Episode #26 - Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome — everyone gets it, even seven years in. Coby confesses to still feeling weird asking for money after two years in business, while Dale shares the value exchange mindset that finally made charging feel natural. A real and reassuring episode for anyone who has ever felt like they don't deserve to be paid what they're worth.
Hello and welcome to the Sequoia Project podcast. Episode 26. Today we're going to be talking on a topic that I'm sure literally everyone has heard about when it comes to business — impostor syndrome.
Coby: When I actually learned that I had to charge for anything, it was so uncomfortable. And even now when people message me — I'd shoot something for like 50 bucks and they'd be like, how much for like a family shoot? You're like, oh, $50 for an hour. You're like, that's so sick. But it still felt so uncomfortable. We'd be like, can you pay me the $50 now? Like, to actively ask for the money. And if at the end they never brought it up, then I would have 100% fully accepted never getting paid, because that is so uncomfortable to be like, yeah, I'd like — can you please pay me now?
Coby: I did my first maternity shoot, like a week or so. And towards the end he was like, do you want to get paid? I was like, yeah, like if that's okay. As if that's not how business works. I'm like, is that fine? He's like yeah, like that's what you're charging. I'm like, is it okay with you? He's like, bro, I have the cash here. And I went home, I'm like, I'm a fucking idiot. Why did I do that?
Dale: The reps definitely helped. But the other thing that helped me was actually seeing the transaction as a value exchange. When someone, especially in the trash business — when I realized that someone didn't have to hire a trailer, hire a ute, spend their whole Saturday loading trash. They value having a whole Saturday. They work all week. They want to spend Saturdays with the family. When I put it back to myself, I was like, would I pay 200 bucks for my whole Saturday back after working 80 hours in the week? Yes, I would. And that value exchange started to teach me a lesson of how to get over that imposter syndrome.
Coby: Setting the expectations super early of knowing this is how it's going to work, here's what you're gonna pay on this day, here's what you're gonna pay on this day — it makes it less uncomfortable. Because they know what's coming. You're not gonna have to be like, you pay me like a hundred bucks now? Like, shit, I didn't realize I had to pay it right now.
Dale: Yeah, pay attention is the most valuable thing you can do. You can change people's lives with not much if you just pay attention. And the keys to getting over imposter syndrome: first — set expectations early. If you have a new product and you say, yep, it's a deposit upfront, make sure you're saying that in the first communication. Second — if you still feel like an imposter, up the value. Crank up how much they get. Turn it up a thousand times as much as you can. And third — once you've got those first two steps in place, just do the reps. Do the reps, do the reps.