Want a quick refresh of the best money advice we’ve shared so far? This remix brings the core ideas together in one place. It’s designed to help you step back, see the bigger picture, and focus on the fundamentals that actually drive profitability and long-term success in small business.

In this episode of *Money Secrets*, Fi pulls together 10 of the most powerful takeaways from past episodes — in one juicy mixtape.

Listen to Episode 63

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Why your business model underpins everything. Strong, profitable businesses are built on clear structure, not just good ideas or marketing.
Why most small business owners are underpricing. Pricing is shaped by value, demand, and confidence, not just numbers.
How to approach financial goals in a practical way. Goals are about designing your business, not predicting the future.
What it takes to increase your prices. Moving to higher pricing requires clearer positioning and stronger communication.
The most common money challenges female business owners face. Undercharging, lack of confidence, and lack of strategy continue to hold many founders back.
Why strategy should be simple and focused. Doing fewer things, more intentionally, leads to better outcomes.
How managing your money builds confidence. Clear systems and visibility make better decision-making possible.
Why time is your most valuable resource. How you spend your time directly impacts your revenue and growth.
The difference between $30 decisions and $30,000 decisions. Focusing on high-impact decisions is what drives real progress.
Why long-term thinking matters for growth. Investing time in your business, not just client work, is key to increasing revenue sustainably.

10 Lessons for Small Business Growth and Profit - Money Secrets Mixtape (Ep#63)

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.

This episode is a practical reset on how to think about money in your business.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing a lot in your business but not seeing the results you expected, this episode is for you.

Because making money in small business isn’t about doing more, it’s about focusing on the right things.

In this remix episode of Money Secrets, Fi brings together 10 of the most important and practical money lessons shared across the podcast so far. These are the ideas that consistently come up when working with small business owners, regardless of industry or stage.

Think of this as a reset, a chance to step back, simplify your thinking, and refocus on what actually drives growth, profitability, and sustainability.

The 10 money secrets that actually move the needle

1. Your business model is everything

At the core of every successful business is a strong business model.

This is how your business fits together, how you deliver value, who you serve, how you make money, and what sits behind the scenes to support it.

When your business model works, everything else becomes easier. When it doesn’t, no amount of marketing or effort will fix it.

2. You’re probably underpricing

Underpricing is one of the most common patterns Fi sees, particularly among women in business.

But pricing isn’t just a numbers problem.

It’s influenced by confidence, past experiences, and how clearly you understand and communicate your value. Many business owners price based on what feels “safe” rather than what reflects the true impact of their work.

Sustainable pricing comes from three things working together:

understanding the value you create
building demand through marketing
communicating that value clearly

Without that alignment, increasing your prices will always feel difficult.

3. Goals are about design, not prediction

A common misconception is that financial goals are about predicting the future.

They’re not.

They’re about designing the business you want to build.

How many clients do you want to work with? What do you want to charge? What kind of capacity do you want to have?

Once you define that, you can start working backwards and adjusting along the way.

The real power of goal-setting isn’t in getting it “right”. It’s in regularly reviewing your progress and making informed changes based on what’s actually happening in your business.

4. Increasing your prices requires a strategy

Raising your prices isn’t just a decision, it’s a process.

It often requires shifting towards a different type of client, refining your positioning, and improving how you communicate the value of your work.

There’s also a transition period to navigate as you move from existing clients to higher-paying, better-aligned ones.

This can feel uncomfortable, but it’s a normal part of growth. With the right strategy, you can gradually move your business towards more profitable, sustainable pricing.

5. The biggest money challenges are behavioural

Many money challenges in business aren’t about knowledge — they’re about behaviour.

Fi highlights three common patterns for female business owners:

undercharging
lack of confidence
lack of strategy

These are often shaped by social conditioning, past experiences, and fear around money.

For example, over-servicing clients or avoiding pricing conversations isn’t a technical issue — it’s behavioural.

Recognising these patterns is the first step to changing them and making more strategic decisions in your business.

6. Strategy should simplify, not complicate

If your business feels overwhelming, it’s often a sign that things are too complex.

Too many offers, too many client types, too many moving parts.

Strategy isn’t about adding more. It’s about simplifying.

It’s about identifying what actually works, focusing your efforts there, and removing or reducing everything else.

Clear, simple businesses are easier to run, easier to market, and more profitable in the long run.

7. Managing your money builds confidence

A lot of business owners avoid looking at their finances because it feels overwhelming or unclear.

But avoiding it creates more stress, not less.

When you have clear systems for managing your money, knowing what’s coming in, what’s allocated, and what you can spend, it creates a sense of calm and control.

This confidence changes how you make decisions, and it removes the fear around earning more money.

Because when you trust yourself to manage money, you’re more open to making it.

8. Time is your most valuable resource

Time is one of the most valuable and most misunderstood resources in small business.

Every time you choose to spend time on client work instead of working on your business, you’re making a trade-off between short-term income and long-term growth.

Investing time into your marketing, systems, and strategy might not deliver immediate results, but it builds the foundations for future revenue.

Creating space to think, plan, and refine your business is essential if you want to grow sustainably.

9. Focus on $30,000 decisions, not $30 ones

It’s easy to get caught up in small decisions: cutting costs, cancelling subscriptions, or optimising minor expenses.

But these are rarely the things that significantly impact your business.

The biggest results come from focusing on high-impact decisions:

pricing
clients
positioning
revenue strategy

Spending more time on these “$30,000 decisions” is what drives meaningful growth.

10. Growth comes from long-term thinking

If your time is fully consumed by delivering work, there’s no space left to grow.

Long-term growth requires investing time into your business, even when it feels like you “should” be focusing on immediate income.

This might look like improving your marketing, refining your offers, or building systems that support scale.

It’s not always the most urgent work, but it’s often the most important.

Balancing short-term income with long-term investment is what allows your business to grow in a sustainable way.

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

There’s no single tactic or strategy that will transform your business overnight.

But there are patterns: ways of thinking, deciding, and acting that consistently lead to better results.

This episode brings those patterns together in one place.

You don’t need to do everything. You just need to focus on what matters most and commit to doing it well.

And when you do, making money in your business becomes clearer, more structured, and far more achievable.

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.

10 Lessons for Small Business Growth and Profit - Money Secrets Mixtape (Ep#63)

Want a quick refresh of the best money advice we’ve shared so far? This remix brings the core ideas together in one place. It’s designed to help you step back, see the bigger picture, and focus on the fundamentals that actually drive profitability and long-term success in small business.