Imposter syndrome is a fancy new way to describe a feeling every mother knows well—the fear of people finding out you don’t have a clue what you’re doing.
It’s a feeling most business owners also recognize. Like parenting, owning a business is part preparation and part learning as you go. As a result, moms who own their businesses often experience a double-helping of imposter syndrome, frequently feeling as though they aren’t fulfilling any of their responsibilities well.
It shouldn’t be that way, but it is. Women, unfortunately, are disproportionately affected by imposter syndrome. About 75% of female executives report having experienced imposter syndrome in their careers, with 85% of those women hiding their concerns because they’re afraid of looking weak. The numbers are even higher for working moms. According to the US Census Bureau, even though working mothers comprise 32% of women in the workforce, they account for 50% of all imposter syndrome sufferers. That means working moms deal with imposter syndrome more than anyone else in the workforce.
Since entrepreneurs also report extremely high rates of imposter syndrome (84%), working moms who own their businesses have to constantly fight off a triple-whammy of doubt.
But here’s a secret we’ve learned as moms with successful businesses—feeling inadequate can be one of your greatest business strengths.
Feeling like an imposter = feeling scared
At its core, imposter syndrome is about fear. Fear of being found out as a “fake,” fear of failure, fear of success, fear of not making enough money, fear of missing out, basically fear that anything that can go wrong, will.
This anticipatory fear is an evolutionary development that probably kept our ancestors from wandering into deadly swamps and bear dens. But since it’s unlikely you’ll encounter a sabertooth tiger as an entrepreneur, it’s important to recognize that this fear can hold you back from reaching your goals.
High Five Grant founder Crystalee Beck knows what that fear looks like. Even though she had a master’s degree, was highly skilled, and had wanted to own her own business since she was a child, it took a corporate layoff when she was 30 and pregnant with her second child for her to leap into entrepreneurship.
Since opening Comma Copywriters in 2016, Crystalee has turned her one-woman show into the 24th fastest-growing company in Utah. She has been featured in Forbes, and Comma broke the $1 million revenue barrier in 2022.
How she did it is impressive. Working just 20-25 hours a week and hiring contract writers, Crystalee built a life-first company that delivers top-notch service by allowing employees to dictate their schedules and workloads.
Why you shouldn’t be afraid of being afraid
One of Crystalee’s favorite quotes, from columnist Doug Larson, specifically addresses ignoring the fears that come with imposter syndrome:
Here’s another quote we love from noted clinical psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Jessamy Hibberd:
These quotes sum up the core contradiction that can make imposter syndrome so debilitating—not knowing everything keeps people from trying new things, but no one knows everything.
No matter how many books you read as an expectant mother, you won’t know how to best calm a screaming infant until you have to calm a screaming infant. You won’t know what potty-training methods will work for your child until you potty-train your child, and you’ll still probably have to learn a different method for kid #2.
Whether you’ve been a corporate executive or have never stepped foot in an office building, there will be things you won’t know about running your own business until you do. Some of those lessons may be happy accidents that just work out. Some may be hard-won nuggets of knowledge that come from painful failures. Either way, the only way to learn these lessons is to move forward.
And that’s why you shouldn’t be afraid of being afraid. Being afraid motivates you to prepare and gives you the grit you need to figure out things you don’t understand. The best part of moving into uncomfortable territory is that it helps you develop a growth mindset. Eventually, everything you do, win or lose, helps inform future decisions.
Here’s one more quote from Dr. Regina Dugan that says it beautifully:
Give yourself a high five with the #highfivegrant
Helping mom business owners overcome their imposter syndrome is one of the reasons we started the High Five Grant.
As part of the application process, applicants are asked to identify the “why” behind their business. For some of our mompreneurs, it’s spending more time with their kids without sacrificing financial freedom. For others, it’s lifting their community. We ask applicants to post their why on social media because there is real power in articulating and publicizing your mission.
Even though we’ve given away more than $32,000 in grants since 2018, our finalists consistently tell us one of things they appreciated most about participating in the High Five Grant was gaining a new understanding of and commitment to their mission. Even if they didn’t think they’d win anything, applying for the grant reinvigorated the excitement and passion that led them to hang their shingle in the first place.
The second thing they always mention? Finding a community of like-minded mom-bosses inspired them to keep pushing for that next level of success.
We’d love to have you be part of that community! Sign up to be an early applicant today and you’ll receive a link for a reduced application fee ($25 instead of $50). You’ll also get access to a special “Irresistible Application” workshop with Crystalee, where she will give tips on how to make your application stand out to the judges, as well as answer participant questions.
With more than $22,000 in grants available for this application cycle, you owe it to yourself to apply. Don’t let imposter syndrome stop you from being great.
