I recently gave a talk to a room full of women in business where I shared a statistic that shifted something in me, and in the audience too.

A 2025 YouGov poll, a research study for HSBC, claimed that over a third of women who run their own business say that feelings of self-doubt are preventing them from growing and scaling.

To put that into context: women now represent one in three entrepreneurs in the UK. That's a 36% increase in business ownership by women since 2015. According to the ONS Labour Force Survey 2025, there are 1.8 million women now running incorporated or self-employed ventures across the UK - the highest number on record. And women aged 50 and over are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, now accounting for one in four female business owners.

These figures highlight the incredible growing role of women in the UK economy.

And yet - one third of those women are holding back from scaling and growing their business because of the fears and doubts they experience. That's 600,000 women letting self-doubt hold them back.

But, it’s not just women who run their own businesses. When I delved a little deeper - a study by Hays UK Research published in 2025, which surveyed over 8,000 professionals, found that 70% of women had experienced imposter syndrome at some point. Almost half - 47% - said those feelings had become more frequent as their career progressed.

Why This Is Happening to Our Generation

You've heard me say it before: we are a generation of women who simply weren't taught the skills we need to thrive in business and the workplace today. And this skills gap, I believe, is intrinsically linked to the doubts and fears we hold.

When we were in the education system, podcasts didn't exist. Networking for women didn't exist. Social media didn't exist. And yet here we are - building businesses, speaking within organisations, showing up on camera, on stages, and in rooms that require so much more of us than we were ever taught. Is it any wonder the doubts and fears creep in?

What Imposter Syndrome Actually Is

Let me explain what imposter syndrome actually is, because it's a term that gets used a lot but isn't always fully understood.

It was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, who noticed a pattern in high-achieving women who, despite their success, persistently believed they weren't as intelligent or capable as others perceived them to be. They lived in fear of being found out - of someone realising the truth that they didn't really deserve to be there.

While the term has broadened significantly since then, that core feeling remains remarkably consistent. The sense that you've somehow got here by luck rather than ability, that your credentials aren't quite enough, and that it's only a matter of time before someone notices.

I know this feeling - despite spending over 20 years producing for ITV and ITN, working alongside some of the most respected names in broadcasting, when I launched my business, the imposter syndrome arrived almost immediately. Who was I to set up on my own? Who would invest in working with just me, rather than the organisations I'd always had behind me? I avoided showing my face on social media for months and I talked myself out of opportunities because I didn't feel ready - even with all that experience behind me.

What I've come to understand is that imposter syndrome doesn't discriminate. It doesn't care how qualified you are, how long you've been doing this, or how much evidence you have that you're more than capable. As the Hays study shows, for almost half of women, the feelings actually get more frequent as their career progresses. The bigger the stakes, the louder the voice. I also hear this from the guests I've interviewed on my podcast - almost every single one has felt this way at some point.

What Self-Doubt Looks Like in the Room

We are capable women, we have backgrounds worth shouting about, full of expertise and experiences that others can genuinely learn from. But what happens when those feelings of self-doubt follow us into the rooms where we're expected to influence, to lead, to sell, to share our expertise?

It might look like this.

You're sitting in a meeting with an idea that could make a real difference and you don't speak up. You're pitching for a new client but struggling to articulate the real value you bring. You're standing on stage, being interviewed on a podcast, or networking with people who could open doors for you and a little voice in your head is questioning whether you really belong there.

Self-doubt doesn't just affect how you feel in those moments. It affects how you communicate - and in turn, how others perceive you.

That is why I believe speaking skills for our generation matter so much. But the great news is they are skills, so they can be learned.

When you develop your speaking skills, you learn to communicate your value without feeling like you're bragging. You learn to speak with authority without feeling you have to become someone else and you learn how to organise your thoughts so you don't go blank when you're nervous or under pressure.

Ten Coaching Questions to Help You Move Forward

The qualified coach in me knows that the first step to any change is self-awareness. So I want to take you through a series of questions now, to help you understand where you are, and what steps you can take to move forward.

Write your answers down on a piece of paper, or if you're out and about, use the notes app on your phone. And if you're driving while you listen to this, come back to these questions later when it's safe to do so.

1. When those fears and doubts creep in, what is it specifically that you are telling yourself?

2. What is the situation you find yourself in when that happens?

3. What evidence do you have for feeling that way?

4. How does this translate into, or come through in, the way you communicate?

5. Think about a time you've communicated well and those fears or doubts haven't surfaced. What was different?

6. What skills could you take from that situation and how can you apply them now?

7. What have you learned to see as ordinary about yourself that other people consider valuable?

8. How might your business scale or grow if you were willing not to hold back anymore?

9. What's one step you could take today towards making that a reality?

10. Now return to the fear or doubt holding you back. Knowing what you know now - what could you say to yourself instead in that situation?

I've shared these coaching questions because I genuinely want you to recognise what you bring, understand what is holding you back and enable yourself to move forward. Being able to communicate effectively is such an important part of progressing in the workplace or scaling your business. Your awareness of any fears or doubts is truly the foundation and developing your speaking skills comes swiftly afterwards.

So let me leave you with this.
You are good enough, you are worthy and you absolutely deserve to be in the room.

Prefer Audio?

You can also listen to this episode on my podcast: She Speaks to Scale.

Want to find out which Speaker Identity you are?
Take the quiz here

When you’re ready, here’s how I can support you:

I'm Sarah Collins - Speaking Coach, Media Trainer and former Senior Television Producer for ITV & ITN.

I provide 1:1 coaching and group coaching for women in business to move past self doubt and learn to speak confidently on social media, podcasts, panels and stages, so they can step into those speaking opportunities that once felt out of reach, with ease.
Let's discuss your needs

I also provide media training for spokespeople within organisations, communication skills workshops and DISC profiling.

Voice people listen to, trust and remember

Photo by Daniel Brubaker on Unsplash