Conquering Workflows & Systems For Bookkeepers & Accountants | with Alyssa Lang (Workflow Queen)

Overcoming Impostor Syndrome: Tips for Conquering Doubt in Your Business Journey

• Alyssa Lang • Season 1 • Episode 67

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In this solo episode, Alyssa Lang covers what it is like to deal with imposter syndrome when it comes to your business and how to navigate it as your business grows and changes.

In this episode you’ll hear:

  • What imposter syndrome is and how it sneaks up on you
  • How to remind yourself that you are not an imposter
  • How to lean on support to get through the moments you doubt yourself

Resources mentioned in this episode:

💻 Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants

💻 Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants

Thanks for listening. If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram stories and tag me, @workflowqueen

For more information about the Conquering Workflows & Systems for Bookkeepers & Accountants Podcast or interest in our programs or mentoring visit our resources below:

Visit our website: workflowqueen.com

Check out our courses: workflowqueen.com/courses

Follow the Blog: workflowqueen.com/blog

Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alyssa-lang-wq

Connect on Instagram: instagram.com/workflowqueen

Connect on Facebook: Facebook.com/workflowqueen

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If you ever have those days where you're just feeling like you're really, truly doubting yourself, you're doubting what you do. You're thinking that you're not enough for the people that you're supporting and how dare I do this because how am I worthy of that then this episode's truly going to be for you today. I felt so called to talk about imposter syndrome. And if you have no idea what that is, we're going to deep dive into it in today's episode. But the shortest definition possible that I can give you for imposter syndrome is really just. Doubting yourself and thinking you're not enough. And thinking that you are such an impostor and that you're almost like acting versus actually doing. And so today we're going to really, really deep dive into that because this is something that I recently experienced and I wanted to share it with you. Some of the tips and the strategies that I've put into place when I experienced my own levels of, imposter syndrome. So today I'm going to cover three. Different points. Well, my first part, I'm going to share a story with you guys. The very beginning of the episode, about a very recent hire that I made that essentially was brought up a lot of imposter syndrome for me and made me feel like I wasn't worthy or like, who am I to hire this person and XYZ. So you guys are going to learn about that, my recent experience, but I'm going to be covering how imposter syndrome really never goes away, but I'm going to be sharing the different levels that you're going to go through as you progress through the business. I'm also going to share some tactics of how to celebrate some of your wins. So that way, when you have that imposter syndrome, you can always come back to earth. And then lastly, I'm going to be talking about community will really help you through your imposter syndrome. so without further ado enjoy today's episode So I know that one of the biggest and toughest conversations, I feel like a lot of us have mostly with ourselves, but also when we start to talk to other people about it is imposter syndrome. And if you have no idea what imposter syndrome is, that's totally okay. You probably do it just, you might have a different terminology for it. So essentially the best way that I could describe imposter syndrome means that like, Your doing something that's so uncomfortable and that sometimes when you're doing it, It makes you feel like you are doubting yourself and thinking that like, oh my gosh, am I smart enough? Can I do it? So on and so forth. So I'll give you a really great example of this Imposter syndrome comes up a lot, especially at the new stages in business. It never goes away. Guys, we're going to be talking about that today, about how imposter syndrome truly never goes away. You just experienced different levels of it. And so like, I'll just give you a great example. Cause I know anybody who's literally a bookkeeper accountant has at least at one point been through the beginner stage or maybe you're at the current beacon or stage. But one great example of this is when we first start our business and we first start do accounting. Do a bookkeeping. Do any. I didn't even have that kind of work for our clients. We tend to doubt ourselves. So then, like for example, you might price yourself lower because you're like, I'm not good enough. I'm not worthy enough. I'm not smart enough. Who am I to teach these people who am I to guide this client who might've sit there and tell them how to, you know, spend their money and how to make money in their business. When I haven't yet made money. That's imposter syndrome. And so, like I said, sometimes a lot of people. You know, have different terminology set to it. I'm trying to do my best to give you like, not necessarily a textbook description of imposter syndrome, but I know we've all felt it. And if you've never felt it, then maybe you're just not being super honest with yourself, but honestly, I could tell you, I'm a pretty confident person and I've been in business since 2015. I now have three different businesses. I've been doing this for quite some time. And imposter syndrome just keeps coming up. And I don't think that it's something that truly will ever go away. And the more business owners that I've talked to that had Been in business for quite some time. Also feel the same where they tell me like, Alyssa, it truly never goes away. And so I really just wanted to just reserve this episode for. All things, imposter syndrome, how to really handle it at the different levels of business, what to expect. From handling your imposter syndrome, what you can expect to kind of come up for you as you journey