Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Barden. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jennifer, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Most people suffer from imposter syndrome to some degree. It can manifest in your work, social situations, when you’re learning a new hobby, taking a stab at a new personal endeavor, etc. Imposter Syndrome seeps into your psyche and asks you, “Who the heck to you think you are?”
My background is as a Dental Hygienist, and now I’m a marketing expert who specializes in brand messaging, Squarespace, and blogging. So yeah, I had a little imposter syndrome going on.
But I noticed something astonishing among my colleagues and my clients: They had it too!
I was working with people who were extremely gifted and proficient in what they do, and they were allowing this negative self-talk to speak to them more loudly than the voice of truth, which was, “You totally got this!”
When building websites for clients who had decided to strike out on their own, I found myself having to soothe them and reinforce with them that they really ARE qualified, amazing, and talented. I even had one client who didn’t want me to use the word “expert” on her website!
Imposter Syndrome is nothing more than fear. Fear seeps into your mind and your heart and causes you to think irrationally. You are not expected to have ALL the answers! But I guarantee you, there are peole out there who need YOUR answers.
I learned this important exercise to help overcome imposter syndrome: When you are feeling vulnerable and like an imposter, just take a look in the rearview mirror and look at how far you’ve come. You’ll be amazed!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Many business owners feel defeated when their websites aren’t attracting and engaging visitors. I build Squarespace websites for business owners to attract and engage the right website visitors so they can be successful in their businesses.
I am currently working on a Blogging With Squarespace course that teaches how to blog on Squarespace to increase organic website traffic, grow your email list, and be the hero of your business, and if you’re a Squarespace web designer, your client’s businesses too.
I’m really excited about this course because for many of us, spending too much time trying to market our businesses on social media is not good for our mental health and isn’t really helping us in our business. The ROI of time just isn’t there.
While social media does everything to keep people AWAY from your website so you’ll stay on their platform, Google directs traffic TOWARD your website if you can show that you’re continually adding valuable content, and you do this by blogging.
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?
Years ago, I heard somewhere (I can’t remember where now), this quote, “You are good at that which you are naturally drawn to.”
I never forgot this and believe in it wholeheartedly.
When you stumble upon something that, when you are doing it, you lose your sense of time, you’ve stumbled upon “your thing.”
It tends to be something that utilizes the God-given skills you were born with. It’s like a “flow.”
This doesn’t mean you’re going to be an instant expert right away. In fact, your knowledge may only touch the tip of the iceberg, But your passion for it is strong and your willingness to dive in with two feet is unquestionable.
My advice is this: When you want to learn how to do something, talk to someone who has done it. And DON’T talk to someone who hasn’t done it but freely provides advice on the subject…you know the type (insert eyeroll here).
Also, don’t share your dreams with people who don’t support you. They’ll just project their own fears and insecurities onto you. The people you choose to surround yourself with matter. Surround yourself with people who can help you achieve your goal and who never, ever try to talk you out of it!
You do not have room in your life for naysayers.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I’m going to go back to what I said previously: “You are good at that which you are naturally drawn to.” Conversely, there are going to be things you are NOT good at or that you dread doing that repel you. This is the universe telling you, “Find someone else to do this.”
The beauty of this is that there will always be someone who IS good at the thing you are not good at or don’t enjoy. Investing your time and energy to learn it or improve these skills can be a waste of time. Those hours would be put to much better use refining the skills you already possess and maybe even learning new ones.
Pass those tasks onto someone who enjoys them and wants to demonstrate their ability. This is good energy! Chances are they are bad at the thing you are good at! A match made in. heaven!
And it’s perfectly okay to say, “I’m just not good at that,” but only if it’s the truth ;-).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jenxwebdesign.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenxwebdesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenxwebdesign
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jen-x-website-design-and-strategy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jenxwebdesign
