The Part of Running a Business I wasn’t Prepared For (Spoiler: It wasn’t the workload)
Starting a business is strange because from the outside it can look really exciting.
You post the launch and people congratulate you. You create the branding, the website, the social media pages. And everyone says ‘You must be so excited!’
Which you are.
But what people don’t always see is the little voice in the background quietly asking ‘Am I actually good enough to do this?’
Because alongside the excitement can come a surprising amount of self-doubt.
At least it did for me.
Imposter Syndrome Has Entered The Chat
There have been moments whilst building my business where I’ve looked around and felt like everyone else had it figured out except me. Everyone seemed more confident, more experienced. Meanwhile, I was sat refreshing Canva for the tenth time wondering whether my font looked professional enough. IYKYK.
In the moment, it can feel really heavy.
Especially in a world where social media has a way of making it look like everyone else is absolutely thriving all the time. Meanwhile, you’re overthinking an email reply, trying to work out Instagram captions and wondering whether anyone else also feels like they’re making it up as they go along.
Imposter syndrome really does kick your butt sometimes.
It can make you question things you were excited about five minutes earlier and convince you you’re somehow behind when you’re not.
And the more business owners I speak to, the more I realise how common that feeling actually is. People just don’t talk about it enough, which is probably why so many of us end up thinking we’re the only ones feeling it.
The Pressure to Do Everything Perfectly Is Exhausting
For me, one of the hardest parts of running a business is the pressure to suddenly become an expert in everything overnight.
Not just the thing you actually started your business to do, but all the things that quietly come alongside it too. Things like business marketing, admin, social media, networking, invoicing. The list somehow never stops growing!
You start a business because you’re passionate about something and then suddenly find yourself on YouTube trying to understand what SEO even stands for, wondering how on earth you ended up here?
It’s a lot.
And honestly I think most business owners are carrying far more than they give themselves credit for (if this is you, here’s a very well-deserved pat on the back from me.)
There’s also a lot of pressure online to always appear confident, as though everyone else is moving through business completely certain of what they’re doing whilst you’re quietly figuring it out as you go behind the scenes.
But I don’t actually think confidence always comes first.
Sometimes confidence comes afterwards, after the messy first attempt, after posting the content anyway, after doing it even when it feels a bit uncomfortable.
Because if we all waited until we felt fully confident, a lot of us probably wouldn’t start at all.
Comparison Will Convince You You’re Behind, Even When You’re Not
I’ve had moments where I’ve compared myself to people who are years ahead of me in business and somehow used that as evidence that I wasn’t doing enough. Which logically makes absolutely no sense, but when you care so deeply about what you’re building, emotions aren’t always logical.
Comparison has a way of making us forget how far we’ve already come.
Someone else being further ahead doesn’t mean you’re behind and someone else doing things differently doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. We’re all building businesses alongside completely different lives, responsibilities and personalities.
I’ve had to remind myself of that more than once whilst building my own business.
It’s very easy to assume everyone else has a clearer path than you do, when in reality most people are just figuring things out as they go too!
And I think there’s something really comforting in that.
Confidence Doesn’t Always Arrive Before Action
One thing I wish more people spoke about is that confidence doesn’t always arrive before action.
Sometimes confidence comes afterwards! After the messy first attempt, after posting that content anyway, after launching before you feel fully ready. Because if we all waited until we felt completely confident, most businesses wouldn’t exist.
I think courage in business often looks much quieter than people expect too. Sometimes it’s simply sending the email you’ve been overthinking, introducing yourself properly, showing up consistently, or trying again after a wobble in confidence.
And I think it’s easy to forget that those small moments really do build everything over time.
The Emotional Side of Running a Business
There’s also an emotional side to running a business that can be easy to overlook. The pressure to stay on top of everything, the guilt when you rest and the constant mental tabs left open in your brain even after you’ve closed your laptop for the evening.
Part of your mind is still running quietly in the background.
It’s exhausting in a way that’s hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it yourself.
And I think that’s why support matters so much. I’ve really felt this recently through conversations with other business owners at networking events and coffee chats, those small moments of honesty and encouragement have stayed with me more than I probably realised at the time.
Not just practical support, but encouraging support too. The kind that helps you feel a bit less alone in it all and brings a sense of calm when everything feels busy.
Sometimes people don’t need someone to fix everything. They just need someone in their corner, reminding them they don’t have to carry it all alone.
You’re Probably Doing Better Than You Think You Are
I think we forget sometimes that we’re human beings before we’re business owners.
We are allowed to feel unsure. We are allowed to learn as we go. And we are absolutely allowed to build businesses in ways that suit our actual lives, instead of forcing ourselves into someone else’s version of success.
So if you’re currently doubting yourself a little, this is your reminder that most people are figuring things out as they go along.
Even the confident looking ones.
Nobody starts as an expert. Nobody gets everything right immediately. And nobody builds something meaningful without moments of uncertainty along the way.
You are probably doing better than you think you are.
And you’re allowed to grow as you go.
If you’re reading this and quietly recognising yourself in some of it, I hope it’s a small reminder that sometimes the secret to getting ahead really is just getting started.