What if creating more impact starts with taking better care of yourself?

Why do so many purpose-led business owners put their mission, clients, team, and business expenses ahead of their own financial well-being?

In this episode of Money Secrets, Fi explores a pattern she has seen repeatedly throughout her 25 years of working with purpose-led founders: business owners sacrificing their own income, wellbeing, and financial future in order to keep their mission moving forward.

Listen to Episode 74

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Why purpose-led founders often sacrifice themselves for the mission. Explore why business owners put their own income and wellbeing last.
Why you should see yourself as the first person impacted by your business. Learn why your financial wellbeing needs to be part of your impact strategy.
How your money psychology influences business decisions. Discover how beliefs about profit, income, pricing, and money shape the actions you take.
How to recognise unhelpful money behaviours in your business. Learn what procrastinating on invoices, proposals, and financial tasks can reveal about your relationship with money.
Why profit isn't the enemy of purpose. Understand how healthy profit helps your business grow, invest in its mission, and create more positive change.
Why paying yourself first needs to become a priority. Shift from paying yourself whatever is left over to treating your wage as an essential business expense.
The two fundamental ways to increase your revenue. Learn why growing your income comes down to selling more or charging more.
How choosing the right clients can support higher prices. Discover why working with clients who value and can invest in your offer can strengthen your pricing strategy.
Why revenue goals need to become a maths equation. Learn how to break down your revenue target by how many things you need to sell and at what price.
Why income and impact can grow together. Understand how more revenue can help you support causes, communities, clients, and your wider mission.
Why sustainable impact starts with taking care of yourself. Learn why paying yourself well and protecting your wellbeing allows you to create impact for the long term.

Stop sacrificing yourself (EP#74)

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 purpose-led founders need to put themselves first

Too many purpose-led business owners are sacrificing their own financial wellbeing in the name of making a difference.

They work long hours, underpay themselves and put every other bill ahead of their own salary—all because they believe that's what it takes to create impact.

But what if that thinking is actually holding your mission back?

In this episode of Money Secrets, Fi Johnston explores why paying yourself isn't selfish—it's one of the most important things you can do if you want to build a sustainable business that creates lasting impact

The Link Between Thoughts, Behaviours and Results

One of the key ideas Fi explores in this episode is that our money thoughts don't just live inside our heads—they influence the actions we take every day.

Sometimes those thoughts are obvious.

You might think:

"I could never charge that much."
"I'm not experienced enough."
"People like me don't make that kind of money."

Other times, the thoughts are so automatic that we barely notice them.

But they still influence how we show up.

They affect:

Whether we pitch ourselves for opportunities
How confidently we price our services
Whether we hire support
How we respond to setbacks
The risks we're willing to take

As Fi explains, we don't always have direct access to the thoughts driving our behaviour. That's why creating opportunities to observe them can be so valuable.

Are You Always the Last Person to Get Paid?

When business becomes challenging, many founders make the same decision.

Revenue drops.
A client leaves.
Funding changes.
Sales slow down.

Rather than looking elsewhere, they immediately reduce their own salary.

Sound familiar?

For many purpose-led founders, sacrificing personal income feels like the responsible thing to do. But over time, this creates a business that's only sustainable because the founder is absorbing the financial pressure.

The result?

Lower personal income.
Less superannuation.
Increased stress.
Burnout.
Resentment.

Fi encourages business owners to flip this thinking completely.

Instead of paying yourself last, start thinking of yourself as the first person your business needs to support.

Paying Yourself First Isn't Selfish

One of the biggest mindset shifts Fi encourages is treating your salary as a non-negotiable business expense.

Just like rent, software or wages for your team, your income deserves to be protected.

After all, you're the person carrying the vision, serving clients and making every strategic decision in the business.

If the founder isn't financially healthy, neither is the business.

Paying yourself properly isn't about greed.

It's about sustainability.

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 the doors are open.

The Money Beliefs That Keep Founders Stuck

Many purpose-led business owners have complicated relationships with words like profit, income and wealth.

For some, profit feels uncomfortable or even at odds with their mission.

But profit isn't the opposite of purpose.

Profit is what allows purpose to continue.

Fi encourages founders to become curious about their own money beliefs by paying attention to everyday business moments.

Ask yourself:

How do I feel when I send an invoice?
Do I procrastinate before sending proposals?
How do I react when it's time to increase my prices?
What emotions come up when I receive a tax bill?

Our behaviours around money often reveal the beliefs quietly influencing every financial decision we make.

If You Want More Revenue, Start With Pricing

When founders decide they want to pay themselves more, the next question is usually:

"Where will the money come from?"

There are only two ways to increase revenue:

Sell more.
Charge more.

While many businesses immediately focus on finding more clients, Fi suggests looking at pricing first.

Rather than asking whether your current clients will pay more, ask whether you're targeting the right clients altogether.

The businesses that receive the greatest value from your work are often willing—and able—to invest more.

Sometimes increasing revenue isn't about working harder.

It's about working with clients who better understand the value you provide.

Income Creates Impact

One of the biggest takeaways from this episode is a simple but powerful idea:

Income equals impact.

Without revenue, it's impossible to create sustainable change.

Income allows businesses to:

Invest in their teams.
Donate to causes they care about.
Offer pro bono services.
Develop better products.
Reach more people.
Expand their mission.

For purpose-led businesses, making more money isn't moving away from the mission.

It's what makes the mission possible.

Want to Make More Money Without Losing Your Purpose?

If you're a purpose-led business owner who wants to increase both your income and your impact, Fi's free More Money, More Mission masterclass will show you how.

You'll learn practical strategies for:

Increasing revenue.
Pricing with confidence.
Choosing better-fit clients.
Managing money strategically.
Growing a business that creates lasting impact.

If you're ready to stop sacrificing yourself and start building a business that's sustainable for both you and your mission, this is the perfect next step.

Final thoughts

Purpose-led founders are incredibly generous.

They care deeply about their clients, their communities and the change they want to create.

But too often, they forget to include themselves in that mission.

Your business should improve your life as well as the lives of the people you serve.

Because when you pay yourself well, build a profitable business and protect your own wellbeing, you're creating the strongest possible foundation for making an even bigger impact in the world.

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

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