#6 – Coaching Amy: How to overcome Imposter Syndrome in Business?

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Transcription of the episode

EPISODE TEASER

“I can’t tell you how many entrepreneur master classes: do this and all the people will come and do that, and this will answer all the things that you need to start a business. And it has not resonated at all. I feel like that’s why I just kept searching and searching for more answers and more curriculum and more ways to learn. After speaking with you, it feels like I’ve known all along how to start. This is who I’ve always been.”

[NB: If you like this episode, you will want to hear Antonin’s Coaching Session as well: click HERE.]

EPISODE SUMMARY

This podcast episode is for you if you’re an entrepreneur—or even a professional—who feels stuck, unable to take the next step or succeed because of imposter syndrome. I’m so happy to have Amy with me today, as I’ll be giving her a coaching session on exactly this topic.

It’s that feeling of needing to have learned *everything* about your field, taken all the courses, logged countless hours of training and experience, and already be recognized as an authority before you can even begin talking about your work, finding clients, and building a thriving business.

If that resonates with you—if you feel like this is your situation and it’s holding you back—you’re going to love this episode. Amy’s story really spoke to me personally as well, and I know it will resonate with many of you.

I’ll probably do another episode about being a gifted and highly sensitive person, especially if this speaks to you too: having such a high level of integrity that you simply can’t bring yourself to use certain business strategies that are supposedly “the way” to succeed. You know the ones—they’re supposed to work, and you’re told you *have to* do them. But every time you try, something inside you says, *This isn’t right for me.* You wonder, *Should I push through this discomfort? Should I keep doing something that feels so misaligned?*

Often, there’s this deeper belief that says, *If I want my business to succeed, I have no choice—I have to do it this way.* But in reality, that will never work, whether in the short, mid, or long term, because of the disconnect between what feels right for you and what your mind is telling you you must do to succeed.

If that’s where you are, this episode is for you. Enjoy!

TRANSCRIPT: AMY’S COACHING SESSION

Gloria: Can you explain to me what brings you to this coaching session?

Amy: I’m at a point in my development, I guess, where I’ve pursued a lot of education and advanced degrees. I just graduated with my doctorate, but I have almost two decades of experience in a field unrelated to what my doctorate is in. I feel like I’m struggling to feel prepared to move forward with the business I want to launch, which is related to my doctorate and the studies I completed because it serves a completely different population than what I was working with before. I’m really struggling right now. I’ve accepted a full-time position in the same field I was in before, which is technology. I’m just struggling to find the balance between feeling prepared to embark on this new journey and staying in what I’ve done in the past.

Gloria: What makes you doubt that you are prepared?

Amy: I feel like I am a lifelong learner, and I can’t possibly learn enough to be relevant in the field. I feel like I need to take another certification or another class. I just don’t feel like I’m an authority yet.

Gloria: Do you have clarity on what exactly you want to help people with?

Amy: Yes, I do.

Gloria: Okay. Can you share a bit?

Amy: Yeah. I specifically want to help neurodivergent individuals across the lifespan to understand themselves, honor who they are, and help others embrace them for exactly who they are without trying to change them. I particularly enjoy working with families who may be on a parenting journey that’s different from what they might have expected. This includes both learning as well as home and future planning. So, helping people realize, through their strengths, what will truly bring them joy and the lifelong pursuits they’re searching for. I feel like a space that’s missing is support for these people in finding opportunities that will bring them joy.

Gloria: While I was listening to you, you already started to answer a question I had: What do these people need? Or, phrased another way, what do you want to bring to them? I’m asking this question concretely. You said you want to help them understand themselves, honor who they are, and embrace how they operate, especially with a focus on families. How exactly do you see yourself helping them?

Amy: What I’ve found is that many people in this population feel alone. They feel like they’re the only person like them and haven’t found their group or community. What I hope to do is help bring them together through shared lived experiences, realizations that other people have similar interests and strengths, and by creating opportunities where they can pursue joy—even if it’s something that doesn’t yet exist today. I want to help them trust that they can create it, and that not everything has to fit into a predefined mold.

Gloria: If you had more time—let’s imagine tomorrow you have a day off from your full-time job and you could start immediately—what would you do?

Amy: I think that’s part of my struggle: figuring out where to start.

Gloria: What’s the easiest start? What would be the easiest and most joyful or fun start?

