Ep 80: Playing Small Is Costing You More Than You Think

Playing small feels safe. You keep your prices low, keep your idea to yourself and keep waiting until you're "ready." But what is that habit costing you over the next five years?

This week, Mandy Alt and Mandy Holt get honest about how they've been playing small, in business and in life. After more than five years running Essential Marketing Group, one 30-minute conversation made Mandy Alt realize the company had been leaving money on the table the whole time. It all started with a late-night ChatGPT prompt Mandy Holt tried from TikTok. They talk about charging $750 for a first website, why new people get stuck in the "small seat," the signs you're swallowing your best ideas out of fear, why every idea starts as an ugly baby and what playing small costs you in money, raises and opportunities. Then they give you a simple challenge: go one size up.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What playing small looks like in business, corporate jobs and everyday life

• The light bulb conversation that exposed how Essential Marketing Group was playing small

• Undercharging when you're new: the $750 first website

• Why charging what your work is worth beats pricing for your inexperience

• Getting stuck in the "small seat" long after you've proven yourself

• Why playing small feels safe, and what it costs you in five years

• The ChatGPT prompt that predicted our next five years

• Signs you're playing small, like rehearsing ideas you never say out loud

• Imposter syndrome, swinging and missing, and the "ugly baby" idea from Creativity, Inc.

• Nobody is thinking about you as much as you think

• The financial cost of playing small: pricing, raises and promotions

• Waiting for permission or external validation before you act

• Keeping a written record of your wins

• Being direct and kind, confident and humble

• Who actually benefits when you stay small

Key takeaways

1. Playing small feels safe, but it has a cost. Staying quiet or undercharging protects you from rejection today. Over five years, it costs you money, opportunities and the version of yourself you could have been. The safe choice has risks too. They just take longer to show up.

2. Don't put a lower price tag on your inexperience. It's normal to start small when you're new, but it's easy to get stuck there. Price for the value of the work, and find the client who sees that value.

3. Every idea is an ugly baby. Ideas don't come out fully formed. Say them out loud so your team can help them grow. The worst case is someone says "that's interesting" and moves on, and nobody remembers it tomorrow but you.

4. Stop waiting for permission. If you need someone else to tell you you're ready, that's okay, but you don't actually need it. Get out of your own way and go do the thing.

5. Keep a written record of your wins. Projects, compliments, results and metrics become the proof you need to take big steps, ask for a raise, nail an interview or quiet the inner voice telling you to stay small.

Try the ChatGPT prompt from the episode

Paste these into ChatGPT one at a time:

1. "Tell me five things about me that you have learned through our conversations that I've never told you directly."

2. "Identify one pattern that you see in my work style and predict the next five years if this behavior continues. Then predict the next five years if I fix just this one thing."

Chapters

• 00:00 Welcome back: a new driver in the house

• 06:30 A true crime rabbit hole

• 12:58 Mandy Alt's big week: selling the townhouse

• 13:56 Realizing our business was playing small

• 15:15 The 30-minute conversation that changed everything

• 16:21 Scary and exciting: how we priced ourselves small

• 18:19 Why people play small when they're new

• 19:45 The $750 first website

• 20:12 Charge what the work is worth, not your experience

• 21:07 Not raising your hand in meetings

• 21:46 Getting stuck in the small seat

• 22:44 Why playing small feels safe

• 23:14 What playing small costs you in five years

• 23:42 The ChatGPT prompt that started it all

• 24:58 Predict the next five years if you fix one thing

• 26:17 It showed us what we're great at but don't offer

• 27:27 Don't get stuck forever

• 28:50 Throw a grenade into your comfort zone

• 29:12 Signs you're playing small

• 30:55 Imposter syndrome and needing proof

• 31:36 It's worth swinging and missing

• 32:02 Every idea is an ugly baby

• 33:29 Build a team where big ideas feel safe

• 34:04 Nobody remembers your shirt: stop overthinking

• 35:11 The financial cost of playing small

• 36:08 Money left on the table

• 37:06 Speaking up builds your resume

• 37:44 Bet on yourself and price for the right client

• 38:41 Earn the raise or find the bigger job

• 38:56 Are you comfortable or do you still want it?

• 39:22 Waiting for permission

• 40:26 Get out of your own way

• 41:28 The reframe: safe choices have risks too

• 43:25 How to actually stop playing small

• 43:53 Keep a written record of your wins

• 45:19 Use "and," not "or"

• 45:48 Don't weaken the message to soften the delivery

• 46:21 Use your wins for raises and interviews

• 47:58 The challenge: go one size up

• 48:59 Who benefits when you play small?

• 50:05 Wrap-up: send us your work secrets

Your challenge this week

Go one size up. Find one place where you've been making yourself smaller, then do one thing about it this week: raise your hand, send the pitch, apply, say the idea or set the boundary. Then tell us how it went in the comments or by email. And start a wins list today.

Next week: A brand-new episode for anyone trying to survive (or escape) the corporate grind.

Send us your secrets: thecorporateburnouts.com/secrets

FAQs

What does it mean to play small? Playing small means making yourself smaller than your skills and ideas deserve. It can look like undercharging for your work, staying quiet in meetings, not applying for the bigger role or waiting for someone to give you permission. It usually comes from fear of rejection or failure, and it often feels safe in the moment.

What are the signs you're playing small at work? A big sign is rehearsing what you want to say in your head and then never saying it. Others include holding back ideas or honest feedback out of fear, pricing your work based on inexperience instead of value, staying in a role because it's comfortable rather than because you still want it, and waiting for someone to recognize your potential before you act on it.

What does playing small cost you? Playing small costs you money, opportunities and growth over time. Undercharging leaves money on the table with every client, and not speaking up means you miss chances to make an impact that could lead to promotions and raises. The safe choice has risks too. They just show up on a longer timeline, like five years from now.

How do you stop playing small? Start by keeping a written record of your wins, like completed projects, compliments and results, so you have proof when your inner voice tells you to hold back. Then go one size up: pick one place you've been making yourself smaller and do one thing this week, such as raising your hand, sending the pitch, applying or sharing the idea.

What ChatGPT prompt can help you see where you're playing small? First ask ChatGPT to tell you five things it has learned about you through your conversations that you've never told it directly. Then ask it to identify one pattern in your work style, predict the next five years if that behavior continues, and predict the next five years if you fix just that one thing.