In business, there are always catchy little phrases meant to motivate or guide new business owners towards “success.”

Grab the low-hanging fruit.
Think outside the box.
Failure is not an option.
Supersize it.

Okay, that last one was just because we’re hungry. 

You get the idea though. Most of these are old and tired, but there is a lingering tagline that still shows up even in the most progressive of business advice. 

“Fake it ‘til you make it.”

On the positive side, you can look at this as encouraging advice to stay the course even if you don’t have it all figured out. On the negative side, it can mean, deceive your audience and hope they don’t catch you building the plane as you’re flying it. (Dang it, there’s another cliche business saying. These suckers come out of nowhere.)

We have to be honest though… we feel like the phrase “Fake it ‘til you make it,” needs to be retired. Well-intentioned as it may have once been, new businesses just starting out can’t lean on this old adage in today’s modern consumer world. 

B.S. Detectors are Well Tuned

As the digital world becomes so many people’s primary world, we’ve honed certain skills that make us more aware of… bologna. We can spot an ad a mile away. See the sales pitch from around the corner. And we can definitely detect a phony.

Whether it’s an attempt to “fluff up” your client page or some purchased social media followers, today’s modern consumer has a pretty good nose for nonsense and you don’t want to trigger that in a new visitor.

It’s much easier to show someone “Hey, I’m new, but I’ll work hard and I have a vision,” than it is to undo a person’s sense that they’ve been misled. 

Consumers See So Many New Businesses

Each year 627,000 new businesses spring up in the U.S. according to the SBA. That means that both online and in the real world, consumers see businesses spring up everywhere.

And with the rise of influencers and social media stars, it’s hard to stand out among the crowd. 

Faking it until you make it may seem like a good way to avoid looking like an amateur in a sea of noobies, but it’s an act consumers have seen many times before. They can smell it. Like french fries. (We’re still hungry.)

Trust that your audience has seen a business like yours get started dozens of times. You don’t need to try to psyche them out and make them believe you’re further along than you are. What they’ve never seen before is YOU. So even if it’s a bit clumsy in the beginning, trust that your audience will come and there’s no tricking them into following you.

Transparent is the New Polished

How many of your favorite people/businesses are flawless? Perfect photos. Seamless social media. No typos. Expert everything from head to toe? We expect that from big corporate brands, but usually what we hope to see from small businesses are real people. 

When you’re trying to look overly polished, you’re often putting a faux sheen over yourself. We like things that look good. We LOVE things that feel good. 

Instead of the race to look legitimate, just let the natural side of your business flow. Let them see you with no makeup, share your slip-ups, be honest about hardships, don’t be afraid to fail up. Don’t be afraid to be new! 

Emulation and Inspiration are Different than Fake 

Too often when we are “faking it until we make it” what we are doing is trying to look exactly like those who we admire in our industry. It’s a totally natural new business owner move to chase after someone else’s vibe because you already know it’s successful. 

What’s really happening though is you’re doubting your own ability to foster something just as great, even if it’s different. 

Getting inspired by your favorite personal brand or emulating an industry leader is understandable and completely ok! When you find yourself trying to take an Instagram photo that looks exactly like one of their’s or you create a piece of content that is just slightly tweaked for your own audience, that’s when you’re crossing into the “faking it” zone. Don’t worry, it doesn’t make you bad if you’ve already done that, but it is something to be aware of. 

If you catch yourself crossing that line, here are some ways to pull back from the temptation to fake it:

• Have a brainstorming sesh (get some fresh ideas flowing)
• Log off of social media (create content before you consume it)
• Do something that makes you uncomfortable (that’s how you know it’s an idea unique to you)
• Ask a friend what it is you do best (see yourself through someone else’s eyes)

Fake is something you can feel. Not only can your audience detect it, but you can feel your own lack of authenticity. And that will destroy creativity. So while having people you admire is good for direction, it often draws out the copycat in all of us. Trust yourself to build something fantastic even if it isn’t exactly like your mentors’ businesses.

Embrace the Malleable Nature of Newness

Ultimately, you only get to be new for a small amount of time. If you are consistent and persistent, you will ascend beyond this point. It’s inevitable. In the meantime, enjoy the flexibility that comes with being new. You can pivot quickly. Rebound from failure. Test new ideas. Uplevel exponentially. It may feel better sometimes to just “fake it until you make it,” but then you’re depriving yourself of the early adventure. 

There is something so genuine and raw in those firsts and if you fake your way through it you could miss the best parts of truly making it!