I'm an Entrepreneur, get me out of here!

Impostor syndrome has me bad.....

Hello from the front line of entrepreneurship. Starting a new business can be incredibly daunting. Whether it’s a full time gig, part of a side hustle, or your way to a portfolio career, going it alone takes courage, tenacity and the ability to take huge leaps of faith.

I stepped away from a full time consulting role in recruitment to concentrate on a few things that I wanted to do for myself, on the way to building a “second half hero” career that was made up of a few things. Finding focus has been tough, and I must admit I have been my own worst critic.

I have procrastinated for days at a time (one of my friends quipped, “Yes, but how clean is your kitchen?!”) and often fallen into heaps of doubt. But out of that comes hours of inspiration and steps forward. My mantra today is “Done is better than perfect” (evidenced with this article!)

Here are my helpful insights this week when impostor syndrome has struck:

• Having only recently read the story of Richard Branson starting Virgin, I am reminded that its not about being the first with something, its about being better. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, you need to build a better one.
•  Even the most successful business leaders will have their critics, and you will too. Don’t be one of them. Have your own back and be confident in your offering.
•  Be genuine in what you are doing and be driven by customer experience.
•  Shift your mindset. Have a listen to the podcast for Atomic Habits by James Clear, especially the section on mindset.
•  Have a vision of the end goal and what success looks like, but don’t get caught daydreaming or negative thinking.
•  JUST DO IT (thanks Nike)

 Have you recently taken the leap into your own business? I'd love to hear your ups and downs!

Watch this space.