This week, in an attempt to cut down on expenses, I downgraded my Planoly subscription to the free plan. For those unfamiliar, Planoly is a platform that helps manage and schedule social media content, something I rely on to keep things running smoothly behind the scenes.
The moment I downgraded, I knew I had made a mistake. I lost access to most of the features I’d grown used to, especially auto-posting, which basically defeats the purpose of having a scheduling platform in the first place. I tried to make do. I moved over to Meta’s native scheduling tool since it’s free, but it was clunky, unintuitive, and visually uninspiring. The last bit mattered a lot, especially when you’re someone who builds a brand rooted in design and detail.
Time is my most precious (and limited) resource. I thought I was saving money, but I was really just spending more time. And for a solo founder and mom of two, time is not something I have extra of.
So I went back to Planoly and upgraded to my old plan, only to find the price had doubled. The same exact plan, same features, same functionality, was now twice the cost. I was stunned. I did some digging and found that legacy customers, like myself, had been grandfathered into the old pricing tier. I’ve had my account since 2021. Technically, it was my mistake for downgrading, so I could have just accepted it and moved on.
But something nudged me to ask.
I emailed their team, explained the situation, and asked if they’d be willing to reinstate my legacy rate, a small request, backed by long-time loyalty. To my surprise, they got back to me the very next day. And by day three, they had restored my old rate. Just like that.
I was delighted, of course. But more than anything, it was a reminder:
Ask. Even when it's your own oversight. Even when you feel unsure, or it’s easier not to.
You never know what doors open when you simply advocate for yourself. No one’s going to hand you what you don’t ask for. And sometimes, the win is just one question away.
With love,
Maria