The Cost of People Pleasing in Business

If you're a current or recovering people pleaser, I want to say this first: you are a deeply caring, thoughtful, generous human. Shitty people don't people-please. They don't over-give. People pleasing isn't a character flaw. It's a survival strategy - one that made complete sense at some point in your life, and one that you absolutely have the power to interrupt.

But first, we need to call it what it actually is. It's not about wanting people to be happy. It's about avoiding your own discomfort.

In business, it looks like: discounting your prices before anyone even objects. Giving three hours of work and billing for two. Letting scope creep run your projects because you don't want to seem difficult. Avoiding a necessary client conversation for weeks — and then having it in the worst way possible when the resentment finally leaks out.

I've lived all of this. When I left my corporate job and started freelancing, I charged $25 an hour for marketing strategy because I was terrified of being told I was too expensive. I got burnt out. I got resentful. My work suffered. The real costs are financial, emotional, and energetic: chronically undercharging, attracting misaligned clients, watering down your ideas so they're palatable to people who aren't even your target audience.

The good news: this pattern can be interrupted, one micro-moment of bravery at a time. In this episode, I walk through five practical ways to start, from grounding your limits in your values, to using neutral language that creates dialogue instead of conflict, to setting clear expectations upfront so you never have to have the scary conversation in the first place.