Being a Mompreneur in 2024 and How to Stop Imposter Syndrome

 I am noticing in this era that the Lord is moving through women in the entrepreneurial space. There are tons of stay-at-home moms who are waking up and asking, “how can I increase our income and how can I do it on my terms?”

new possibilities

What’s really cool is that social media has allowed us to see what other women are doing when it comes to generating extra income online. There’s this rise of busy moms-turned-entrepreneurs that I’m seeing, but specifically in the space for Christian women. I coach women who have never built an online business before and almost 100 percent of the time, the mind mess that comes up immediately for women is imposter syndrome. This is one of the main reasons they feel stuck. The express feelings of doubt and that they’ll be perceived as frauds, even if they’re highly qualified and are willing to put in hard work.

God is absolutely moving in this space this season. I get flooded in my DMs on Instagram with women expressing interest in opening an online store, offering online courses, going into direct sales or other business venture. They see stay-at-home parents online running these businesses from the comfort of their own home and they say, “I wonder if I could do that? Many are longing to get away from their corporate job or they’re new moms and they can’t imagine going back to a full-time job. It’s thrilling to see so many women embrace the possibilities of these business opportunities and a better work life balance. 

getting stuck and unstuck

They come to me with best home-based business idea, potential clients already in line, and have determined that there is high demand for the product or service. They have decided that this a great way to help meet the needs of their family and be resourceful, but something stops them in their tracks: imposter syndrome. 

A lot of women get hung up or they lay down their peace because they feel like an imposter, even when they have identified a great opportunity and are well-suited for it. 

Does this describe you? The Lord may be nudging you to try something new this season for you and your family and that very well may lead to a profitable business and allow you to work on your own schedule. He’s shown you a vision and you are just… kicking and screaming when you think about it. 

You’re hiding behind thoughts like

I’m going to be a fraud.

People aren’t going to understand.

I’m going to be misunderstood.

I’ve never done this before.

I’m not an author.

I’m not a podcaster.

I’m not a saleswoman.

I’m not a ________ (fill in the blank).

Maybe you’re not an author. Maybe you’re not a podcaster. Because you’ve never done that before, you feel justified in saying to yourself, “I’m not capable.” But, friend, what if that’s just an excuse?

I hear it the most from the women whom God is calling into business. More and more people come to me to discuss the best business ideas. They want to run things by me and ask me what I think. I am pro business. I am pro entrepreneur. I believe that if you can build one stream of income, you can build 100.  Just look at Proverbs 31. The woman of Proverbs 31 is very handy, offers a valuable service, makes positive changes for her family’s future, and isn’t afraid to explore business ventures.

you are God’s handiwork

Here’s the truth. You are God’s handiwork and he may have blessed you with a great business idea. Don’t you think he will equip you and qualify you if you are willing to work hard? He made you and in Ephesians 2 10, He said you were created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance. So if you are thinking about a small business idea that, at the end of the day, would help your family reach its goals prioritize family life, don’t let the mind mess stop you. 

It’s possible that now is the time. It’s possible that God has revealed a work He has prepared for you to do in advance and it’s time to do that work. Over in Hebrews 11, we learn about the heroes of our faith. But the thing is…they were not born mighty warriors, princes or giants of the faith. They were born regular human beings whom God loved and to whom tasks are given. 

If you go and read a lot of their stories, like the stories of Moses or Abraham, they wrestle with something called imposter syndrome. Imposter, by definition, is a person who practices deception under assumed character, identity, or name. Now you might be thinking, practices deception? That feels a bit negative. But hear me out on this. What if you are actually not an imposter by the things that God has laid on your heart to do. But what if you’re actually being an imposter when you don’t embrace the identity that Christ has given you through his cross? The truth is the things that you do are not your identity. They are simply things that you do as a human being–a human being who has a soul. You know, people love you and they know you because of the way you laugh. They get to see the way you think, they get to see the way you are expressing yourself.

two spirits

You, as a person, have two spirits happening within you at the same time: the spirit of the flesh and God, the Holy Spirit. One says, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Holy Spirit dwells in you?”  Now let’s go back to that definition, the meaning of imposter. It is a person who practices deception under an assumed character, identity, or name. What’s curious to me is that we as believers are called into the identity of Christ, that when God looks upon us, he does not see our flesh, but he sees his son who was perfect in our sight. So when we claim our flesh and we say, I am not worthy.

