How to deal with the excuse, “I don’t know enough yet”

What's inside this post: Hide

If you've ever said to someone, “I just don't know enough,” or “I can't XYZ, because I don't know how yet” then I’m talking to YOU.

I can totally relate, but also ––what you’re telling yourself is probably wrong.

I've been a graphic designer for almost 20 years now, and a web designer since 2017. I've got a lot of tips to share, because I started my journey as a college student (fun fact: I did not graduate), I was an in-house designer at a couple different places, and then I started my own business, eventually taking that business full time.

So, I’ve kind of done the spectrum, and I can tell you, –– I have felt like I didn't know enough so many times!!

Let's just jump right into it.

My “I don’t know enough” excuses

Early mindset challenges

What I noticed in the early days when I started side hustling, was that (of course) I didn't know enough, because I'd always been someone else's employee and my only job was designing for their clients.

I had to talk to the clients and handle processes, tasks, communication, ––those kinds of things, but I never had to handle the “business side” of the business because that wasn't my job.

And so, when I started side hustling, I realized, …oh, there’s a lot more to this than I thought!

Wearing multiple hats

Not only am I the Designer and the OBM (the online business manager), I'm also the bookkeeper and the accountant, the advertising agency, the social media marketer, the copywriter, videographer ––and all of the things!!

That's A LOT of hats to wear. And, of course, we don't know everything about all the tasks that need to be done for a new venture like this, so I felt overwhelmed and confused with a hefty side of imposter syndrome.

Over those first 5-ish years, from 2015 to 2020, I found myself saying to the people I love, when they would happily ask me how things were going (because luckily I have a good support network), I kept saying over and over again, “I just don't know enough yet.”

That line or phrase became my justification for buying this or that course, learning this or that new skill, trying this or that new software, buying this or that masterclass ––or whatever it was.

“Hello, Shiny-Object-Syndrome,” ––this is where we became codependent besties! 😂

My ‘Procrasti-learner Phase’

Basically, I became a “procrasti-learner.”

I am damn good at using education in order to procrastinate doing something that I am either excited to do, nervous to do, anxious to do, afraid to do, ––whatever.

Basically, I used learning as a crutch. Yep. I said it… I said it. 😬

If that's relatable, please leave me a comment below and let me know, because I think you’re probably surprised to learn you’re not alone / or the only one doing this!

Anyway, that was “the thing” (the excuse) that I kept telling other people to justify so many things, including my slow progress:

• “I don't know enough yet, so I can't charge ….” that much.

• Or “I don't know enough, so I have to spend XX money on YY first.”

As Shannon Mattern says on her podcast, which I’ve followed on & off for years, ––that’s just my “Mind Trash” that needed to be addressed and confronted because as long as we’re stuck in this phase & believing it, …we’ll continue to be stuck in this phase.

Why? Because when you believe you’re not good enough to achieve your goals, you’re not taking action that will bring you toward them; in fact, you may even be self-sabotaging or purposefully avoiding making progress in that direction because you’re afraid of what will happen if you try & fail.

Confidence from practice

It was exhausting! Eventually I realized, ‘I have enough skills now. I can just do & try.’

Of course, the whole time I had been doing, but I hadn’t really been confident that my actions meant anything, or were worth what I said they were.

As it turns out though –– by doing, you’re iterating, you’re practicing. And by iterating & practicing, you get better! And over time, you are eventually much better than when you started.

That's just kind of how it works. You don’t get better if you don’t practice or fail & learn from your mistakes and then try a different way next time ––& iterate.

In addition to practice & learning from what didn’t work, I was also learning skills from other people who knew more than me, and so all of that was stacking up on top of my work & design experience.

After a while, my confidence finally began to shine because it’d been polished every time I tried something & felt better about how I did it, ––even if it wasn’t perfect, it was usually better than the time before. Mind you, I didn't think I had suddenly become an “expert” overnight, but I was confident in what I did know and in my strengths which I had begun to develop through all my trial & error experience and education.

Continuous Learning & Overcoming Doubts

I think knowing what you know, versus knowing what you don't know... or just being aware that you DON’T know everything... that's a good thing!

You know deep down what your capabilities are, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and you can be confident in that as it continues to evolve ––because those things aren’t stagnant! They’re not fixed in time; they change along with you, as you age and experience life.

Over time, even though you’re realizing just how much you don't know when you start, you can still do the work and practice. You can be proud of the work that you're doing when you consistently try to get better with each practice.

Prodigies aside, EVERYONE starts out knowing nothing about the thing they can eventually master with practice. So don’t let that “beginner” status melt away your confidence!

All you really need when you get started is the confidence that you can figure it out as you stumble.

Encouragement

I just wanted to let you know that I have felt this too and it has been a crutch for me in the past.

At every new opportunity or every new stage in my business where I have transitioned out of one stage in my life and into another, I have felt it again, ––just in a different form each time.

Back then, in my early stages of freelancing, I constantly felt like I didn't know enough about web design, conversions, my software, money, contracts, etc. Later, I’d become more confident in software and my design skills, organizational stuff, I got a contract, etc. ––but I didn't know enough about marketing, bookkeeping, expenses vs income, or taxes.

At every new stage in my business, I keep finding new things that I don't know enough about.

But the fun thing is, if you care and you want to learn, you can just start doing it knowing you’ll get better as you go. Life can happen messily, and this is one of those things which allows that pretty well.

So, don't harp on it, don't stress over it, don't dwell on it, don't allow it to suck you down, drag you down, or stop you in any way, shape, or form.

Just recognize it, take action anyway, and move on with your life, because you will get past each objection/fear if you actually start working past it.

And if you never start DESPITE your fears, you'll never get past them.

I hope that was helpful for you! Just wanted to share a little bit of a kick-in-the-pants, because we all need it sometimes. I also wanted to share that I have felt this too, and I'm betting that every other entrepreneur out there has at one time or another as well, whether or not they own up to it!

I'm happy to tell you that I have experienced imposter syndrome and all kinds of other things at various stages of my business journey and not only do I think that’s NORMAL, but I also have a lot more to say on that topic…

So if you want to learn more about what I think about imposter syndrome and why I do think we should stop calling it that, check out this post next.