Happy Monday!

I’m going to start this off by saying something you don’t hear very often…

It’s okay to feel like a fraud.

It’s NORMAL to feel like a fraud.

This doesn’t mean you are failing, it means you are an entrepreneur. (Welcome to the club!!)

And today I’m going to show you how this “Imposter Syndrome” can actually be a turned into a superpower! As well as:

• How to install the literal CHEAT code of Claude-Code

• This weeks podcast review

So, if you've ever downplayed your progress, minimized your wins, or felt like you're playing pretend entrepreneur when you get to the office in the morning, this one's for you.

Before we start, let me know where you’re at in your journey so I can give you the content you want! (please)

Imposter Syndrome: The Hallmark of Entrepreneurship

Why Entrepreneurs Fall Victim To Imposter Syndrome, And How To Get Past It.

“Hi, My Name is Nik… and I’m a fraud.”

Group in unison: “Hi Niiiik”

That is what it feels like when I tell people I’m an entrepreneur. The crazy part is that most founders feel the same, even the ones who have “made it”. It’s not a weakness. It’s just proof you’re on the field, playing the game most are too scared to try out for.

At some point, we have all thought:

• “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

• “Any minute now, they’re going to figure out I’m not qualified.”

• “I don’t deserve this opportunity.”

• “Other people are further ahead than me, I’m not really that successful.”

I saw this post on 𝕏, and it got me thinking about how Imposter Syndrome is a hallmark of entrepreneurship.

It’s month 4 of a new side hustle and this guy has ALREADY netted $2,586.50 with 12 days left in the month! I guarantee, if I had told him 4 months ago that this is where he would be, he would have fainted.

Yet he started his post with “You’re probably going to think this is nothing but I feel like this is cool. It’s cool, right??” (I’m paraphrasing🤣)

He feels like a fraud calling himself an entrepreneur. After all, what right does he have, calling himself that when he’s made ONLY $2,500??

Man, I resonated with it the moment I saw it!

Why is it that the closer we get to success, the more we feel like an imposter? And why can’t we give ourselves permission to celebrate?

Well, I’ve identified three reasons that I want to help you understand so you can harness the power of being an Imposter!

1. You Want To Get Ahead Of The Haters

“I’ll call it small before she does.” Classic.

It’s like Chris Farley making fun of himself for being fat. He’s already called out the elephant in the room and diffused your critiques. What else do you have?

So we hedge with:

“Oh, it’s just a small business. Nothing special…”

As entrepreneurs, we have this weird mix of pride and insecurity. We are insecure enough to care what people think, but so prideful that we are driven to PROVE doubters wrong.

Responding like this allows us to:

1. Preempt any criticism

2. Preserve our ego

3. Show others that we “know” that we haven’t achieved anything yet

2. You Need Validation

Building a million-dollar business isn’t like a traditional W-2 job. There is no HR manual, no clear path to promotion, no boss telling you “good job”.

It is just you, you, and oh yeah… YOU.

Validation is a part of the fundamental process of starting/running a business.

Hypothesis —> test —> analyze —> iterate

Over and over.

In almost every other field, there is a clear success path:

• Step 1: Go to school

• Step 2: Get good grades

• Step 3: Get a good job

• Step 4: Do good work

• Step 5: Make lots of money

(Or something similar, you get the point.)

But with entrepreneurship, we don’t have a standard template. There is a massive lag between effort and preferred results. We’ve worked really hard. We’ve taken risks. We’ve put our time, reputation, and money on the line, but we still want to know:

“Is this where I should be by now?”

3. You’re Nowhere Close To Where You Want To Be… (And That's Terrifying)

You didn’t jump into entrepreneurship to make $10K. You wanted to build something MASSIVE. So when you hit milestones like your first $5K month, your gut instinct isn’t to celebrate. You’re proud of what you have accomplished, but it doesn’t match that million-dollar end goal you picture in your head.

So you downplay your progress before sharing your numbers. You think that if you brush it off as nothing, you can celebrate for a brief moment without any guilt.

It is easy to feel like your wins don’t count when you compare yourself to either titans in the industry (Jobs. Musk. Gates. Zuckerberg.) or random people you met at church who are 10 steps ahead.

But really, that’s all you have to look up to. So you start telling yourself:

• "At 28, Zuckerberg was already worth billions"

• "Sarah's business does $50K/month and I'm stuck at $8K"

• "How did they figure it out so fast?"

We feel out of our league because WE ARE MEASURING OUT OF OUR LEAGUE!

But the truth is, every millionaire started exactly where you are.

Every dollar, every sale, every new customer is a step forward and deserves to be celebrated. Your $5k is just as important as someone else’s $50k.

So Now What?

This is usually the part where I should say something like “but you arent an imposter! You’re wonderful just the way you are! And here’s why you belong…”

But the truth is, you ARE an imposter.

huh? That doesn’t make me feel good!

Shut up and listen, Brian!

Here’s the paradox of the Imposter Syndrome: feeling inadequate (not smart enough, hard working enough, successful enough) is the fuel we need to find success. Because we feel behind we are driven to work that much harder, study that much longer and test that many more iterations.

In many ways, imposter syndrome is what ends up making us successful.

Weird, I know.

When I bought my first business, I had no idea what I was doing. Everyone knew more than me and I had put my house on the line! At least that’s how I felt.

It was that Imposter Syndrome that drove me to figure it out. Some call this “Productive Paranoia” but its all the same thing.

So, what I want you to know is its ok to feel like an Imposter. Understand why we do it but don’t let Imposter Syndrome paralyze you! Use it as your catalyst!

AI Tip of The Week: 

Claude Code is insane. It feels like magic. I tell it what to do, and it just DOES it for me.

I built this website over the weeked that gives real-time updates on pending legislation for Skilled Nursing Facilities and tells you what the impact will be.

Here are all the features:

• Pulls (via API) new legislation from congress dot gov

• Then sends all legislation through a filter using ChatGPT (OpenAI API) to ensure that its relevant

• Once its relevant, it identifies when the bill will become live and what stage its in (if it’s in a comment period, we can COMMENT! Hopefully to make a change)

• It then runs through ChatGPT again but this time for analysis on how this will impact SNFs and suggestions on how to prepare

• Lastly, it looks at the legislation and uses a calculator to estimate the net change to the facility using staffing, revenue, quality changes and compliance burdens

Let me know if you want me to show you how to install it!

This Week on Nikonomics:

Every week, I dive deep with entrepreneurs who've cracked the code on building real businesses. Here's what you might have missed:

From $42K Year One to a $100M+ Brand: The Good Wipes Journey

Guest: Sam Nebe

Sam Nebe and his college roommate bootstrapped Good Wipes into a CPG brand serving 2.2 million households, adding 430,000 new customers through Walmart alone. In this episode, we dive into:

• Why it is important to master the four P’s of marketing (and what they are)

• How retail distribution can give you leverage

• How PR boxes and influencer marketing can grow brand awareness.

Listen Here → Apple / Spotify / YouTube

First Business? Don’t Buy One. Do This Instead.

Guest: Michael Girdley

In this episode, we talk about what’s overrated, what’s next, and how Michael would make his first million if he had to start over again in 2025. We cover everything from:

• The ultimate playbook for building a business

• B2B niches that look boring but scale quietly

• Service businesses with AI leverage

Listen Here → Apple / Spotify / YouTube

Ask Me Anything

How'd I Do Today?

Thank you for reading! If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably pretty cool and pretty cool people like to help make things better so… Will you help me make this better? Just a quick survey on the direction I should take this newsletter/podcast here

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Nik Hulewsky