One of the biggest barriers to actually start a business is to overcome the fear of taking that first step. Imposter syndrome is real and even after years of being successful, many businesspeople still believe that they are not fully suited to that line of work. This fear and lack of confidence holds you and your business back.

Imposter syndrome is first and foremost conquered through experience. With experience, you learn how to get through many different situations and slowly teach yourself that you are good at what you do and can succeed at that. That being said, experience by its very nature takes serious amounts of time and effort.

To accelerate the process of becoming more comfortable with your position as a business owner and operator, start by assuming the title of “entrepreneur” or “business owner”. There is unbelievable power in a name: it will empower you and give you more credibility with others. If you have incorporated, you can then legitimately call yourself “president” or whatever officer designation you have in that company such as “founder” or “CEO”.

I still remember the first time that I called up a supplier, identified myself as the president of my company, and then asked to speak with the head of their sales department. At that point, I had just opened the business and hadn’t completed my first sale yet, so I expected to have this request turned down, but to my great surprise, I was transferred immediately to the head of sales. That is a perfect example of the power of a name. Suddenly, you are taken seriously and this makes your life so much easier as an entrepreneur if you don’t need to constantly be convincing people that you are in fact legitimate.

Add your title to the signature line of all of your business emails. This little line next to a logo of your business does wonders for your credibility and will help you build your confidence. Take the time to also get some business cards printed up with your name and title to help your credibility in person.

Finally, if you feel like you lack the lingo to call yourself an entrepreneur or the president of your company, pick up a copy of The Personal MBA which will give you all of the vocabulary to sound like you have been running a business for a long time.