It’s 2025. There is a hangover from COVID thick in the air. It’s been five years, yet collectively we still haven’t dealt with it, and it’s hanging like a thick blanket. I’m freshly postpartum with my second baby, and I’ve lost my confidence. All my creative mojo and bravado in business have evaporated and been sucked into the sorry state of the world.

Over the past 10 years, my graphic and web design business has brought in ‘6 figures’ (gosh, I hate that brag—partly why I found myself in this mess). I have served hundreds, close to 1,000 incredible small business owners, crafting beautiful designs both online and offline for them. I have worked on six print magazines that are seen across a whole tourism region. I’ve built all sorts of websites, from brochure sites to directory sites to e-commerce online stores. Small and large, it’s been an incredible ride. My Facebook group, "Creative Women in Web Design," was inching closer to 4,000 members—a safe space for other web designers to come and chat and find community. So why had I all of a sudden lost my confidence?

I put too much emphasis on what my time was worth. You see, I’m a full-time stay-at-home working mama. My work hours consist of 90-minute nap times, stolen 5-minute blocks of email checking, and phone calls throughout the day while being "snack bitch" and ensuring my toddler doesn’t throw himself off the back of a chair. I learned early on in my postpartum journey, nine years ago with my first, that working nights is not for me; it completely burns me out. So nap time and stolen phone breaks are how I run my business.

It sounds crazy, but it actually works!

This fragmented work time gives me time to think through the project and gather inspiration. It means when I do sit down to my laptop, I’m focused and ready to fire. I’ve built my systems so that I have everything I need ready to go.

In 2025, I built 13 websites using a mix of Squarespace and the Breakdance Builder on WordPress. I also crafted a 198-page print magazine. And we can’t forget all my long-term clients for whom I regularly do website maintenance, add new web pages, update photos, or schedule blog posts. It still blows me away to think I achieved all this in 90 minutes a day.

So how did I let Imposter Syndrome sneak in?

I thought clients would no longer take me seriously, believing that because I wasn’t ‘on and available’ all the time, my work somehow was less. I made the mistake of tying my worth to my availability, rather than the product I was delivering, which I just know is going to elevate my clients' business.

I heavily discounted my rates, gave away plenty of free work, dropped all my package prices, and fumbled on inquiries and lost some big projects. All because I let Imposter Syndrome run the show.

One example of this: I had a really well-known coach/creative reach out to me about a visual identity and website package. I was so excited when I saw this inquiry come through. I was nervous and yet so humbled that she liked my work enough to get in touch.

But I choked, I stumbled, I didn’t back myself, I let Imposter Syndrome reply. My lack of confidence lost me that job. She actually never replied past a few messages because I clearly came across as a mess. I know I’m more than capable of delivering on this project, yet my lack of confidence let me down. This was the catalyst I needed to see that my Imposter Syndrome was killing my business.

Reflection, daily journaling, looking back through the work I’ve completed, and reading my little file of love notes and kind words from clients were where I started on trying to turn this around. Taking the emotion and myself out of the picture, I became my own cheerleader, looking at what I’ve created as if I were someone else admiring from a distance.

I fell in love with my skillset, my creative brain, and my business again. It made me think about all that I have to offer for small businesses and their websites, and what knowledge I’ve gained over the past 10 years that I could share with other stay-at-home web designers.

It inspired me to pivot in my business, and I’m so excited to see where this new-found sense of confidence takes me. Hey, I may even grow my fringe out and stop hiding behind it!

If you’d like to follow along with my journey, you can join me at Instagram @themudroom.design, join my mailing list below, or reach out to work together via my contact form.