Why Feeling Like an Imposter Might Mean You’re Doing It Right

By Derreck Ogden, Founder of ABA Impact

Running an ABA company isn’t for the faint of heart.

It’s not just a job. It’s a massive responsibility — and if you’re reading this, you probably already feel that weight.

You’re responsible for your team’s livelihood. Your clients’ progress. Your business’s reputation. And sometimes, in the quiet moments between all the chaos, a single question creeps in:

“Am I enough for this?”

That question — that feeling — is what we call imposter syndrome.
And believe it or not, it might be one of the most important signals that you’re on the right path.

The Quiet Truth Most Business Owners Don’t Admit

In the entrepreneurial world — especially among ABA founders — we hear a lot of polished success stories.

What we don’t hear enough of are the moments of doubt. The shaky knees before the first big hire. The sick stomach after signing a lease. The racing mind before payroll hits. The “what if I mess this up?” spiral.

Here’s what I’ve learned: the founders who feel imposter syndrome the most are often the ones who care the deepest.

Why?

Because they respect the mission. They understand the stakes. They know that if things go sideways, it won’t just impact them — it’ll ripple through their team, their clients, their families, and their entire community.

It’s not weakness. It’s awareness.

And like any awareness, it can either fuel you — or paralyze you.

What Flying Taught Me About Fear and Responsibility

When I was training for my pilot’s license, I had a serious fear of flying.
Every time I strapped into the cockpit, my heart would race. I’d sweat through my shirt. I’d forget basic instructions. I felt overwhelmed by the risk and the responsibility.

After ten hours in the air, I was still terrified.
I remember turning to my instructor, Scott, at about 8,000 feet on a routine flight, and confessing:

“This still freaks me out. I don’t like heights. I don’t like flying. And I can’t believe I’m still this scared.”

Scott smiled — the kind of smile that lifts aviator sunglasses just enough to see the truth behind it — and said:

“Don’t let my calm demeanor fool you. I’m f**ing scared too.”*

He wasn’t kidding.

“We’re in a chess match with gravity,” he said. “If we lose, we die. And if you ever forget that — if you ever stop being a little scared — you need to land the plane and never fly again.”

That moment changed the way I view fear.

The Business Parallel: You’re the Pilot Now

Running an ABA business is no different than flying an aircraft.

You’ve got passengers onboard — your team, your clients, your family.
You’re the one at the controls.
If your strategy fails, if your systems break down, if your execution stalls — you don’t go down alone.

That fear you feel?

That’s your gut telling you: You’re flying into something new.

It’s a signal that you’ve stepped into real responsibility — and it’s trying to keep you sharp.

The goal isn’t to eliminate the fear.
The goal is to train so that you know exactly what to do when the turbulence hits.

The Danger of Letting Imposter Syndrome Take the Controls

Let’s talk about what happens when you don’t deal with imposter syndrome.

Left unchecked, it becomes head trash — the kind that clogs your thinking, slows down execution, and ruins your confidence.

Here’s what that looks like in real life:

1. Execution Failure

Fear becomes procrastination.
Instead of making moves, you stall.
Instead of building systems, you overthink.
Instead of hiring or delegating, you stay stuck in the weeds.

2. Profit Guilt

You feel bad charging what you’re worth.
You downplay your services.
You overdeliver and undercharge.
You secretly believe you don’t deserve to succeed — so you sabotage your own profit.

3. Leadership Paralysis

You hesitate to lead.
You don’t negotiate strong contracts with payers.
You avoid giving clear direction to your team.
You withhold important feedback.
You spend more time reacting than leading.

Your business will never outgrow your ability to lead it.
And if you’re scared to lead — if fear is flying the plane — you’re not going very far.

You Can Have a Healthy Fear — But You Can’t Be Chicken

A little fear is good.

It keeps you humble.
It reminds you to take the mission seriously.
It makes sure you don’t drift into ego-driven chaos.

But if that fear turns into chronic hesitation, or self-doubt, or avoidance?

It will eat your business alive.

And worse — it will rob your team of the leadership they need, and your clients of the consistency they deserve.

You must take out the head trash.
You must put fear back in its place.

And you must start leading.

The Cure? Train Like It Matters

You’ve trained as a clinician.
You’ve mastered the delivery of care.
You’ve logged your hours and earned your credential.

But now — you’re flying the plane.
And you must train for that too.

That’s why we built the eBCBA™ Blueprint.
We created a complete system to help you:

• Build a real infrastructure

• Set up secure tech and business systems

• Design a leadership structure that doesn’t rely on you for everything

• Scale without chaos

• And grow without guilt

If you feel imposter syndrome… good.
That means you respect what you’re doing.

But respect without training won’t get you very far.

Final Thought: Feel the Fear. Train Anyway.

Every extraordinary person I’ve ever met — from founders to fighter pilots — has questioned their own ability.

But the ones who kept going?
They trained.
They studied.
They committed.
They built.

And they didn’t wait to feel “ready.”

They got ready by moving through the fear.

You can too.
You just have to stay in the pilot seat.