Why Playing Small Is the Most Expensive Mistake You’ll Ever Make

Have you ever found yourself pulling back when things feel uncertain — thinking, “Maybe I should wait until things pick up”? In this episode, I’m diving into a truth that every entrepreneur needs to hear: playing small doesn’t protect you — it costs you. It costs you opportunities, clarity, and the momentum that actually moves your business forward.

If this year has felt slower, harder, or like your confidence has dipped, this one’s for you. I’ll show you why this exact season might be your most powerful setup yet — and how betting on yourself is the smartest investment you can make.

✨ Things I Cover:

• The real cost of inaction versus the return on investing in yourself
• Four key areas of ROI when you lean in: Perspective, Systems, Community, and Speed
• Why waiting for “someday” might be the most expensive decision in your business
• How top producers stay ahead — even in uncertain markets
• The mindset shift that turns slow seasons into seasons of setup

🚀 Ready to Play Bigger?
If this episode hits home, it’s your sign to stop trying to figure it out alone. DM me the word CEO on Instagram @itsraquelq or click the link in my bio to join The Agent CEO Accelerator — where we help ambitious agents build structure, clarity, and unstoppable momentum.

Because betting on yourself isn’t a cost — it’s your next level. 💥

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Thank you for joining me on this episode of The Raquel Show, and remember, keep pushing your limits to achieve your goals.

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Chapters

• 1:15 Why Entrepreneurs Are Built to Play Bigger
• 1:57 The Smartest Move in Uncertain Times
• 2:53 The Hidden Cost of Waiting
• 3:51 Preparation, Not Punishment
• 4:19 4 ROI Pillars of Investing in Yourself
• 8:57 The Real Cost of Fear
• 9:55 The Invitation: Agent CEO Accelerator
• 10:24 The Return on Courage
• 11:17 Final Thoughts and Reflection

Transcript

If you have been feeling like this year hasn't been your best, if your income has actually dipped or your momentum has slowed down, or it's just been challenging overall, I want you to hear me clearly. This is not a time to pull back. This is a time to lean in because playing small doesn't protect you. It costs you. It costs you opportunities. It costs you clarity. It costs you the momentum when everything kind of feels uncertain, the smartest move you can make is betting on you. And by the end of this episode, you'll see why the cost of inaction is far higher than the cost of growth.

Welcome back to another episode of The Raquel Show. 

This show is for entrepreneurs who want to play bigger in business and in life. And let's be honest, building a business isn't for the faint of heart, but you didn't get into this to play small. 

You came here to grow, to lead and to play bigger. So I'll want to jump right into it because today we're going to talk about something that's been on my heart lately, especially with where the market is right now. If you have been feeling like this year hasn't been your best, if your income has actually dipped or your momentum has slowed down, or it's just been challenging overall, I want you to hear me clearly. 

This is not a time to pull back. This is a time to lean in because playing small doesn't protect you. It costs you. It costs you opportunities. It costs you clarity. It costs you the momentum that comes from being guided and supportive. So today I want to flip your perspective on what it really means to invest in yourself because in seasons like this, when everything kind of feels uncertain, the smartest move you can make is betting on you. 

And by the end of this episode, you'll see why the cost of inaction is far higher than the cost of growth and why every single top producer invests, especially when things feel tough. So grab your notebook. This one could change how you think about money, mentorship and momentum. 

You see, I remember going through seasons where my business slowed down. And my first thought was maybe I should hold off on coaching. Maybe I should cut coaching or maybe I should pause on hiring or wait till things pick up. But what I learned the hard way is that waiting costs way more than investing because let me tell you, when you wait, you lose time. When you wait, you lose confidence. When you wait, guess what? You lose the edge that comes from having support and having strategy. 

And I've seen this over and over again, both in my career and with agents, I coach and agents in the industry, the ones who pull back when it gets hard, they spend the next season trying to play catch up. But the ones who actually lean in, who invest in coaching, who invest in systems and in community when others retreat, guess what? They come out stronger. 

They come out more prepared and they come out way ahead of everyone else, when the market shifts back. if you're in a slower season right now, I want you to see it differently. This isn't punishment. It's just preparation. It's the perfect time for you to build what's missing in your business, whether it's your systems, your foundation, your support, or even just a different mindset. Because when the next wave of opportunity hits, and it always does, guess what? You'll already be ready to scale and you won't be scrambling. 

So let's break it down into four areas of ROI when you invest in yourself, especially during the slow season. 

