We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brooke Scott a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brooke, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Being an entrepreneur, regardless of what you do or what impact you’re hoping to make, imposter syndrome is present more days than you would think, especially when you’re in the “scaling phase” (i.e. rapidly growing or expanding) of your business. There are times when that imposter syndrome, especially being a woman entrepreneur, completely halts how you’re showing up and how your day looks while managing your business.
For me, in order to overcome imposter syndrome, you first have that awareness that you’re experiencing it (and it’s not another form of overwhelm or anxiety), and then have to determine how that is going to affect things. Is it just a brief moment of disbelief or uncertainty or are you truly “stuck” and can’t get out of the loop? Regardless of that answer, it all comes back down to your confidence as a business owner, your confidence in what you do, your confidence in how your business is impacting the community, and knowing that “you got this”.
I think most entrepreneurs get “stuck” when trying to overcome imposter syndrome because it’s “easier” to succumb to the negative thoughts and repetitive behaviors that come with it. But, once you remind yourself that you started this for a reason, you’re doing this for a reason, and truly believe in yourself, that’s when real change starts to happen and you can break out of that cycle.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
With the help of my team, our focus is to help entrepreneurs optimize, restore, and streamline their business operations to improve their client experience so that they can get back to operating in their zone of genius and get out of the overwhelm that is keeping them from doing what they love. AKA – we help other entrepreneurs get their time back and regain the confidence that their business is running smoothly behind the scenes.
What that means exactly, is focusing in the online space, we help entrepreneurs remotely navigate the foundation of their business and setup of the systems & platforms they need to operate in business. We typically work with online coaches, course creators, funnel & marketing agencies, consultants, and creatives. While that covers a variety of niches, they all have a common theme which is having the key elements and platforms to operate their business. This commonly looks like their CRM (Customer Relationship Management – aka where their send proposals, invoices & contracts), their PM (Project Management – aka where they organize their projects, daily recurrances, and headquarters information), and their marketing efforts as well.
The most exciting and special part about what I do is being able to help others get out of the weeds, get out of the overwhelm and truly bring their “in a perfect world” scenarios to life so that they can feel confident in running their business and know that things are operating without them needing a hand or eye on every single element behind the scenes. If I can help one entrepreneur get their time back and get them back into what they love doing – then I can say I’ve done my job.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The most impactful areas for beginning and maintaining my business have been time management, adaptability, and intuition.
While I could get more specific on the black-and-white skills or assets – I feel that without being able to effectively manage my (and my team, and my clients) time, without being able to be adaptable for all the shifts, movement, ups and downs of entrepreneurship, and without being able to listen to my intuition (not trying to sound one way or another – I truly mean listening to how things feel and letting that guide you), then I wouldn’t be where I am today and I wouldn’t be operating the way I am today.
If you focus on intentional time management & balance, actually adapt (not just practice or plan) in various situations no matter if they are difficult or not, and focus on how things “feel” to you (like you know – if a decision feels right or not, or if something feels “good” to you), then those 3 things can truly keep you grounded and on a path to accelerate your business even further than you planned.
It’s about being realistic, adapting, and riding the wave of entrepreneurship. If you can hang to those 3 things – you got this.
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 think awareness is more important than trying to just check off the boxes of being able to do something or having a specific certification. The most impactful thing in expanding who I am as a business owner and how I manage day-to-day was first having the awareness of the strengths I have and how I’m hard wired to show up (aka – I took the StrengthsFinder, Enneagram, Kolbe Index, MBTI, and other personality assessments). Once I was able to put a definition or name to what strengths I had or why I’m a certain way in a given situation, I was able to identify how I can effectively manage that, how I can grow in difficult situations, and have more of a “grasp” on knowing how I operate intuitively.
Of course these aren’t cut and dry answers to how every single person operates, but they give you a roadmap to navigating what certain situations look like for you and how you can stay on top of things given your occupation or life circumstances.
So speaking to going in on strengths or investing/improving areas – I think it’s a balance. Keep learning, keep being a sponge, invest in what you want to invest in if it’s going to make a difference for your business, but do so with the intention of sharping that skill versus having a certification to say you have it and not truly lean into using that skill.
I am 100% someone who is investing in professional development but I’m also someone who is listening to my intuition and strengthening how I internally operate outside of the black-and-white skills as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://agencytwentythree.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ops.analyst.brooke/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ops.analyst.brooke/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookeascott/
Image Credits
All photos were taken by: Haley Madewell of Haley D. Photography
