Episode 9: People pleasing
Hey everyone,
This week on the show, we’re talking about yet another issue we may all run into: being people pleasers. I’m a people pleaser, Jenni is a people pleaser. And it’s likely that you are, too.
In some ways, people-pleasing feels inherent to being a freelancer. After all, we get hired by our clients, and then we help clients with their projects. Or even if we’re pitching journalism stories, we’re still creating a story for someone else. We’re in the business of keeping our clients happy by creating good products.
But being a people-pleaser can also harm our businesses. It can make us afraid of pushing back, negotiating, or appearing difficult – but that means we don’t get what we need. After all, it’s likely many others are saying yes to whatever their clients need. So if we don’t, we wonder: won’t I get discarded?
In this episode, Jenni and I dive deep into why we tend to people-please as freelancers, the harm it can cause our freelance businesses, and ways to unlearn this habit. We mention two resources that are available to Patreon All Access members (which you can become at any time via patreon.com/twcpod): a worksheet on defining your boundaries, and a tipsheet about how to enforce them with clients! You can also buy those a la carte here: https://www.thewriterscooppod.com/resources
For me, the biggest help has thinking about what it would look like if I were a people pleaser to future Wudan. Similar to the mantra of “be kind to your future self,” I envision what *I* need, and how future me might be so disappointed if I screw myself over right now on something small.
How have you unlearned being a people pleaser as it relates to your business? We would love to hear from you: thewriterscoop2@gmail.com
Announcements:
Our upcoming March event will focus on content strategy: how to add this as a service, where to find content strategy work, how much money you can make working in this space, and beyond. I’ll be talking about my experience working with startups on editorial strategy, and we’ll be joined by social media strategist Rachel Coward and comms strategist Nafeesah Allen. The panel will meet March 29th, and you can grab your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-break-into-content-strategy-tickets-267941910467
March office hours are cancelled, to resume again in April.
Cheers,
Wudan