through your business and this entrepreneurship and, you know, doing what you're doing. Like I said, you might be at the beginning stages, but you also might be a listener. Who's been doing this for like 13 years. And you still experience it and that's okay. And so I really just want to deep dive into all things imposter syndrome today. And I think this really resonated with me too, because I've been feeling my own version of this. And I'll kind of give you guys an example of why. So I recently came to the conclusion. I was at like a retreat in Scottsdale and it was for my bookkeeping firm. And I'm a part of like this Women's group and they're so amazing and so incredible. Well, a couple of weeks prior to that, I did a lot of thinking to get ready for this retreat. So that way I can go and attend and really bring forward any strategies that I really wanted to talk through. And through that, like search of like, what's really going on in the business. What do I really need support with? I found that it really wasn't the business. Like, I am very grateful to say that my business is at a point where it's super systematized. We've got the people we are, we got amazing clients, amazing students, like. I am so beyond blessed, but I will say that that also came with a lot of work. I did have to put in a lot of work to build the business to the point where I can walk away for vacation. I can go do these things right. But the reason why I wanted to talk about this story is because during this thought process, I realized it wasn't about the business. It was actually about me. And so through trying to figure out what my biggest core problem was. I recognized. I need help. Like I legitimately as a human being need support. And what I mean by that is I find that like, Even though I might not technically work a lot of hours. I still find my mind being preoccupied by the business. A lot of times in my life. That sometimes my mortgage payment gets missed. Like I'm not proud of that. I just literally bought my first house. Like I now have it set on auto pay, so don't come after me. Cause like I totally did that. It's just sometimes like, even those things, like going out of my way to set things on auto pay or like to reach out and like the other day I got a water bill because they don't do online. Bill pay. And I have to go in like, remember to go pay the bill, right. Little things like that. Even like neglecting my body and not taking care of myself because I don't have time to think about my nutrition. I don't have time to think about my meal plans and what that structure would look like. Right. And then even things like high level in the business, I don't even desire anymore to ever check my email. I also am at a point in my business where I'll share some of my goals and stuff, because I know this episode will kind of go. Out of nowhere, it just kind of takes a turn and that's usually how my episodes go. But another big goal of mine is at one year from now, because I just hired a new role, which we'll talk about in just a second of why this imposter syndrome came up. My new goal is at one year from now. I want to be fully worked out of my Asana. And what I mean is my team will still be using it. They'll still be managing their tasks in it, managing the client, work, managing my student, work, everything that they need to do. But as a business owner, I would be fully removed from the company and literally never have to look at my Assata ever again. And so like for you, it's a different project management system. That's okay. But for me, it's a sauna. And then my other goal is six months from now. After I hired this person, which this new person I'm talking about in just a second. Was hired on May 15th, six months from their hire date. My new goal also is to be fully removed from slack and all email communication. And so some people are like, oh my God, Alyssa, you're so crazy. I'm like, I am crazy because I have big goals. And like, I truly desire to be a shareholder of my own company. And it doesn't mean that I won't be involved in like the high level decisions. It just means like, I want to go to other parts of my life right now, I'm really focused on them and like I've neglected my body and my health. And so it's really important to me. So anyways, the reason why I say these things is because I just want to communicate the imposter syndrome that I felt. So during this time, when I realized that I need more support, AKA, I'm calling them my chief Alyssa Wrangler. Like I need someone to legit. Go through all my emails, go through any information that's being put at me. Like whether that's right now, we're going through a rebrand for my firm. Like the designer and the copywriter, and then like the videographer and then this and the podcast producer, everybody is asking me questions. And I'm just exhausted. I'm overwhelmed. I just don't want to do it anymore. And so I want someone to be like the front of the line, where everybody communicates with this person, and then they only filter out what I actually need to answer. And so my whole goal with this role was like to get them on a call. You know, Monday through Friday, like a 15 to 20 minute standup meeting daily where like, they just blabber off everything to me. And I just like tell them all the answers or get them all the things. And then essentially they go do all the things, but they would already have filtered things down to me based off certain rules and parameters. So anyways, I started painting this picture of this new person. And I had talked to a couple of my coaches. I ended up going to Scottsdale and going to this retreat during that retreat, I found that a lot of themes of the women that were there because this group is just amazing business owners is a lot of them were like, yeah, I have like a personal assistant and a high level executive assistant. Someone who supports me directly and does not serve our clients does not serve students. No one else. It's literally literally hire for them. And I was like, that's exactly what I need. Like, I need someone that, because