right connections can help you feel supported (vice versa). Through having genuine conversations, you’ll probably realise that many business owners in a similar field would face / had previously faced challenges familiar to you. They’d probably celebrate similar milestones too.

If you feel intimidated by competition - one great way to make new friends in business is by connecting with business owners who have a similar target audience, but offer a different service. It’s a bonus if it’s a complimentary service (as it can open doors for partnerships - whatever size, shape, form you may like in the future).

Alongside developing friends in business, another way to manage imposter syndrome and fast track your growth to feel supported is seeking out mentors, coaches and advisors. People who have “been there”, “done that”. Those with insights and wisdom who can provide guidance, share their experiences, and offer their support.

These people are often busy, as they’re milestones ahead of us in their business journey. If they’re a local business owner, see how you can add value to them. Don’t go to coffee hoping to “take everything you can”. See how you can encourage and inspire them in return.

Some mentors and coaches only work from a paid capacity. But every cent is worth it.

Where do you start to connect with others in the industry?

There are different ways to go about it. You can simply reach out and email other business owners who are in a similar industry to yourself. DM them on social media. Join a business mentorship program, or find a business coach online.

5) Remember to Celebrate your Achievements

Sometimes, it feels like everything is going wrong. If you’re in business and you’re ankle deep, or knee deep, or completely submersed in the process - you would know exactly what I mean.

Running a business, building it from the ground up, establishing it as an organisation separate to you. It takes so much work - and oftentimes, the problems and challenges feel endless.

It’s easy to fixate on everything is going wrong.

On the other hand, it’s also easy to jump from goal to goal, milestone to milestone.

Yes, it’s important to be aware of the challenges. No, it’s not productive to become engulfed by them. Yes, it’s important to keep moving forward. But it’s also just as important to take time to celebrate your successes. No matter how small they may seem.

For every challenge that presents itself to us, there is always going to something else to celebrate. No matter how small.

For every milestone or goal we set out for ourselves and achieve - there are so many things we have done right. So many things to celebrate.

The celebration doesn’t have to be glamorous. It can be stupid simple.

Like having a nice brunch on the weekend. Buying coffee for the team. Going for a walk along the beach. Cracking open a bottle of wine with a nice cheese board on a Friday night.

There’s always going to be a lot going on in business. It’s a living, breathing organism with so many moving parts.

No matter how crazy things are, remember to take a step back and look at the things that are going right. Even if it’s seemingly mundane. Try to look out for, and recognise your accomplishments.

This can boost your confidence and help reinforce your belief in your abilities.

6) Visualise a version of yourself in the future (a version you are proud of)

Visualisation can be done in the form of an aesthetic vision board. It could be done with a Pinterest board where we compile all our goals and dreams for the short and longer term future. Journalling isn’t for everyone, but writing down our goals, vision and aspirations for the future can be a huge factor of goal setting our roadmap to success.

When we visualise not only where we want to be, but who we want to be. And create something tangible to remind ourselves - it can help us see that the challenges, uncertainties, mistakes and even all the good parts - are just a small stepping stone in the big picture.

What do you think of when you think of a confident leader?

What do they look like?

What do they sound like?

Who are some leaders in the industry you’re in who you look up to?

What traits do they have that you admire?

Practicing visualsing yourself as a confident and capable leader is a technique that can help rewire your subconscious mind to embrace your leadership role more confidently.

It can help put the imposter syndrome into perspective. We’re not incompetent and “not the right person for the job” — we’re growing, learning and becoming the entrepreneur we need to be to take our business to the next levels a few years down the track.

7) Build a habit of speaking Positively to ourself

Sometimes, we are our own worst critic. And our own voice can be so, incredibly harsh.

Even if there is an ocean of people who see our brilliance and believe in us - if we can’t see that in ourselves, we’ve got an issue.

The good news is that our self-dialogue and core-beliefs (alongside our imposter syndrome) can be challenged and reshaped.

Challenging negative self-talk isn’t always as easy as it sounds. It’s not always easy to “unlearn” a certain habit, or way of speaking and thinking we’d been engaging in for years.

