WIP ep 005
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[00:00:00] You know what the world really means when it calls a woman. Low maintenance, they mean she doesn't ask for much, doesn't negotiate, doesn't challenge, doesn't expect more. She takes whatever terms you offer and says thank you. That might win approval, but it comes at the cost of everything else, your rates, your respect, your power.
Welcome to unapologetically empowered. The podcast where we stop shape shifting to fit other people's expectations and start leading, earning and living by our own design. I'm your host, Jennifer Damaskos, businesswoman, investor, coach, mother, and woman who has spent years being praised for being so reasonable while quietly resenting how little I was asking for.
This space is for you. If you've ever been complimented for being the flexible one, the understanding one, the [00:01:00] one who just gets it, but secretly you're exhausted from making everyone else's life easier while yours gets harder. So let's break this mask wide open because the low maintenance women in business isn't actually low maintenance.
She's highly managed by fear. Fear of being seen as difficult, fear of being labeled a diva, fear of asking for too much and losing everything. So she learned to accept the first offer instead of negotiating. Say whatever works for you. When scheduling meetings, apologize for her rates, before she even states them downplay her expertise to avoid seeming arrogant and the business world rewarded her for it.
She's so easy to work with. No drama with her. She just makes it happen. But here's what that praise really means. She's profitable. For them. [00:02:00] She's convenient for them. She's safe for them. But what about her? According to a 2023 Harvard Business Review study, women are 33% less likely to negotiate salary and 47% more likely to accept unfavorable contract terms to avoid being perceived as difficult.
And here's the kicker. Research from nego. Negotiation experts at Harvard shows that when women do negotiate, they face social backlash that men don't experience. So we learn to be low maintenance as a survival strategy, but in today's economy, that strategy is expensive. When you're a low maintenance professionally, you undercharge for your services because asking for market rate feels greedy.
Take on scope creep [00:03:00] without additional compensation. Accept speaking engagements for exposure instead of fees. Build your personal brand around being approachable Instead of being authoritative, you become the woman clients love to work with and the woman who struggles to scale. Because here's the truth about being low maintenance, when you don't advocate for yourself.
No one else will either. I see this with my clients, the consultant who hasn't raised her rates in three years because she doesn't wanna push existing clients, the coach who offers unlimited revisions, because saying no feels mean the executive who takes on extra projects without extra resources because being helpful is her brand.
But here's what Being low maintenance really costs you when you're easy to everyone else. You become exhausting to yourself emotionally, energetically, financially, [00:04:00] the gap between what you tolerate and what you truly need. That's where resentment lives. That's where burnout grows. That's where your power goes to die.
So this is for the woman who apologizes for her prices feels guilty when setting boundaries with clients. Says I'm inflexible when she really means I have standards. Worries that asking for more will make people think she's gotten too big for her britches. If you've been applauded for not being high maintenance, but you're secretly exhausted from chronically undervaluing yourself, I.
This one's for you. Here's the truth. They don't want you to know you weren't put here to be convenient. You are put here to be compensated fairly. Being low maintenance might win you some short-term client appreciation, but being clear about your value that builds a sustainable, profitable, soul led business.
The [00:05:00] women who aren't thriving aren't necessarily the most talented. They're the ones who aren't afraid to be a little inconvenient. They negotiate their contracts. They state their boundaries up front. They charge what they're worth and feel good about it. They'd rather have fewer clients who value them than many who tolerate them.
Because here's what I've learned. When you stop being low maintenance, you don't lose the right people. You attract them. The clients who want to work with someone they respect, not someone they can manipulate, the opportunities that pay what you're worth. Not just what you'll accept, the collaborations built on mutual value, not your convenience.
Let people adjust to your standards, not your silence. Let your boundaries inspire. Not shrink. Let your rates [00:06:00] reflect your value, not your fear, because the people who are meant to work with you don't want your discount. They want your excellence. So here's your power prompts for this week. Complete these sentences.
I've been low maintenance in blank to avoid blank. If I weren't afraid of being difficult, I would ask for my high maintenance standards would actually be blank Again, get specific, get honest. Then pick one area where you're gonna stop being convenient and start being compensated fairly. I use the five minute Journal from Intelligent Change to Process these shifts without overwhelm.
It's about showing up with radical honesty to yourself first. So use Unapologetic 10 for 10% [email protected]. [00:07:00] If this episode stirred something in you, if you recognize yourself in the low maintenance mirror. Don't keep it to yourself. Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. Share this with a woman who's been undercharging to be likable, and most importantly, practice being a little more inconvenient.
This week, negotiate one thing you normally just accept. State your boundaries instead of hoping people will guess them. Quote, your real rate, not your scared rate, because the version of you who refuses to be convenient, she's not difficult, she's valuable, and it's time. The world knew it. This is unapologetically in power.
I'm Jennifer Damaskos, and your permission to be high maintenance. Starts [00:08:00] now.