every role I've ever hired for guys, like you guys have all probably at one point interacted or heard about me, talk about. By team members, whether they're the bookkeepers. Whether there are, student support here at workflow queen, like you've probably interacted with my team at some point or heard about them. Every single one of those people have been hired for you guys or for my clients to serve each other, to serve you, to serve clients, to answer your emails, to answer your billing questions. But what about me? What about me as the business owner. Right. And so that clicked in my mind as soon as that conversation had happened. So then I was gung ho I'm not even telling you guys, it was not even like 20 days of this process of, from thoughts from ideation to literally hiring this person. Because I was like, I can't do this. I had the idea, but didn't know like what that would look like. Then I went a week later to Scottsdale in Scottsdale. When I got back, when I returned home is when I put out the job description, which at one point I shared on my Instagram story at workflow queen. So I really recommend that you follow me at workflow queen on. Instagram, because over there I share a lot of like the behind the scenes. I know. I haven't really been. Present lately on my stories. And trust me, that's going to change now that I have this new person. So anyways, I put out the job description and put out everything. During that process, imposter syndrome hit me so hard. In that process. I remember being in Scottsdale with my coach and she's from Thailand or she's from Canada, but she lives in Thailand and I offered to take her to the airport because I had driven cause my dog said, or like bailed on me last minute. So I ended up having to drive to Scottsdale with my dog for this like retreat. And so anyways, I dropped off my coach at the airport. In oh my gosh. Where were we? Scottsdale? And on the way there, I just started crying and she's like, what's going on? And I was like, honestly, like, I feel like I'm not worthy of this new role of someone serving me directly. I feel like it's weird because they're not going to be generating revenue for the company. So like, it was just like this new imposter syndrome of like, will I be able to hire them effectively? Am I worthy of this you know, who am I to have someone help me pay my bills? Like, that's going to sound bougie to people. Like, it's going to sound so weird that like, Alyssa, you don't even have kids. And like, you need a personal assistant. Like, yeah, I do. Like, you know what I mean? And imposter syndrome hit me so hard to the point where like, I almost didn't hire this role. And so that's kind of why I wanted to tell this story because I wanted to share with you guys that I still experience it. And this literally just happened like probably not even a month ago. So during that conversation, she was like, Alyssa, you deserve this because if you give yourself this space, To be freed of these people, talking to you or messages and this and that, the things that are weighing you down and just have someone that helps you prioritize yourself every day and helps you take care of yourself and your body. You're only going to do better for the business. And I was like, you're so right. And so like in that moment, I had to deal with my own imposter syndrome. And one of my key points today to talk about is getting support. And I'm grateful that my coach walked me through it. I'm grateful for these moments. Like I'm telling you even through the job description, I was like, who might've like even teach my students here at breakthrough. Like my group coaching program, like how, like, who am I to teach him how to hire people, but like yet I do it all the time. Like it just blows my mind like that. I still deal with this all the time. So it really never truly goes away. It's just different forms and different levels of it. Right. So all to say, I ended up hiring this girl, like, so I ended up going and posting this job on indeed. We had like over 300 applicants, only 10 of them literally. Follow the instructions, which is why I have such a crazy filtering system, which by the way, if you want to learn how I hire people and how I'm able to find the most dream team members you can come learn how to do that. In my group coaching program, breakthrough, I walk you through the job description, the secret things that I put inside of our job description to weed people out our interview questions, our hiring process. Down to the org chart that you have doing background checks, like everything you could possibly imagine about hiring someone. Plus it's only one module there's also systems offers. mindset and also removing yourself from the day-to-day. And so if you want to learn that, feel free to go pop in. I'll drop the link below. So the reason I kind of say that is because when I put out the job description, she was amazing. I loved her. I had three candidates and funny enough, one was named Brooke. Alyssa and Allie, and I have this thing. If you guys have been here for quite some time, then you know that I've had an employee named Alyssa before and like my best friend's name is Brooke Swan. So like, it's just so weird. Like the universe always tends to bring me people with the same name as my friend. It's super interesting. So I interviewed an Allie, Alyssa and a Brooke and of all three of them. It would Allie and Brooke came down to be the two that I was like, Ooh, really torn between. And in my mind, I was like, who might've hired this person, even through the whole damn process. Like it was still doubting myself and doubting, like, what if things go wrong? What if this happens? What if I can't afford to pay him in a year from now, what's going to happen so on and so forth. So I ended up offering this job to this. To Brooke. So there was something about her. She was just, I could tell she was going to be. Amazing. And so I ended up having a really good friend of mine who like is a head VP at this big e-commerce brand. I had her interview, this girl. So Brooke. And I had her interview her