Meet Erika Barbour

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erika Barbour. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Erika below.

Hi Erika, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I have always been someone who has doubted my accomplishments and attributed them to luck or some eternal factor. This made me feel anxious and scared of being found out as a fraud. My mom would often call me a perfectionist and say that I was too hard on myself. But I secretly thought that was a good thing… how else am I gonna get ahead? Then as an athlete, my coaches noticed this tendency in me in college. While other girls watched and studied film of their mistakes, my coach had me watch highlight reels of myself of every time I made the play. She wanted me to see the value in myself that she saw in me. It helped and I thought I had gotten rid of this part of me. But when I opened my business, I started noticing that nothing ever felt good enough. Even when I had massive success, I thought it was an accident.
One day I was listening to a podcast and I was introduced to a mindset shift of the “gap” vs the “gain.” It explained that there is always a “gap” between who I am today and who I want to become. In business, there is always distance between me and my goals. When I measure myself against this imaginary future version of myself, I always feel like a failure. Instead, the “gain” is the distance between where you were before and how far you’ve come. A year ago, I was broke and lost and had no idea what I was going to do. Fast forward, I have learned taxes and social media and marketing and bookkeeping. My business has grown tremendously and gained clients who I love and feel connected to. When I shift to this perspective, I instantly become grateful and excited. Gratitude and excitement are a much more sustainable fuel source than anxiety and fear. It is my version of watching a highlight reel of myself as an entrepreneur and recognizing and validating all of the work I have put in so far.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

The Sugar Fairy is a magical and healing space where I focus on helping women look and feel more beautiful. I offer full body sugar waxing services and specialize in brazilians and eyebrow sculpting. To me it is more than just removing hair. It is about helping you achieve the softest, smoothest skin of your life. The confidence that results from taking care of your skin is unlike anything else. Currently I service Las Vegas, NV but will be expanding into more states in the Southwest. Stay tuned for The Sugar Fairy’s product line coming soon!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The most impactful skills I have learned are mastering my routines and habits, accepting that I’m going to make mistakes, and trusting God and the universe. My business is constantly evolving and changing and so am I.
To anyone just starting out: Start before you’re ready. Launch quickly and then adjust and edit along the way. Learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Work on yourself and your limiting beliefs. As long as you are growing, your business will too!

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

What I have learned about feeling overwhelmed is that it starts with the small things. My car is messy, my laundry isn’t done, I forget to order something…Then all of the sudden everything is wrong and I feel overwhelmed. But really, the problem is that there is too much going on in my head. I started to write everything down. Usually when I put it on paper, or talk about it out loud, I realize my problems aren’t that big of a deal and I can start to make a plan. Then I just start with the most important thing first. Staying organized can be difficult but is always the answer to me feeling overwhelmed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vagaro.com/thesugarfairy
• Instagram: @TheSugarFairyLV
• Other: Tik Tok: @TheSugarFairyLV

Image Credits

Photographer: @emilykayp