• Number one, you get perspective. 
• Number two is systems. 
• Number three is community. 
• And number four is speed. 

When the market is uncertain, the most valuable thing you can have isn't just leads, it's actually clarity. And when deals slow down and your emotions run high, you need someone that's outside of your business to help you see your blind spots. That's what great coaching does. It gives you direction when everything else feels cloudy. And it's so helpful when you have a coach that has the actual experience of doing some of the things that you want to do and that has the actual data of top agents across North America that can give you insight on what's happening real time. 

Every top producer pays for perspective because they know it shortens that distance between confusion and clarity. Guess what? You can't outwork confusion. You actually need a plan and perspective gives you that. So if you've been trying to figure it out alone, I want you to ask yourself this. 

How much has this really cost me in time and mistakes in missed opportunity?  Because I didn't want to pay for coaching or I wanted to hold off on coaching or I thought that I could find a cheaper route. Guess what? Prospective is leverage and leverage is what multiplies results. So pillar number two is systems. If this year exposed anything, it's that most agents don't have systems. They have survival habits. 

And when the market was hot, guess what? You could rely on momentum. You can make as many mistakes because you would get a lead and that lead became your client almost instantly. And you would show houses or you would list their properties. You'd write offers and then they would pay even more money to get the house. Well, systems are what turn chaos into consistency. They automate the repetitive. They free up your bandwidth, so that you can focus on what actually grows your revenue. 

So when you invest in system, whether it's automations, templates, dashboards, processes, you're not spending money. You're buying your time back. And that's why we build systems inside Agent CEO Accelerator, because the only way, the only way to scale sustainably is through structure. And so the next point that I want to bring up is community, because when things get hard, isolation and we all have a tendency to do this. 

We tend to pull back, go into isolation, but guess what? Isolation is the enemy. It's easy to think, my gosh, I'll just figure this out myself. But that mindset, believe it or not, will keep you stuck longer than anything else because growth happens faster in proximity. When you're surrounded by people who are learning, who are implementing and who are winning, it builds belief, accountability, and momentum. 

You start to think bigger, you start to move faster and you take bolder actions. That's why community is such a massive part of what we do inside of Agent CEO. See, we can sell all these different programs like with clicks, with email, with all the things. But what really makes agent CEO accelerator different is the community because in rooms like that, you borrow the belief until you build your own again. 

And sometimes that's exactly what keeps you in the game when it feels hard. And the next point is speed. You can't collapse time if you're doing everything alone. Investments collapse time. So you can spend years and years trying to figure it out, or you can spend months implementing with a mentor, a playbook and community. That's the ROI of investing. You get to buy speed. 

Because money always follows momentum. Money loves speed and we've heard it over and over and over. And when you move with clarity and confidence, guess what? Your energy shifts. Clients feel it. Opportunities find you. Speed creates income and income creates options. So I want you to take a moment and think about this. Where are you holding back in fear and calling it being smart? I'm going to say that again. 

Where are you holding back and fear and calling it being smart? What has that hesitation actually cost you in growth, in time, in peace of mind? What's one area of business that's screaming for your support, whether it's mentorship, systems or community, and what would change if you decided to go all in right now instead of waiting for that someday? 

Because someday isn't coming. And if you're listening to this, guess what? It means that you're ready. And if this episode hit home, it means that you're ready to stop trying to do it all alone. And I want to invite you to join us inside of the agent CEO accelerator, because inside the program, we help you create structure. We help you create clarity and momentum, even in uncertain markets. You'll get step-by-step systems to streamline your business. You'll get coaching that helps you think like a CEO, not just a salesperson. And you'll get a community of ambitious agents who are playing bigger together. I want you to DM me the word CEO on Instagram at @itsraquelq or click the link in my bio because investing in yourself isn't a cost. It's the key to your next level. 

And here's the truth. You will never regret betting on yourself. I promise you, you will never regret betting on yourself. You will only regret waiting too long to do it because the cost of comfort is growth and the return on courage is freedom. So don't wait for the market to tell you when it's a good time to grow. I want you guys to decide now because those who invest during the tough season become the ones everyone admires in the next season. 

Thank you all for tuning in to another quick episode of The Raquel Show and thanks for hanging out with me today. If this message resonate with you, share it with a friend and tag me at @itsraquelq so I can celebrate you in your next chapter. And until next time, keep taking action and keep investing in yourself and always, always, always Play Bigger.