and she was like gut checked. Yes. Like she's a 1000%. And I was like saying like, she's really good at interviewing people. And so I ended up extending the job to her. She it's literally been only one week that she's been with me. And this week I literally leave this morning at about 40 minutes to Austin, Texas. I'm about to fly out and she's going to be having her first solo week. So it's almost a week to, she's going to be solo. She is going through our internal training program, but she's also getting some things ready in the background, but like I keep coming with things coming up, like. Who am I to have this person like supporting me right. And I just keep having to come back down to earth to be like, you know what? I deserve this I've worked really hard. I've been in business since 2015. Three different businesses. I'm exhausted. Like I genuinely love what I do. But I need brain space in order to better serve my students to better serve my clients. To better serve my friends and even myself. Right. And so like the best way I could do that is to like, have someone to support me. But I just wanted to share with you guys that story before we kind of deep dive, I don't know if that resonates with you guys. This could be pertaining to any role. It could be like a bookkeeper of finally letting go and saying, you know, who am I to deserve that bookkeeper, whatever that looks like. And if you want to talk it through, share your story. I love when you guys send me emails, sharing your stories. I get the best emails from you guys. Like all of you. So you can email us at support at workflow. We not calm. Just share your story. I do actually read every single one of those. My team member actually slacks me and lets me know that they're ready for me to review and or Instagram. I love hearing about your stories and how these things resonate with you. So I kind of want to deep dive about the first point, cause I'm gonna cover three different points today. The first one is it never really goes away. The imposter syndrome, you just experience new levels of it. The second one is celebrating wins and I'm going to talk about ways to do that. And the last thing is surrounding yourself with others that are going through the same thing as you. So the first one is it never really goes away. So I think a lot of us, like, we really hope that like, oh my God, I can't wait till I get to a point in my business where I'm always confident and like never have imposter syndrome. Joan, I'm never having to deal with it. I can tell you from experience, it never goes away. And all the people I've met in business who are also at every stage, it never goes away. And I can tell you, like, you might get to a point where, like, for example, give you a great example. I used to be so nervous recording these podcasts episodes because I had imposter syndrome. Who am I to talk to all these people, listening to me on this podcast? Who am I like to be able to teach these things or to have these conversations or interview these amazing, incredible guests, right? I I'm so used to it. I've been doing it for so long now. It's almost been a year of doing the podcast. They're like, I don't have imposter syndrome about that anymore. But what I do have imposter syndrome about is sometimes when we bring on some crazy, incredible guests that like intimidate me, the imposter syndrome comes back. Or if we change things within the, you know, what, what I'm talking about here, like I will go through my own imposter syndrome. So it never really goes away. It just like takes on different forms and that's okay. As, new forms of imposter syndrome come up, it just means that you're growing. Like you will get to a point like another great example is, oh my. My God, I used to hate being on like stories on video. I used to hate presenting. Now I do it so easily because like it's, I've been doing it since I started workflow queen like four years ago. That now presenting and talking is just so natural to me that I no longer. Get as nervous. However, when I'm speaking to a really large group, or now when I'm speaking in person, Imposter syndrome creeps up. Who might it be speaking in front of these people live? But man, you put me on a webinar online, or if you put me on, on some online session. And I'm teaching about something. I will kill it and I loved every minute of it. So like, you'll get over it. It's just uncomfortable in that moment. And so just know that whatever you're experiencing and I'd love for you to sit down and say, what things are coming up for you that are imposter syndrome? Maybe write it down, maybe journal it, or maybe think it out. Like I said, come to Instagram, let me know it, come email me and just let me know what is it that you're experiencing? Because a lot of the times there's solutions. There's common solutions that you can. Implement that will change this, that can alleviate the pain of that imposter syndrome or prove that you're fine or prove that you're okay. That you will get through it. Right. And so I would love for you to identify one of those things. If you have any things that maybe it's, who might've run payroll for my clients or sales tax, like I don't even know have it for myself. So what if I mess it up? I don't know what it is, but for you just think through that, The second piece is celebrating your wins. So the best way that I get through my imposter syndrome guys is literally taking a step back and saying, what have I accomplished? And so I have something, what I call my win wall. And you might've heard of this concept that I've taught, like I've talked about many times here, or if you're in one of my programs, I share it all the time. My win wall essentially like a sticky note. Every time something happens in the business and they don't have to be big wins people every time something in the business happens. That is some sort of significance. I write it down on a sticky note and I put it on my wall. Every once in a while I have a really **** day. We all do it sucks. I look at my win wall. And sometimes I read through my testimonials from