Imposter Syndrome in the Beauty Industry

By Robyn McAlpine

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re not good enough? That you shouldn’t be running a business? Imposter syndrome is something almost everyone has felt at some point – even our bright, talented customers at Timely.

Timely ambassador Robyn McAlpine, owner of Skintifix in Newcastle, author of Skinsideout, speaker, entrepreneur, mentor, skin expert and skin strategist has a list of accomplishments as long as your arm – but she’s still felt the effects of Imposter Syndrome throughout her career. She spoke to us about it:

“We all know that the journey to better skin isn’t an overnight fix. I want my clients to understand this too. So I’ve learnt how to translate my strong knowledge of the science of skin into relatable information.

Helping clients understand their skin then turned into helping therapists in the industry learn how to do this too – which is where my Beauty Squad was born.

And as glamorous as all that sounds, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Imposter syndrome and I have a standing weekly –sometimes daily – appointment! Whenever I’m doing something outside my comfort zone, my little imposter devil plants herself firmly on my shoulder. She loves to ask me who I think I am to be running a business, mentoring a team and other therapists, posting on social media, and hosting squad calls.

Some of my career milestones have been deeply riddled with imposter syndrome. Take my book Skinside Out for instance. That almost never saw the light of day. I was so afraid of it being critiqued by the industry, I almost didn’t send it to the publisher. Seeing it become a handbook to therapists around the world has made me so grateful I didn’t let the little devil win!

The more you trust your instincts the easier it becomes to drone out the devil on your shoulder and stretch out of your comfort zone –which is where magic happens.

I almost never wear make-up – at the most a lick of mascara and a brow tint. It might sound a bit mad in the beauty industry, but I think so many of us use make-up thinking we need to cover up our flaws, or to fit into a societal expectation, but I think ALL skin is beautiful without it.

I love my clients to see what real skin looks like, no matter what my skin is doing on any given day. A testament to my skincare regime but also, skin is never 100% perfect, 100% of the time. Modelling that hasn’t been a conscious action, but my lack of make-up has become synonymous with my role as a skin therapist, and I feel like letting the ‘real’ me shine through helps with feeling authentic and quietens the imposter syndrome devil even more.

I used to think one day I would wake up and feel ‘good enough’, but as time goes by I realise that the feeling of inadequacy never goes away. I just get better at managing it.

I’ve turned that feeling into a strength. It’s spurred me on to continuously learn about skin. Using that feeling to drive my success has taught me a healthy awareness of when I can use it to my benefit and when I need to ignore it. It helps me remember that I don’t need to wait for the stars to align to do things perfectly.

It also makes it more than ok for myself and my staff to fail and stumble. I hold them up and support them when they do, so that when they’re ready to try again, they can take the lessons and do better next time.

Boss life is the constant feeling of having so much to do and never getting any of it done. I rely on lots of tools to take the pressure off – one of which is a comprehensive CRM system that’s the nucleus of the business. That’s where Timely has been paramount – I know our client journeys are taken care of and my team can track the vital things to create a seamless experience at every visit.

Having the right reporting means I’m able to have my finger on the pulse daily. I’m all over my revenue, and I understand exactly what’s happening in my business so I can adapt in real time. Since I made the switch to Timely I’ve experienced a real lifting of the mental load as I know that it’s tracking the things I need.

Robyn is a proud Timely Ambassador, who uses Timely appointment software to keep her business functioning at a high level, allowing her to focus on her passion and keep reaching new heights in her career.