You don’t need to call yourself an expert to have expertise. You just need experience in a subject that turns into a skill or service people need.
And if you’re a woman over 40, you’ve been building that experience for decades, whether you’ve given yourself credit for it or not.
For me, that looked like a career in corporate recruiting, 17 years at home with my kids, going back to work at 47, and starting my business at 50. None of that came with a fancy title. Every bit of it counts.
Here’s an easy way to quiet that imposter voice. Grab your coffee and open a blank Google Doc.
Take inventory. List the professional and personal experiences that make you an authority on your subject. Jobs, volunteer roles, the years you figured things out the hard way. All of it counts.
Write it out in detail. Describe each experience and the good that came from it, even the painful ones.
Collect your client wins. If you’re an entrepreneur, write down the specific times your knowledge and skills helped a client solve a problem. Don’t be shy… claim that crown! 👑
As your list grows, it gets easier to say, “Yes, I’m an expert in my field… and here’s the proof.”
One more tip: if you’re a consultant or service provider, ask for a client testimonial after every project and add it to that same doc. Your imposter syndrome will fade into the background until you don’t even notice her anymore.
Imposter syndrome isn’t based in reality. You have expertise that someone out there needs right now. You just need to get clear on it, so you can share it with the world.
So why not you?
If you’d love support showing up online with women who get it, come join us inside Social Media for Women Over 40.