Amy: I think if I had plenty of time tomorrow, I’d start writing. I believe that through my voice, I can share and connect. But my struggle is that I’m not sure how to get my voice heard. There are all these strategies being thrown at you about how to get noticed, but they feel very inauthentic to me—whether it’s social media or advertising. I want to lead with my work, my beliefs, and my connections. For me, the most authentic path is writing.

Gloria: And what makes you believe that’s not enough?

Amy: Because I feel like I would write, but no one would read it.

Gloria: And what makes you believe no one would read it?

Amy: Because I don’t know how they would find it. I feel like I’m not a recognizable name or an authority yet.

Gloria: Okay, so let me connect the dots with what you said earlier. For you, the belief is that it will only work, or people will only pay attention to what you propose, if you’re already recognized as an expert or seen as an authority. Is that right?

Amy: Yes, exactly. That’s exactly it.

Gloria: Okay. Let’s keep that in mind. Stay with me—I’ll go back and forth between different topics, and at some point, it will all connect. Why do you decide to work with someone, yourself? What makes you purchase something?

Amy: Could you rephrase that? What makes me work with something?

Gloria: The first thing that comes to your mind when you buy something—whether it’s a product, a book, or a course—what makes you decide to either work with that person or buy that product or service?

Amy: I think it depends largely on what it is, but a lot of it is what they say—their words. Words mean a lot to me. It’s whether I feel like they understand me through their words, and whether it’s going to solve the problem I’m looking to solve. I also look at reviews, testimonials from others, and experiences, like asking friends. And I always sit on things for a little while to make sure before I commit.

Gloria: Perfect. If you think about what has worked out in your life before—anything, really, like how you met your partner or found a job you loved—do you notice a common thread? I can give an example if it helps. Was it that you saw something and decided to go for it? Or did a friend tell you, “Hey, there’s something here for you”? Is there a common pattern or story you can think of?

Amy: I think I’m very much a researcher in everything I do. I’m never spontaneous. Whether it’s making purchases or finding friendships or partners, it’s always been something that has evolved over time. For example, meeting my husband: we worked at the same company on the same team for five years before I realized, “Oh, maybe there’s something here.” So I’m slow—but once I make a decision, I commit and move forward. But getting to that point takes a lot of research. Even with things like deciding which home to buy, I do a ton of research. It’s less about price or features and more about whether it aligns with my values and morals.

Gloria: Beautiful. It might be interesting for you—even later, if you want to relisten to what you said—to reflect on this pattern. Okay, that’s great. Now, what do you feel you still need to help you move forward in your current situation?

Amy: I think it’s self-confidence. It’s a risk, and while I’m not risk-averse, I don’t feel confident enough that I can take this step. I think that’s the issue.

Gloria: If you had to measure how self-confident you are today, on a scale from zero to 10, where would you place yourself?

Amy: Probably a four.

Gloria: Okay. What would help you get to a five out of 10?

Amy: I think feeling like I’ve had a positive impact—that what I’m doing matters.

Gloria: Do you already have proof of that?

Amy: I do, yeah.

Gloria: How does it feel when you look at that?

Amy: It’s beautiful. I have clients now who tell me I’ve completely changed their lives and that they don’t want to lose me. They tell me they want me to stay in their lives for the long term, and that I’ve transformed how they plan to move forward with their futures. That’s beautiful. It’s what fuels me to keep going.

Gloria: I can really feel it in your voice. As you talk about this, I feel the energy shift—it’s so different. I’m guessing you can sense it too?

Amy: Yeah.

Gloria: So let me go back to what you said earlier—I like to go back and forth. How do you believe people who are currently recognized in your field or seen as authorities got to where they are?

Amy: I feel like that’s what’s so hard. It seems like the people who are successful today got there by really putting themselves out on social media, sharing a lot about their personal and family dynamics. It feels like it becomes more about the business and the numbers than about the actual impact they’re having. And that’s where I feel like I don’t belong. That’s not me.

Gloria: I completely understand. It’s becoming very clear. And, honestly, what you’re describing resonates with many people. Let me offer you a different perspective, and you can tell me how it feels. Would you like me to share some feedback?

Amy: Yes, that would be great.