students and clients. And say this was all worth it. Look at all the things I've accomplished. So I'll give you a great example of that. my very first podcast, episode interview that I've ever been on with anybody once. I think it was bookkeeper launch. I wrote it on a sticky note. Like now I have like over like 75 podcasts interviews I've been on. It's just so crazy. But at that time it was such a massive win and it's still a massive one. Things like speaking on my very first stage, even though I was freaking terrified. Like I think I blacked out like, When I was like, speaking on stage, on BKX like, I'm actually scared of in my imposter syndrome for me, the biggest one is legit speaking in a public. Like I want to start doing Toastmasters, but I have a solution like going to Toastmasters, getting more comfortable with it. Talking into smaller audience and then getting bigger and bigger. As far as like how big the audience was, because I was really overwhelmed and whatnot, so that when, while really helps me sometimes when it's hitting certain revenues, let's just say that you hit your first 10 K month. Perfect. Write it on the wall. Those win walls go a really long way. And it helps you to remember that my imposter syndrome is just temporary. And then the last one that I wanted to cover was surround yourself with others going through the same thing as you. So. This is so key. Like I said, I leaned on my coach when I was taking her to the airport, but that wasn't the only person I leaned on when I was going through my own. Issues with trying to hide like my own imposter syndrome with hiring this new role. I called my best friend, Brooke Swan. I called my friend, Serena. I also called my friend, Kylie, my friend, Erin. I called everybody. You could possibly think of, because I was doubting myself so hard. I was reaching out to my mastermind groups. I needed support. And so the reason why this is so key is because when you're in that moment of you're having those doubts and imposter syndrome, that little voice in your head is going to have you spiraling. I know this from experience. And so it just makes me go down this rabbit hole that I regret every single time. And when I call those people, they pull me out of that hole that I've dug. And say, Alyssa, you deserve this Alyssa. You'll be fine. Or the better yet. I have a solution for you. Here's some of the things that, you know, I've hired this role before as well. Here's a job description. Here's some bullet points that I put on there. Here's some, you know, tips of the things I wish I would have done right at the very beginning when I hired this new role. And so I think it's so key to have that support group. And so find your people find your group that is so supportive of you as you experience these levels of imposter syndrome. If you're listening here and you're a breakthrough student, then, you know, damn well, we do that really well inside a breakthrough that when you guys share the, the things that you're going through, when you doubt yourself, How many of our students and even myself and all the other coaches are there to support you and pull you out of it. I can't tell you how many students inside of breakthrough. And even my, my program, a kickoff with a sauna. That I have legit talked through some crazy ledges of like, I want to burn it down. I'm done when it probably most likely was a super simple fix. But you're so in it, and you're so emotionally attached to everything that it's really hard to see these things for what it is. And that's why getting support and getting help is the best thing you can do for yourself. It is a very selfless act. And it is. The best thing that you can do for everyone. Because if I can jump this hurdle of imposter syndrome with this new person, I'm going to hire, like I said, they are going to free up my time and my brain space. And what that's going to do is I'm going to be able to do even more for my students. Even more for my clients have even more clear offers. Our systems are going to be even more legit. I can hire the leadership roles that I want on my team to take over the company. And that way the vision and the mission still drive everything forward. I can hire the right coaches. And breakthrough. I can have new lessons that I really, I just haven't had the chance to get to because my brain is just overwhelmed. It's beautiful. What you can do when you can break through those imposter syndrome phases that you're going through. And I really hope today's episode really resonated with you. I know that it's a really good kick in the ass for me too, as I'm literally about to leave for Austin, I'm about to take off to the airport literally in 10 minutes after I get done with this. And I'm going to a business retreat with someone who is so amazing. It's one of my coaches. And she's actually going to become one of my clients as well. And she's incredible. She's an amazing human and I get to be surrounded by amazing women. And so my own form of imposter syndrome comes up as well. Even when I attend these types of things. And it's okay. I know that it's just because it's uncomfortable. I haven't met these women in real life yet, but I've talked to them a million times online. I'm excited. And sometimes my imposter syndrome is actually excitement. It's not fear. And so I just really encourage you to take a step back and whatever you're experiencing. To really understand that you'll get through that, but it will never truly go away. You just experienced different levels and different forms of it. Don't forget to celebrate your wins. And then don't forget to surround yourself with people and the community and the support, the best support groups I've ever been a part of are the ones I paid for. And, you know, damn sure. I talk about all my stuff very often. If you ever need support, I definitely pride myself in the way that I build my communities and build my student groups. And so if you ever need support, if you ever want to talk through what you're experiencing, please feel free to reach out to me. And I hope you enjoy today's episode.