Making Money Is Not The Same As Having Money (EP#66)
Even when revenue is strong, it’s common to still feel stressed, stretched, and unsure where the money is actually going. From understanding your ideal client to implementing Profit First, creating spaciousness in your day, and addressing scope creep, this episode is packed with tested advice to help you make money, and keep it.
In this episode of Money Secrets, Fi breaks dives into something so many business owners experience: making money is not the same as having money.
Listen to Episode 66
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
Making money is not the same as having money. Bringing in revenue doesn’t guarantee financial stability, how you manage that money is what creates profit and security.
How to increase revenue by focusing on the right clients. The clients you can do your best work for, and who value it most, are how to make more money with less effort.
Why business growth can lead to financial stress. Growth periods bring higher revenue, but also more pressure, longer hours, and increased (often unseen) spending.
How stress and busyness impact your spending habits. When you’re overwhelmed, it’s easy to make quick, reactive decisions that lead to higher expenses and less profit.
How Profit First helps you manage your money more effectively. Setting clear percentages for profit, pay, and expenses creates structure and helps you keep more of what you earn.
Why slowing down leads to better financial decisions. Creating space in your day, your schedule, and your thinking helps you move from reactive spending to intentional choices.
How over-delivering and scope creep affect profitability. Doing more than what clients are paying for can quietly reduce your margins and increase stress.
The connection between your nervous system and your money. Feeling frantic or overwhelmed can drive spending, learning to regulate yourself is part of managing your finances.
How to build a business that actually keeps money. With the right systems, pricing, and pace, you can move from just making money to creating real financial stability.
Making money is not the same as having money (EP#66)
Introduction
We've made a lot of progress as a society in many areas, but one thing that hasn’t changed enough is our relationship with money. If we want to tip the scales in favour of marginalised people, we need to understand the secrets to making money in small business.
The more we talk about money — especially the secrets that usually stay behind closed doors or on the golf course — the more empowered we become. My mission is to get more money into the hands of good people, specifically business owners like you.
Because I believe small business can change the world. And to do that, we need to be making more money.
Acknowledgement of Country
This episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. I’d like to acknowledge them as the Traditional Owners and custodians of this land and water that I live, work and play on.
I pay my respects to Elders past and present, and recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded. This always was, and always will be, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land.
Why Revenue Doesn’t Always Equal Financial Security
Fi explains that one of the biggest misconceptions in small business is assuming that high revenue automatically means someone is financially comfortable.
In reality, many founders with strong sales and fully booked calendars are still deeply stressed about money.
Why?
Because growth often creates pressure.
When business gets busy, business owners tend to:
Work longer hours
Make rushed decisions
Spend more money out of convenience
Ignore boundaries and scope creep
Lose visibility over expenses
Stop slowing down long enough to make intentional financial decisions
The result is a business that looks successful externally while internally feeling frantic and financially stretched.
The Client You Target Matters
One of the most powerful points Fi shares is that making more money often has less to do with working harder and more to do with working with the right clients.
Her question:
“Who is the client that I can do the best work of my life for?”
That client is usually the one who:
Values your expertise
Respects your process
Is willing to pay appropriately
Allows you to deliver your best work sustainably
Fi encourages business owners to think strategically about pricing, positioning, and client fit rather than simply trying to increase volume.
Busy Businesses Often Spend More
One of the most relatable parts of the episode is Fi’s breakdown of “stress spending” inside small business.
When things get busy, it’s easy to:
Order more takeaway
Catch Ubers instead of public transport
Buy more coffee
Spend impulsively on tools, subscriptions, or equipment
Hire quickly without enough planning
Upgrade things unnecessarily
Miss opportunities to save money because you’re moving too fast
Fi explains that these aren’t failures. They’re often nervous system responses to stress and overload.
The challenge is recognising when busy energy is leading to reactive financial decisions.
Profit First and Managing Money Intentionally
Fi shares one of her favourite financial management systems: Profit First.
The core idea is simple:
Decide in advance where your money goes.
Instead of spending first and hoping profit is left over, Profit First encourages business owners to allocate percentages of income intentionally across:
Profit
Owner pay
Tax
Expenses
Fi recommends keeping operating expenses to roughly 25% of income where possible, explaining that having clear boundaries around spending can dramatically improve financial stability.
