I am a huge sufferer of impostor syndrome. I think everyone is better than me, and eventually everyone will find out that I have no idea what I’m doing.

Obviously that’s nowhere near the truth. There is not a single person out there that fully knows what they’re doing. There are just some people who fake it better. And when you look at them from the outside, it is beyond intimidating and makes you question everything.

But if you live in that space, your business will suffer. So how do you get over it and be a successful business owner?

Block out what others are doing

When I look at people running similar businesses to mine, that’s when the doubts start creeping in. Why didn’t I get that client? Why am I not growing like them? And why didn’t I come up with that idea? It’s not healthy.

The fact is that no two businesses are the same, even if they look similar from the outside. That’s because no two people are the same. So the needs and wants of each business are going to differ, and there’s just no good reason to compare them.

For that reason, I don’t look at people’s businesses anymore. I still network and get to know people running similar businesses, but I look at them as people rather than look at their businesses too closely. It makes for a better mental space for me, and it helps me get closer to them which means better business for both of us.

Don’t try to stuff everything in

I once was at a conference where I saw a guy give a talk on speaking. It was a great revenue stream at the time, but I still felt like I was going to flop every time I walked onto stage. So I ran up to him after his talk and asked him why I kept getting so nervous, hoping he’d tell me how to prevent. He told me that it was my ego. That bothered me. I wasn’t exactly known for an ego, and it just seemed like the wrong answer to me.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized the real problem was my impostor syndrome. I was trying to stuff everything in thinking that people would actually listen to me more if I seemed smart. And then when I was done creating my presentation, I spiraled thinking I didn’t do enough and that everyone would be disappointed in me. It wasn’t until I stuffed myself full of sugar before I went on that I could shut those negative voices out.

Keeping my presentations more focused took loads of pressure off of me. I no longer tried to stuff everything I knew into the slides, which was ridiculous to do in the first place. I focus instead into on one small subject and give that my all. So I don’t worry as much about all that I’m leaving out. None of it belongs anyway.

And as far as whether I’m smart enough, I remind myself that I was invited to speak for a reason and many times it was by someone who had seen me speak somewhere else. I’m plenty smart enough for speaking.

Write down compliments

There are just days where I can’t get out of my head. Everything seems to be going wrong and I start believing it’s me. It’s a spiral that can do me in completely.

I won’t believe anything I tell myself when I’m in this state, so I rely on what others have said. And that’s why I take note of any compliments I receive. I keep them stored and recall them when they’re actually needed. They’re invaluable for those times when I can’t get out of that spiral.

But I also take note of the accomplishments I’ve had with clients. This especially helps with difficult clients and gets me into a mindset where I can get out of toxic client relationships. Because there is nothing better than reminding yourself what you’re capable of when you are in a functional client situation. And there is nothing better to deal with negative voices than actual fact.

I know, for me, I’ll always fight with my impostor syndrome. It means creating space for that fight and having loads of tools at the ready when it happens. But as I keep going and I have more accomplishments, the fight does get easier. It just takes time.

How do you deal with your impostor syndrome as you run your business?