What You'll Discover In This Episode:
Okay. I’m guilty.
I occasionally watch a reel on Instagram or TikTok, allow myself to get sucked in, and don’t pop my head back up for twenty minutes. Influencers have become so good at creating hooks that draw you in and mesmerizing you with gorgeous home decor, cool dance moves, mouthwatering recipes, hilarious memes, trendy fashions, angelic voices, and lighthearted voiceovers. One thing I noticed about such videos is most of them are filmed in large, stately homes that don’t look lived in. They just look very modern, very rich, and very clean. And that’s because big, beautiful homes look better on camera. plus they help create the aspirational lifestyle that many brands want to associate with their products. You too can achieve a life of luxury if you just buy this outfit… table… hair styling tool… or at the very least look the part.
Recently though, I’ve noticed a new trend that I fully support. Influencers have been panning their camera angles backward to show you that behind the camera, their stately home is full of clutter, messy, and completely lived in. Why? Probably to be relatable and for likes, of course. They are real people living real lives, after all. Their homes should look lived in. I applaud the influencers’ efforts to come clean and show us that they are normal and shoving their dishes, water bottles, clothes, shoes, books, and other clutter behind the camera for video shoots is just part of their filming routine.
I think small business owners do pretty much the same thing. We shove all of our mess to our backend so we can look like we have it all together, put our best face forward, and impress our clients with our professionalism. We all do it to some degree. It’s completely normal and yet still, the tendency is to compare and despair because we know exactly what our backend looks and feels like but not what other business owners’ backends look and feel like. We only see their pristine front ends and their success, then make assumptions and tell ourselves stories about how organized and systemized their backends must be.
The natural tendency to compare can bring on feelings of despair, inadequacy, and unhappiness, leading you to think you’re an unfit business owner even if that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
In this episode of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast, I dive into the sabotaging tendency to compare and despair, breakdown how that mindset can be harmful to your success, and tell you what to do about it.
