Sounds generous. Maybe even wise.
It’s not. And I say that as someone genuinely known for my generosity – so hear me out.
I have watched brilliant women break themselves trying to prove that idea true. Women who came out of corporate with serious credentials. Who ran teams, managed budgets, delivered results that mattered. And then stepped into their own business… and quietly started working for free.
Unpaid speaking gigs because it’s “great exposure.” Scope creep because they want to overdeliver. Heavy discounting because charging full price feels awkward. Taking on too much because it might lead to something bigger.
Impact becomes the justification. Income becomes the afterthought.
And nobody says anything. Because it looks noble from the outside.
Here’s what it looks like from the inside – resentful, exhausted, and financially stretched. Which is the fastest way to limit the very impact you said you cared about. You cannot sustain meaningful work from a place of depletion.
Your business is not a charity. And if it is, that’s an entirely different conversation.
So let’s talk about what actually works.
The women I know who create the most impact – the ones doing work that genuinely changes things – are also the most commercially serious people in the room. They track their revenue. They know their numbers. They price their expertise at a level that reflects their actual experience, not their imposter syndrome. And they pursue income with the same drive they bring to their clients’ problems.
Not because money is the point. Because depletion is the enemy of impact.
Hope is not a strategy. Waiting to be recognised is not a strategy. Being “nice” about money is absolutely not a strategy.
There will always be people who benefit from you underselling yourself. The question is whether you’re going to keep letting them.
Impact and income are not opposites. They are partners.
It’s time to be both.
J x