How to Keep Going When You Don’t Feel Good Enough
- Roger Pierce
- Apr 30
- 3 min read
Everyone who starts a business deals with fear. Not just fear of failure, but fear of judgment, rejection, uncertainty, and not being enough.
In the latest episode of The Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast, Leigh Mitchell talks about all of it — and how she’s still figuring it out.
Leigh is the founder of Women in Biz Network and the ChangeMaker Collective. She’s built communities, run conferences, launched a podcast, taught university students, and reinvented her business after setbacks. But behind all that is someone who still questions herself.
“I’m still working through it,” Leigh says. “Every entrepreneur and budding entrepreneur questions whether they have what it takes.”
Fear will show up, but it doesn’t have to stop you.
In the podcast, she talks about waking up in the middle of the night with anxiety. She’s faced imposter syndrome, stalled moments, and long stretches of doubt.
Twenty years ago, she remembers launching her first event for Women in Biz Network with no idea what she was doing. “I didn’t know any better to not be resilient,” she says. She kept calling people — including me — until someone gave her a chance. She convinced me to become one of the event sponsors, and I'm so glad I did because Leigh and I have been friends ever since.
Later, when the pandemic shut down her events business, Leigh pivoted. She leaned into teaching, something she hadn’t planned on. Leigh finds time to teach classes on business, marketing, and entrepreneurship to students at York University, University of Guelph-Humber, and York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI has also appeared on the podcast).
3 takeaways from the episode
A few tips from Leigh stand out in this interview:
Imposter syndrome doesn’t go away — so learn how to work with it.
Resilience starts with small steps and honest conversations.
Start building your business or brand even if you still have a day job.
Just ask! Ask for the sale, ask for the introduction, ask for help.
One of the biggest takeaways from the podcast is how Leigh reframes fear.
“A lot of people struggle with getting on the phone and pitching. But if your message can help someone, that pitch becomes a service, not a sales call.”
“You're meant to help people. And the only way you can help people is to share your message.”
Another theme is how she balances life and work without pretending it’s easy. “You don’t see me at 4 o’clock running around because there’s no food in the fridge,” she laughs. “Social media can make us seem more perfect than we really are.”
She doesn’t sugarcoat the trade-offs. Leigh emphasizes the role of her husband, Rob, as a partner and collaborator, and how open communication keeps things strong at home. “Relationships suffer when you don’t talk about what’s really going on,” she says. “You have to be honest with yourself and your family.”
“Being perfectly unperfect” is how Leigh describes the reality behind her success. And it works.
Her advice to would-be entrepreneurs is to start with what you’ve got. Build a minimum viable product. Test it while you keep your job. Don’t wait until everything is figured out. “Just keep moving toward building your expertise and contributing to what matters to you.”
And always remember that doubt doesn’t disqualify you. The question isn’t whether you’re ready. It’s whether you’re willing to keep going anyway.
Listen to this episode of The Unsure Entrepreneur Podcast .
[Photo caption: Leigh Mitchell]
Resources:
Comments