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July 10, 2025 14 mins

Ever feel like you're not cut out to be a virtual assistant no matter how much you want it? That inner critic questioning your skills, your worth, and whether anyone would actually pay you? 

It’s more common than you think (hello, imposter syndrome!) and it’s keeping way too many capable women stuck on the sidelines.

In this episode, Laura Nicole dives into the hidden mindset blocks that hold aspiring VAs back and shares practical mindset shifts. You'll hear why feeling like a fraud doesn’t mean you are one, and what it really takes to move forward even when doubt creeps in.

If you’ve been second-guessing yourself or waiting to feel "ready," this episode might be the push you didn’t know you needed.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

  • When and why imposter syndrome strikes
  • Understanding imposter syndrome
  • Practical tips to combat self-doubt & break through imposter syndrome

If imposter syndrome has been holding you back, it’s time to shift that! In Laura’s Discover Your Superstar VA Skills workshop, you’ll uncover the skills you already have and learn how to turn them into paid VA services so you can build confidence and finally get moving!

What can you expect from this podcast and future episodes?

  • Bite-sized episodes that give you quick, actionable insights into the Virtual Assistant industry
  • Learn how to build skills, boost your confidence, and create a profitable VA business

Get the show notes and transcription here: https://www.laurajtraining.com/podcast-ep10-overcoming-self-doubt-as-a-va

Find Laura on social media:
Instagram: @hey.lauranicole
TikTok: @hey.lauranicole
Facebook: Superstar Assistant Academy


Interested in earning sustainable income on YOUR terms, working as a Virtual Assistant? Register for FREE and Click Here to Get Started

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Laura Nicole (00:02):
Welcome to your Virtual Assistant Coach, the
podcast for moms who want tomake money from home on their
own terms.
I'm your host, Laura Nicole, asuccessful six-figure earning VA
and coach, who replaced mycollege professor salary in just
five months back in 2020, aftermy daughter was born, and I
have never looked back.
I'm here to help you build aprofitable, flexible VA business

(00:24):
that fits into your family'slives, so you no longer feel
like you're living just to work.
Let's dive in.
You keep thinking aboutbecoming a virtual assistant and
you know you want this so bad.
But every time you get close toactually starting and actually
taking action toward doing thatand becoming a VA, that little

(00:47):
voice in your head sneaks in andstarts filling your brain with
all these negative thoughts.
Who do you think you are?
You have never done this before.
Why would anyone actually payyou to do these things?
What makes you think that thisis going to work for you?
It doesn't actually work.
It just works for the fewpeople who get like kind of
lucky.
If these thoughts soundfamiliar, then this episode was

(01:11):
created specifically with you inmind, because imposter syndrome
is so freaking common for momswho are starting something new,
especially something like thisthat's outside of your comfort
zone.
Becoming an independentcontractor, becoming a
freelancer, as a VA it's verydifferent than what you've been
used to being in a traditionaljob.
Or maybe you've been out of theworkforce for a bit and you've

(01:33):
been a stay-at-home mom.
So it's really, really, reallyeasy for imposter syndrome to
kick in and try to keep youstuck where you're at, instead
of allowing you to actually takeaction and get the ball rolling
.
So today we are going to unpackwhy imposter syndrome shows up
and what to actually do about itto move through it and be able

(01:54):
to take action.
So, first and foremost, we needto identify and define what
imposter syndrome actually is.
Okay, it is a psychologicalresponse where super capable
people just like you will doubttheir own competence.
This most commonly arises inscenarios like this one, where

(02:15):
you're stepping into somethingthat's new.
It's not that you're actuallybad at something, it's just that
you're stepping into theunknown and the uncertainty,
when you are thinking aboutbecoming a virtual assistant and
you get excited, but thenyou're constantly met with these
repeated feelings and thoughtsthat are telling you that you're
incompetent and that you're notgood enough, despite

(02:35):
overwhelming evidence to thecontrary, whether it's being
super successful in your nine tofive or managing a household
fantastically and keepingeverything organized.
You clearly have shown that youhave the skills to do this and
yet when imposter syndrome kicksin, it's going to make you feel
like there's absolutely nofreaking way that you can do
this successfully.