But, we are now God’s children. We are new creations made right in Christ Jesus. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. Right? And so if we hold on to just our flesh and we don’t acknowledge that God, the Holy Spirit, is dwelling within us, we are actually being an imposter in that way. Now let’s go back to how our culture thinks about being an imposter. You’ll hear a lot of people, including in the Christian circles, say, “I don’t want to step into this assignment. I don’t want to write a book because I’m not an author.” Here’s the problem with putting so much emphasis on our identity being in the things that we do. What happens when God calls you to write a book and you’re not an author, you’ll talk yourself out of it. So you’re not doing the thing that God has called you to do. You will step into a place of disobedience because you’re refusing to claim an identity of author. 

What if you could write a book without becoming an author? Why do you need to have this identity of “author” in order to write the book? What if the thing that God is calling you to do is just that? It’s a good work. It is not going to become your identity.  

We know God is at work when we are getting in line and being obedient to that call to action. He loves to reduce the time of suffering for people. He also loves to equip people to endure suffering. And that, sometimes, our businesses help people to endure times of suffering. Instead of feeling like a fraud, recognize and give glory to the One who is working through you as you perform the activity. When you sit down to write a chapter, understand that you do not have to be an author in order to sit down and write a chapter. You can just simply oblige and be obedient. Just because you know your flesh wouldn’t naturally lean toward doing the good works that are set on your heart to do this season doesn’t mean that you are faking it. 

nothing is off the table

God is working through you and poking and prodding at you. And that is what The Lord does with his children. That is not fake or fraudulent. Instead, it’s supernatural. Hear me on this. You aren’t being fake when you step up to the plate and you do something that God has asked you to do. It is supernatural. It is actually the best work. You also need to recognize that the good works themselves do not have to become your identity, which is good news because that means that you don’t have to be something in order to obey. You can write a book and not identify as an author. You can just be the one who wrote a book. We are called to follow Christ in obedience, which means nothing is off the table. Go back to that long list of heroes of the faith. I, for one, love when Moses was being called. I find it curious that it was God working through a burning bush that was never consumed, that got Moses’ attention and he was curious enough to go look at it.

In this season I have learned to listen and say, “what do you have for me next, Lord? Lord, give me wisdom. Lord, reveal it. Have your way. I am available.” 

Catch yourself and practice reframing imposter syndrome. As Christians, we must repent of this and we must get in alignment with the Lord because we’re not imposters. We’re children of God. And God is either working in us and through us, or God is a liar. And the next time that your flesh tries to talk you out of obedience, you get to repent. Change your mind, agree with the Lord, and follow Him in obedience.

getting on board

In order to break up with this idea that you’re an imposter or you’re being a fraud if you step into this thing that God is asking you to do, I want you to tell yourself it’s possible you might not be a fraud.  It’s possible that God in you is doing the works and initiating good works. It might be possible that the Holy Spirit in you is equipped and your job is to ask for wisdom and the quickness to get on board. Getting on board is the best part. 

Here’s one thing I know about you.You are a child of God. You are someone who was adopted into a family; a godly family that is currently at work in this earth and you are meant to bring glory to God. This is the truth. You simply cannot fake loving God and living for God. So the next time you feel silly for thinking about doing something like owning your own business or writing that book or starting that business, just remember that God put that spark there and is calling you into it. And he will equip you.  

The invitation that the Lord is bringing to you today is to join the heroes of faith. They didn’t feel equipped to do the job, but God met them and equipped them and never left them. And guess what? He will do the same for you.