As a creative solopreneur, your passion drives your business. However, the desire to please everyone can undermine your success in subtle and profound ways. Let’s explore the hidden costs of people-pleasing and strategies to mitigate these effects.
You will walk away from this eye-opening post about people-pleasing in entrepreneurship with a better understanding of how much pleasing everyone is costing you and an action plan to reverse the damage.
1. Stunted Creativity
The Problem: People-pleasing often leads to prioritizing client desires over your creative vision. This can result in:
- Producing work that feels generic or uninspired.
- Avoiding risks that could lead to innovative breakthroughs.
- Feeling creatively drained and disconnected from your passion.
I suffered from this one first-hand in a major way with my very successful real estate writing company but the material was so draining it burned me out and hurt me creatively. I was constantly performing tasks I was great at because they were profitable but it was far from fulfilling. I feel that held me back as a creative in a major way and those are years I can’t get back.
However, once I pivoted toward my passions my creativity flourished and I began picking up new creative skills like photography and painting. Those skills positively began to impact my writing and design skills as well and ultimately it became a cycle of flourishing and fulfillment rather than torment and weakness.
Mitigation Strategies To Protect Your Creativity:
- Set Boundaries: Clearly define the scope of your creative freedom in project agreements. Communicate your creative process and why it’s essential for producing unique, high-quality work.
- Choose Clients Wisely: Seek clients who value and trust your creative expertise. It’s okay to turn down projects that don’t align with your vision.
- Schedule Creative Time: Allocate specific times for personal creative projects that allow you to explore and innovate without client constraints.
2. Burnout and Exhaustion
The Problem: Constantly striving to meet everyone’s expectations can lead to overcommitting and working excessive hours, resulting in:
- Physical and mental exhaustion.
- Reduced productivity and efficiency.
- Increased likelihood of making mistakes.
Once I learned about burnout and how it works I realized I had spent my entire life and childhood stuck in that cycle too. It was a huge revelation and it’s the one that caused me to pivot so I could work with women like me to build a business without the constant burnout.
Mitigation Strategies:
- Set Realistic Expectations: Be honest about your capacity and timelines. Avoid taking on more work than you can handle.
- Prioritize Self-Care: Schedule regular breaks, exercise, and downtime. Treat self-care as a non-negotiable part of your routine.
- Delegate When Possible: Outsource tasks that don’t require your unique skill set. This frees up time for more critical work and reduces stress.
- Undervaluing Your Work
The Problem: People-pleasers often struggle to charge what their work is worth, fearing client dissatisfaction. This can lead to:
- Lower income and financial instability.
- Feeling undervalued and resentful.
- Difficulty sustaining your business long-term.
Mitigation Strategies:
- Know Your Worth: Research industry standards and confidently price your services accordingly. Remember, your skills and creativity are valuable.
- Communicate Value: Clearly articulate the benefits and unique qualities of your work to clients. Use testimonials and case studies to demonstrate your value.
- Implement Pricing Strategies: Consider tiered pricing or packages that offer clients options while ensuring you’re adequately compensated.
- Loss of Authenticity
The Problem: Constantly adapting to please others can lead to a loss of your authentic voice and brand identity. This results in:
- Inconsistent branding and messaging.
- A disconnect between your work and your values.
- Difficulty building a loyal client base.
This one doesn’t happen overnight so it can be hard to detect. It’s more like the death of your spirit by a thousand cuts. The longer you continue to betray yourself to please others, the more you give away yourself until there is nothing left that you recognize or cherish. One day you wake up and realize you no longer know who you are, what you want without influence or what you want to do with your life. This is a massive price to pay for a moment of pleasing someone else.
Mitigation Strategies:
- Define Your Brand: Establish clear brand guidelines that reflect your authentic voice and values. Ensure all your work aligns with these principles.
- Attract the Right Clients: Use your branding and marketing to attract clients who resonate with your style and values. This reduces the need to constantly adapt to differing preferences.
- Stay True to Yourself: Regularly revisit your mission and values to ensure your work remains aligned with your authentic self.
- Impaired Decision-Making
The Problem: A strong desire to please can lead to indecisiveness and second-guessing, which can impact your business decisions, such as:
- Delaying important projects or initiatives.
- Avoiding necessary but uncomfortable conversations.
- Making choices that don’t align with your long-term goals.
Mitigation Strategies:
- Develop Decision-Making Frameworks: Create criteria for decision-making that align with your goals and values. Use these frameworks to guide your choices objectively.
- Practice Assertiveness: Build confidence in making decisions and communicating them clearly. Role-play scenarios to practice assertive communication.
- Seek Feedback Wisely: While feedback is valuable, limit the number of people you seek opinions from to avoid overwhelm. Trust your instincts and expertise.
People-pleasing can subtly erode the foundation of your creative spirit and your business, leading to stunted growth, burnout, and a loss of authenticity. By setting boundaries, prioritizing self-care, valuing your work, maintaining authenticity, and developing strong decision-making skills, you can mitigate these effects and thrive as a solopreneur. Remember, your unique vision and creativity are what set you apart – don’t let people-pleasing dim your brilliance.