(02:56):
And even if you're someone whocan recognize okay, I have these
skills in a professionalsetting, your imposter syndrome
is likely still kicking in andconvincing you that those skills
don't actually translate intothe virtual assistant industry,
because that's the new arena.
So instead of being able tojump in confidently, we're going

(03:18):
to hear thoughts in our headlike, oh, I need to go learn
this new thing first or I needto get better at this program
first before I can step intoactually becoming a VA and
actually doing this work forclients, when in reality you
have all of the skills that youneed to do it.
And I just want to take asecond to remind you and

(03:39):
encourage you that dealing withimposter syndrome is really,
really normal.
It would actually be like alittle bit weird if you didn't
struggle with any impostersyndrome as you're moving into
this new avenue of being a VAand, honestly, it's not
something that's only going topop up at the beginning.
It's going to pop up again whenyou go to sign a new client or

(04:00):
you expand.
I have been doing this for fiveyears.
It still pops up for me.
I have been coaching for twoand a half years and it still
pops up for me in new ways allthe time.
So I just want to make surethat that's very clear.
This is not like a you thing,it's not a weird thing, it's not
a sign that you're not meant todo this.
It just occurs largely becausewe are part of a really large

(04:23):
comparison culture.
We see other women doing thiswho are super successful and
having all this time with theirkids and making all this money,
and we assume that they've neverstruggled with what we're
struggling with mentally right.
We assume that they've alwaysbeen confident or they always
had the right network to makethis happen for them, combined
with kind of like our societalconditioning right.

(04:46):
Especially as women in oursociety, we are praised for
being perfect.
We are praised for working hardand getting it done right the
first time.
We don't really get praised forjust like stepping out of our
comfort zone and trying whichmakes it really really hard
right To go from the safe andthe certain into the unknown and

(05:07):
the unfamiliar and the newterritory.
This actually reminds me of atheory that I used to teach when
I was a college professor.
Back in the day, I taughtcommunication courses and one of
the theories that we alwaystouched on was uncertainty
reduction theory and long storyshort.
Trust me, I'm not about to gointo like professor mode on

(05:30):
y'all, but long story short isthat, like humans innately do
not like uncertainty, right, wedon't like the unsure, we want
to have a plan, we want to knowthe next step, we want to know
how it's going to turn out.
And so when the road ahead ofus is uncertain, that triggers

(05:50):
our brain, that freaks us out.
And then that's when thisimposter syndrome pops up to
convince you falsely remember,falsely convince you that it's
too uncertain and that it's toounfamiliar and that you're not
going to succeed.
This isn't going to go well, solet's not even try.

(06:11):
There's not guaranteed successdown this road, so let's just
stay right here, safe, where weare right.
But I know that you're here andyou're listening to this and
you're looking into becoming avirtual assistant because you
don't want to stay right whereyou're at anymore.
Maybe you're not necessarilylooking to replace a nine to
five, maybe you want tosupplement it.

(06:32):
But even adding supplementalincome, that's changing where
you're at right now, whetheryou're looking into be a VA to
add $500 to your monthly incomeor to add $5,000 to your monthly
income, in addition to theadded freedom and flexibility
that comes with earning anincome this way.
You're here and you want thatbecause you're not okay with

(06:54):
being where you're at right here, right now, and so I want to
give you a couple tips of thingsthat you can do instead when
this imposter syndrome, whenthis voice in your head pops up,
things that you can do to helpyou move through it, which
number one is normalizing itright.
Everyone experiences this.

(07:15):
You're going to experience itat all different times
throughout this process,throughout building a virtual
assistant business, but it isnot a stop sign.
Okay, it is a fork in the road.
It is not a stop sign.
It's a chance for you to make achoice about if you're going to
let that little voice in yourhead control you and keep you
stuck and talk you out of goingafter what you really want, or

(07:38):
if you're going to tell it toshut up and keep moving right
and keep taking action, becausetaking action is what is going
to build your confidence.
You don't need to feel wildlyconfident before you act and
before you take steps to makethis happen for you and your
family, because you will gainthat confidence by getting out

(08:01):
there and networking, bybuilding up your services and
framing them around your skillsets that you feel so strong in,
by setting rates for thoseservices that align with your
value and your years ofexperience, and by signing
clients and actually doing workwith them.
That action is what is going toboost that confidence.
That will help you silence thatvoice a little bit easier down

(08:24):
the line.
I also want you to look forproof when this voice pops up in
your head.
Go grab a sheet of paper andwrite down on that sheet of
paper all of yourresponsibilities that you have.
Do half of your paper with youhave.
Do half of your paper with alife column, half of it with a
work column and just brain dump.
All of the things that you areresponsible for, what are your
tasks, what are yourresponsibilities, what things,

(08:46):
both at work and at home, aren'tgetting done unless you do them
, because each and every one ofthose things are transferable
skills that we can be turninginto income.
As a VA, you have the proof infront of you, but it can be easy
to forget sometimes, and sograbbing a sheet of paper and
actually writing it out andseeing it is really helpful.