But when we put the effort into replace our default negative thoughts (or challenge them directly with a question or a more positive tone) — it will have the most profound impact on our sense of self and confidence.

Each time we find ourselves doubting our abilities and wanting to become small — we don’t have to counteract it with a bold “I AM THE BEST” that feels rather fake and inauthentic.

A better way forward is by examining that feeling or thought with curiosity, without judgement. And asking questions. Like:

“Is there anything that happened in the past that makes me feel that way?”

“Is this reminding me of a specific experience that has been traumatic or upsetting?”

And dig for evidence for, or against the questions and claims.

When we have a default critical, negative thought like “I can’t do anything right, I’m not cut out for this” — it can be profoundly powerful when we find evidence against our own critical claim. Like:

“I might be struggling with this specific task, but I’ve shown myself that I am competent and accomplished in other areas of my life. I am learning new skills, and it might be a bit rocky but I’ve done better than how I would have 2 years ago.”

Through examining our default critical thoughts, asking meaningful, judgement free questions and doing a deep dive to find evidence against those claims - we can remind ourselves that we’re a work in progress.

Sometimes, it’s important that we receive encouragement and affirmation from our friends and loved ones. It’s more important though — that we encourage and affirm ourselves.

Our self-dialogue is something we are completely in control of. And mastering this one area of our life can have the most profound positive impact on our lives. Especially the imposter syndrome we might struggle with.

8) Redefine your understanding of Failure

I think a lot of imposter syndrome comes down to feeling like a failure.

“Failure” can seem like a scary word.

It used to make my stomach churn. It definitely was a huge trigger for my imposter syndrome.

It would spiral a deep, dark though spiral about all the ways I’d previously “failed”, embarrassed myself and made huge mistakes that didn’t just impact me, but the people around me.

But over the years, my definition, understanding and relationship with “failure” shifted.

I’ve come to learn that failure is a natural part of the learning process. It shows that we’re trying. That we’ve stepped out of our comfort zones. Even if things didn’t work out as glamorously and smoothly as we promised ourselves it would.

Making peace with the concept of “failure” and reframing it as a beautiful part of the process can bring us back to earth. It can help nurture the journey of growing out of our imposter syndrome to becoming competent.

Instead of fearing failure, it changes everything when we decide to see it as an inevitable part of the process. It can free us from the heaviness we once felt.

When we “fail”, it presents us opportunity to learn and grow. There is no resilience without failure.

When we learn to pick ourselves up, learn the ropes of how to improve, and try again — it not only builds our competence but also allow us to equip others with the tools we’d gained in the face of setbacks, which brings us a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.

9) Delegate and Trust Others

Growing up, we’re often taught that we should try our best to grow in our weaknesses. That’s often the case for many character traits that are important for us in relationships and specific situations.

When it comes to entrepreneurship - I think it’s a little different.

One of the most important traits of a strong, competent business owner is someone who has a clear idea of their strengths - and their weaknesses. Their weaknesses don’t cripple them and make them feel like an imposter - they just find someone else who is better than them at that certain skill, so they can focus on what they do best.

There are certain traits that every human should strive to grow in. Even if we’re naturally weak at them (i.e. clear communication, organisation, etc).

But when it comes to key tasks - it is profoundly important for the business owner to focus on their key strengths, and delegate the rest.

There are so many questions that preparing to delegate can bring up.

What if you don’t know if you can afford to hire?

What if the staff member isn’t a good fit?

What if you’re not organised enough?

How do you actually delegate, build and hire a team?

Delegation can take time. It costs money, and it is risky. But it could be the best decision you ever make. Especially if you find someone who is the right fit for the job.

Preparing to delegate requires organisation and time to figure out what you yourself must focus on as the owner - and which tasks are better off completed by someone who may be better equipped than yourself.

It requires systems and processes that are repeatable. It requires basic understandings of any legal, financial and contractual agreements involved.

It requires you to let go of control to a degree, and give someone else the responsibility and trust to carry out the tasks you set them better than you could.

