So, raise your hand (or leave a comment) if you have imposter syndrome and you hate it. I’m definitely guilty of it. I feel like the smallest seed of doubt can, and unfortunately has, derailed me from something I am passionate about. It’s like you get this brilliant idea and you’re super excited right? Then you start doing your research and you get the ball rolling. Someone can say something as simple as, “Are you sure?”, and BAM…motivation killed. Now we start to wonder if we really are sure about what we’re doing. “Am I really capable of doing this?”, becomes the big question. Why do we let outside factors deter us from what we want to do?, and why so easily? We are so ready and willing to support friends and family but we can’t give ourselves the same support and praise. Eventually when we finally get out of our own way, and go for it, then we see it wasn’t that hard to begin with.
In the beginning of my virtual assistant journey, I was super excited. I literally just finished my MBA and didn’t know what to do with myself. I was furloughed from my job a few months earlier and couldn’t stomach the idea of working for someone else again. I didn’t want to be in a position where someone else had my career in their hands. So, I decided to take a 90 Day virtual assistant course to start my own business. Once I finished that, I set up all of my business accounts for social media, made business cards and started looking for jobs. I also started my paperwork to register my business. BUT, of course like clock work, the doubt set in. I didn’t think I had any business having a business (I know it was dumb). I also started to worry about making mistakes in the services I wanted to provide and in general as a business owner. It got really overwhelming and started to make me think that I just wasn’t good enough.
I ended up taking on a contract insurance job because I was not confident that I would find any clients at all. Literally 3 weeks before my contract job ended, I ended up snagging my first client. It was definitely a boost to my confidence, but AGAIN, the doubt took over. It wasn’t until a month in that I got comfortable and then excited about having my first client. A few weeks later, I signed with an agency that gave me another client and possibly three more in the next few weeks actually (does happy dance). Now I feel more confident because I’ve gotten past these first few hurdles and I’m actually doing what I said I would. I now have a sense of pride in how far I’ve come in the past year. Given the year we’ve all had, I say I did alright! That doesn’t mean that I don’t still battle with my imposter syndrome. I feel it creep up on me every time I book a meeting, or every time I have a task to complete. I just remember that I’ve gotten this far because of me and no one else.
The one piece of advice I can give is: Get out of your own way!
If you’ve already made it as far as you have, no matter your journey…imagine how much farther you can go, if you get out of your own way. Imagine that.
Creative Ambition Virtual Solutions 
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