(09:06):
I also want you to borrow beliefright.
Surround yourself with storiesand support and other women who
are doing this too.
That's one of the really,really cool things about the
Superstar Assistant Academy isthat not only do you get the
resources right and the actuallogistical support that you need
to build out your business in areally strong way, but you also

(09:30):
get this community of hundredsof other women who are going
after the same thing.
You can see their successes andsee that as proof that hey,
this works.
You can vent when you'refrustrated and get some
encouragement and upliftingstories from other women who get
it.
And if you decide to step intothe superstar accelerator and be

(09:52):
in that group coaching spacewhere you can talk to me five
days a week, then you betterbelieve that I am going to
breathe belief into you everydamn day.
We just had a group coachingcall last week and we ended up
talking a lot about mindsetbecause multiple women were kind
of hitting these mindset blocksand as we worked through each
individual scenario and figuringout what step they needed to

(10:14):
take next to kind of break thoseblocks down, one of the women
commented in the chat on Zoomand said something.
I don't remember the exactwords, but something to the
effect of you never let usforget our worth, and I never
will.
I will never let you forgetyour worth.
I will remind you until I amblue in the face and until you
start to believe in yourself.

(10:35):
But guess what Belief andconfidence is going to come from
taking action?
And the last thing that I wantto leave you with to really just
think about when you start tofeel this imposter syndrome
creeping up and convincing youthat you're not good enough and
that you won't really be helpfulto a client or that someone
would be crazy to pay you toanswer their emails, I need you
to root in and reground yourselfand remind yourself that you do

(11:00):
not have to be perfect.
You do not have to be the best,you do not have to be the most
tech savvy.
You just need to be ready toshow up, be helpful, offer
support and help your clientreduce their workload in their
business.
Truly, you showing up andgiving it 100%.

(11:20):
That's what clients are lookingfor.
They're looking for someone whois just freaking, reliable and
excited to show up for theirbusiness and help them.
They're not looking for someonewho's quote unquote perfect.
So you need to stop holdingyourself to a standard that no
one else is expecting of you.
If imposter syndrome has beenthe thing right, if this has
been the main sticking point foryou, that you feel like is

(11:43):
really holding you back, nomatter what form imposter
syndrome is popping up in, right, no matter what message it is,
no matter what that little voicein your head is saying, if it
falls in the category of thisimposter syndrome.
I really want to help you getpast that.
One of the best ways that I cando that is inside of my event
Discover your Superstar VASkills.

(12:04):
It's a four-day workshop whereI will show you how to take real
simple steps forward byidentifying all of the skills
that you already have that youuse on a daily basis, that are
super valuable in the VAindustry, and then turning those
skills into services right,monetizing them into services
that clients can actually payyou for those two steps.

(12:26):
There's more than that, butthose two steps alone are going
to boost your confidence andshut down that imposter syndrome
so freaking quick.
I have seen it in every roundof this workshop that I have
hosted.
Literally after the first twodays, women report back when
we're talking during our livetraining about the fact that

(12:46):
their confidence has doubled andthat building of confidence and
belief in themselves is how wecan start to shut down that
imposter syndrome in itsfreaking tracks.
Once we know your skills andservices, I will also help you
put them into a professionalresume so that you can get out
there and start sharing thatwith potential clients, which is

(13:07):
freaking great.
But the root of this event ishelping you to identify your
skills and build belief inyourself that, oh my God, okay,
I do, I have everything I needalready, because you truly do
not need more credentials, youdo not need more experience, you
need to take action and youneed to build some momentum, and
this Discover your Superstar VASkills Workshop will do exactly

(13:30):
that.
I will link that in the shownotes for you and I would love,
after you listen to this episode, if you would pop into those
show notes and click at the verytop of them.
You'll see a spot that sayssend us a text message and let
us know your biggest takeawayfrom this episode.
I would love to hear from you,let me know what resonated, what
stood out, what tip to helpsilence this imposter syndrome

(13:53):
you plan on implementing and howit helps you.
I cannot wait to hear from you.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday on your Virtual Assistant
Coach.
If you loved this episode, besure to share it with your best
friend, your sister or even yourfavorite coworker, who you know
wants to start making aflexible income.
I'll see you all next time.
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