There’s a concept called the Dunning-Kruger effect. In plain English, it goes like this: when you don’t know much, you’re often overly confident. When you start to learn more, your confidence drops because you finally realize how much there is you don’t know.
It’s not because you suddenly got worse. It’s because you gained awareness.
And if you’ve ever felt imposter syndrome creeping in as you improve, congratulations. You’re probably doing it right.
When I Started, I Thought I Could Do Everything
When I first started my business, I said yes to everything. Web design, graphic design, logos, print work, social media, ads, anything even vaguely adjacent to what I did.
At the time, I genuinely believed I was crushing it.
In hindsight, I was doing a half-ass job of most things. Not because I didn’t care, but because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I had confidence because I lacked context. That’s the early stage.
Then I Got Better, and It Got Weird
As my skills improved, imposter syndrome hit hard. I started looking back at earlier projects and realizing they weren’t nearly as good as I thought they were. I compared myself to others constantly. I started taking on fewer projects, not because I had less ability, but because I was afraid someone would “find out” I wasn’t as good as they assumed.
The irony is that it wasn’t until imposter syndrome showed up that my work actually became solid.
I got critical because I finally understood quality. I started caring about the details. I started noticing the gaps. The fear wasn’t proof I was a fraud. It was proof I was finally competent enough to see what great work actually looks like.
The Fix Wasn’t Confidence. It Was Focus.
Eventually I realized something important: there were a lot of things I could technically do, but either:
- I didn’t have the skills to do them properly
- I didn’t enjoy them
- or they took so much effort that they pulled focus from the work I actually wanted to get good at
So I started letting things go.
I stopped offering services that weren’t a fit. I narrowed my scope. I outsourced the parts I wasn’t great at or didn’t enjoy doing. I leaned into the work that I knew I could do really well.
That was my way through imposter syndrome. Less flailing, more focus.
You Can Do Anything, but You Can’t Do Everything
That lesson shows up everywhere in small business. The temptation is always to broaden your offerings, take every job, and chase every revenue stream. It feels responsible. It feels like survival.
But spreading yourself thin is how you stay mediocre.
Specializing is how you get good enough to be confident for the right reasons.
The World Has Enough Mediocre
If you’re in that stage where you’re doubting yourself, take a step back and look at what’s really happening. You might not be failing. You might just be growing.
Don’t be afraid to let things go. Don’t try to do everything. Focus on what you do best and do it well.
The world has enough mediocre.