Most importantly, Profit First creates awareness.
It helps business owners notice when stress, urgency, or poor planning are causing unnecessary spending.
Spaciousness as a Business Strategy
One of the most powerful themes in this episode is the idea of “spaciousness.”
Inspired by Dr. Anthea Todd, Fi shares how she’s been intentionally creating more spaciousness in:
Her calendar
Her workdays
Her dog walks
Her breathing
Her speaking
Her routines
Rather than rushing through life and business in a constant state of urgency, Fi explores what it means to intentionally slow down.
Because slowing down creates room for:
Better decisions
Clearer thinking
Nervous system regulation
More intentional spending
Sustainable growth
And importantly, spaciousness doesn’t have to mean doing less.
It can simply mean approaching business differently.
Scope Creep and Over-Delivering
Another major contributor to financial stress is over-delivering.
Fi encourages business owners to honestly assess:
Are your prices actually reflecting the work involved?
Are clients receiving more than they’re paying for?
Have boundaries slowly disappeared?
Are you absorbing extra labour without adjusting pricing?
When scope creep becomes normalised, businesses often become less profitable despite being busier than ever.
This creates the perfect environment for burnout, overspending, and financial anxiety.
Nervous System Regulation Matters
Fi also reminds listeners that business growth can be emotionally activating.
Excitement, adrenaline, stress, pressure, opportunity, and fear can all exist simultaneously.
That’s why nervous system regulation matters.
Some of Fi’s suggestions include:
Spending time in nature
Looking at the ocean
Walking slowly
Spending time with calming people
Getting your feet onto grass, dirt, or sand
Building more space into your schedule
Speaking more slowly
Reducing frantic energy where possible
Because often, the issue isn’t capability.
It’s capacity.
Good Money Club
If this conversation resonated, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
Good Money Club is open right now.
Inside Good Money Club, women business owners:
Learn to understand and manage their own money
Build financial roadmaps
Develop sustainable pricing strategies
Get accountability and support
Increase revenue and take-home pay
Make bold, ethical money decisions
If you’re ready to:
Earn more
Pay yourself properly
Build a sustainable business
Reduce money stress
Close your own revenue gap
You can learn more about Good Money Club while doors are open.
Final thoughts
Making money and having money are two very different skills.
One is about generating revenue.
The other is about managing energy, decisions, systems, boundaries, and spending.
This episode is an important reminder that:
Revenue doesn’t automatically create safety
Growth without systems can create chaos
Slowing down is not laziness
Financial stress is incredibly common for business owners
Profitability and sustainability matter more than appearances
And most importantly:
You are not failing if your business is growing and money still feels emotionally complicated.
Outro
Thank you for listening to Money Secrets. If you loved this episode, please subscribe, share it with a friend, or leave a review. Your support helps us get these conversations into the hands of more good people who deserve to thrive in business.
We’ve come so far as a society in many ways, but money is one of the areas where progress hasn’t been enough. If we want to tip the scales in favour of marginalised people, it starts with understanding the secret: money in small business.
In this podcast, Money Secrets, host Fiona (Fi) Johnston—Chartered Accountant, small business advocate, and impact enthusiast—dives into the conversations we need to have about money. The secrets that once stayed behind closed doors (or on the golf course) are finally out in the open.
Fi’s mission? To get more money into the hands of good people, like you. She believes small businesses have the power to change the world, and the key to making a bigger impact is to make—and manage—more money.
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Thank you to everyone involved for bringing this podcast together. We are excited to hear from you with any questions, feedback or suggestions for future episodes that you might have. Send a Direct Message to @peach.business
If you are excited for what’s to come, please like this episode, follow the podcast and share it with your friends. We are thrilled you're here.
Want to find out more about Good Money Club? It's for female and non-binary business owners ready to make more money and impact. Join us?
Check out my FREE Pricing Training you need to set your prices for profitability.
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This podcast episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation and I'd like to acknowledge them as the Traditional Owners and custodians of this land and water that I live, work and play on. I'd like to pay respect to elders both past and present, and note that sovereignty has never been ceded. This always was and always will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land. Productivity and automation aren’t the answer
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