Gloria: Imagine you’re where you are now: you want to build a business with a huge impact, but you’re also feeling imposter syndrome—you’re not a recognized authority yet, so why would people buy what you offer? You want to move toward helping neurodivergent individuals and their families embrace and honor who they are. But, if the only way to get there involves putting yourself out there in a way that feels inauthentic—focused on numbers and business strategies—you’ll never want to take that step. It’s like standing in front of a train that you know you don’t want to board. If the only way you believe you can succeed involves doing things out of alignment with who you are, you won’t even make it to the gate.

So here’s the question: Could you start imagining that there’s a natural way for you to reach your goal? What if your way—aligned with your authentic self—could actually work? For example, you’ve already mentioned that writing feels like the most authentic step for you. Could you imagine that being enough?

Amy: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I agree there must be people out there like me. But I guess part of my struggle comes from knowing my target audience—busy moms and stressed-out families. Do they even have time to read? From my own experience, I wish I had more time to read. So I wonder: do I need to break it down into bite-sized pieces they can read in the two minutes they have? That feels hard to balance.

Gloria: That’s a great point. Does it feel good to you to imagine creating these two-minute bite-sized pieces?

Amy: No, it doesn’t. I’ve tried it.

Gloria: Right. So every time you think you need to follow that strategy, but it doesn’t align with who you are, you’ll feel stuck and start judging yourself for not doing enough. But let’s go back to the idea that your ideal clients will resonate with your natural way of communicating. Could you imagine that there are people who would genuinely appreciate taking the time to read your words? Especially in the space you’re working in—helping people feel understood and seen—your words alone could bring relief. When people feel touched by what they read, they don’t just close the tab and forget about it. They come back to it because it resonates deeply.

Amy: Yeah, I think that’s very true. Absolutely. I also think that the way I choose to work with people is very much about how I can serve them. If I’m able to connect with people through my words, that’s a good indicator that they’re the right people for me to work with.

Gloria: Exactly, 100%. And the experience will be better for you too. Imagine you create content just to follow social media strategies that don’t resonate with you, and then you attract people you don’t connect with. You’d feel just as unhappy.

Amy: Yes, I’ve experienced that. I’ve tried those approaches, and the people I connected with were not aligned. It was very hard to navigate.

Gloria: Exactly. So now, if you make a quick assessment, how do you feel? Can you imagine yourself doing something, whether it’s tomorrow, in five minutes, or in the next few weeks, that feels good to you?

Amy: I think I’m going to start writing. I’m not sure yet what I’ll do with it, but I feel like journaling is a good first step. I have so many ideas, thoughts, and theories, and getting them out onto the page is really helpful. If those resonate with others, then that gives me a foundation to build on.

Gloria: That’s perfect. And to help reinforce this, remember your own experiences. For example, think of a time when you read something—a book, an article, even just the back cover of a book—and it resonated so much that you knew you wanted to dive deeper. There are people out there who will feel the same way about your words.

What do you take away from this session?

Amy: I feel like I’ve had a chance to process why I’ve been avoiding moving forward. A lot of my imposter syndrome comes from trying to follow strategies that aren’t in alignment with who I am. To feel confident, I need to approach this in a way that serves both me and the people I want to work with. I’ve gone from feeling like, “I just don’t think I can do this,” to now thinking, “I’m going to start writing tonight.” That’s a huge shift.

Gloria: That’s amazing! I’m so happy to hear that. You’ve really captured the essence of what alignment looks like for you. I can’t wait to see how things evolve for you.

Amy: Thank you so much. This has been incredibly helpful.

Gloria: You’re very welcome. Thank you for trusting me and sharing so openly.

CONCLUSION

I hope you enjoyed this episode—I certainly did! I’m so thankful to Amy for sharing her story. Thank you, Amy.
As I mentioned before, please share how this resonates with you. That’s also a wonderful way to say thank you to Amy—and of course, to me, for creating this podcast. I would be thrilled if you shared this episode with anyone you think it could help.
If you enjoyed this podcast, I’d be so grateful if you gave it five stars. It really helps increase its visibility, and it spreads a message that is so important to me: creating a life and a business that are truly aligned with what feels right inside and what comes naturally. That’s where you’ll find peace, serenity, and joy.
If the way I work resonates with what you’re looking for—if you want to move forward in your life from that inner space, guided by what is truly you rather than what society or so-called business experts say you should do—then reach out to me. Let’s have a chat about your specific situation.
See you soon, and thank you for joining me on The Inner Space.