Using F.I.R.E. to Fight Imposter Syndrome

By Rebecca Smith, Side Hussle Playbook and Santa Fe Community College Alumni

Smith will be speaking at the 2025 Pathways to Prosperity Summit in June

I remember it like it was yesterday - I was walking down the hallway of the 554,000 sq ft Home Shopping Network Complex in St. Petersburg, FL, on my way to be an on-air guest and sell a product line I had developed exclusively for HSN. The endless hours, emotional toll and financial stress that came with the opportunity were undeniable. This was a once in-a-lifetime shot for a self-funded entrepreneur like me.  I had poured hours into the product research and development, supply sourcing and assembly of the product line. I had what felt like a stream of thousands of feelings and thoughts going through me with every step I took as I got closer to the studio where I would be meeting my co-host and prepping my products to showcase them on the display table. The thoughts and feelings ranged from “Pinch me!” to “What am I doing here?” and made for the perfect recipe for my fight or flight mode to be activated--the hallway I was walking down had doors leading to the outside of the building about every 50 feet and with every door came a big red EXIT sign. Half of me wanted to run out the exit doors and the other half wanted to take one more step towards the studio. The range of emotions and thoughts I was feeling were not new to me. As an entrepreneur, I was accustomed to putting myself in highly uncomfortable situations and I had proven to myself that I could succeed in business, but the insecurity still crept in and spiraled into what is now commonly known as “Imposter Syndrome.”

Imposter Syndrome is a psychological phenomenon where individuals doubt their abilities, skills, or accomplishments and fear being exposed as a "fraud," despite evidence of their success. It often manifests as chronic self-doubt, or feelings of inadequacy, and by the belief that one’s achievements are due to luck, timing, or external factors rather than personal effort or talent.

The thoughts rushing through my mind were “I have no business selling my product line on HSN, I don’t know what I’m doing, why did I think I could do this…” While anyone can fall victim to Imposter Syndrome, nearly 80% of entrepreneurs experience the syndrome as they build their businesses. Entrepreneurs, in fact, have the perfect profile to fall victim to the Syndrome, mostly because our work is public and susceptible to critique, the stakes are high in the work that we do, and the odds of success are not in our favor. In fact, two-thirds of businesses fail in their first decade, only about 50% of businesses survive their first 5 years, and over 20% fail in their first year.

15 years into entrepreneurship, I still struggle with Imposter Syndrome, but I’ve made it my goal to normalize this feeling (and other feelings of insecurity) with every entrepreneur I meet, sharing with them the realization that this feeling may never go away and that instead of fighting it, I have to use it as a tool rather than a deficiency. It always helps to look back and take inventory of what really happened - did I feel like I wasn’t good enough to sell on Live TV and was I tempted to turn towards the door and exit the building before my first on-air show? Yes!  Did I go on to sell on Live TV, sell out of one of my products and go on to be a 7-time  on-air guest on one of America’s largest television networks? Also, yes.

If you come across an entrepreneur who is struggling with Imposter Syndrome, encourage them to use my F.I.R.E. technique to work through it. The first step is to Feel and acknowledge the negative thoughts about the worst-case scenario of failure. Then, we Investigate and ask for proof that the thought is true or false- “How likely is it that the worst-case scenario will occur, and I will fail?” Most of the time, it is more likely that things will go well than not. The next step is to Reframe the negative thought into one which is initiative-taking and positive - “it is normal to feel this way but I have prepared for this moment, and I am ready.” And finally, we wrap up the technique with Empowering Yourself with self-reminders of past successes and similar situations where you have felt fear but overcame and succeeded. Just Feel it. Investigate it. Reframe it.  Empower yourself.

Now, F.I.R.E. up and move forward!