Remember that you don't have to do everything yourself. Learning to delegate tasks and trust your team is a skill that you can develop.

Finding that clarity can take a little bit of trial and error - but at the end of the day, delegating well is the secret to building a successful business that can grow and succeed in the long run.

Commit to getting crystal clear on the vision and culture you have for your business, and surround yourself with skilled individuals who can complement your abilities and carry that vision.

10) Seek Feedback

We spend so much of our time in our own heads. Sometimes managing our imposter syndrome can look as simple as having a conversation with someone apart from ourselves. And asking for their honest thoughts.

Seeking feedback can feel a little daunting - because, what if people don’t have nice things to say and it just confirms all the horrible things we feel about ourselves?

Just like how a negative Google review from an angsty customer can make our stomachs churn, actively seek feedback from your team, mentors, and peers might make us feel nervous.

But the truth is, constructive feedback is necessary. It’s essential to building a business that is healthy and thriving. When you seek out genuine feedback, it can help you identify areas for improvement and build confidence in your leadership style.

Asking people -

What could be better?

What’s been working well?

What hasn’t been great?

How has your experience been so far?

The answers might not always be pretty, but it can honestly be quite surprising and encouraging to hear that staff members or clients are having a positive experience. Positive feedback can counteract all the self-doubt we might carry internally.

Feedback always gives us clear focal points to either continue doing because it’s working well. In the case of negative, constructive feedback, it gives us a small marker of what we could revisit and change - in order improve the staff / customer experience have.

11) Build a strong Support System

Building a business really is about taking risks and stepping out of our comfort zone. Consistently. Hence why imposter syndrome is so prevalent!

Stepping out of our comfort zone is so much more manageable when we have as safe bubble to come home to. The more we become uncomfortable in our business and career - the more rest, support and encouragement we need.

It’s just as important to have a strong support system as it is to step out of our comfort zone. I believe that they come hand in hand.

For someone who is a new mum, or mum-to-be — it’s best for them to connect with other more seasoned mums, or first time mums-to-be, as they would have shared experiences and hopefully, a degree of empathy and understanding that would make them feel less alone.

This is the same case with budding entrepreneurs, or people who have been in business in the long haul. It’s important that we surround ourselves with others in business, for shared understanding, support and empathy.

It’s important to cultivate a strong, support system.

They keywords here are “cultivate” and “system”.

It’s unfair to expect 1 friend, or 1 person to carry all our burdens and understand us completely.

It’s not fair on that person. And if they happen to be human, it’s most likely they can’t meet all our needs.

As mentioned above about building the right connections, it’s important to seek out a network of business owners, mentors, coaches, resources and online programs. And not only to reach out once, but to continue nurturing an array of relationships to feel supported, no matter the stage of business you’re in.

Remember to invest in friends and loved ones outside of business and love your life outside of your work. Having a drink at the pub with a great friend can be an incredible act of self-care that will have a positive flow on impact on how you show up.

If imposter syndrome is severely impacting your well-being or ability to lead, it might be a good idea to consider seeking the help from a therapist, psychologist or counsellor who specialises in self-esteem and can help uncover deeper issues that we may not have fully addressed and uncovered from our past.

By seeking out professional help, it could have amazing repercussions on the way we show up in our work and business as they give us the tools and frameworks to help us make peace with the layers of our past.

Building a diverse circle of support can provide the emotional backing you need, and help ground your self-esteem and confidence as you navigate the ebbs and flows of business.

At the end of the day, running a business will be the most incredible, immersive, spiritual ride you’ll journey on. It will require you to step out of your comfort zone and take yourself, and your team places you may have never been before.

There are so many ways we can build structures of support to help navigate the ever-changing, challenging and incredibly rewarding nature of entrepreneurship. I hope these tips help!

Remember that having a strong, growth mindset is not something you're either born with or not; it's a skill and muscle that can be developed and nurtured over time.

Building confidence as a first-time business owner is a journey, and with determination, resourcefulness and self-compassion, I am confident you can overcome imposter syndrome and thrive in your leadership role!