Why Money Follows Fun (And Why I Had to Learn It the Hard Way)

I’ve been working with small business owners for 25 years. In that time, I’ve learned a lot of things I wish someone had told me on day one, but the one that would have saved me the most time, energy, and heartache is this: money follows fun, and money follows speed.

It sounds simple. It isn’t. Most of us have to exhaust ourselves first before we’re willing to believe it.

The Overachiever Trap

I was a dance squad captain, in all the advanced classes, taking on extra shifts at every job I ever had. When I went out on my own, I brought every bit of that energy with me. I worked and worked and worked myself to death for the first five or six years, and I was single, so what else did I have to do?

The business became my identity and my entire social life. On the surface, it looked like dedication. Underneath, it was avoidance. When you’re grinding that hard, you don’t have to ask yourself the uncomfortable questions,  like whether the business is actually serving your life, or whether you’ve quietly become its servant.

“I worked myself to death in the first five, six years until I figured out, you don’t need to do that. You can do it differently.”

The hustle isn’t the problem. The problem is when hustle becomes the only tool you have, and stopping feels more dangerous than burning out.

Ask yourself honestly:

Is the pace you’re keeping right now a growth strategy,  or a way of not having to think about something else?

The Year Everything Changed

There was a turning point for me. I had a mentor tell me to stop focusing on what I needed to do and instead just be, be love, be present, show up without an agenda. At the time, I thought that was the most useless advice I’d ever heard. I was a doer. Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. Just felt like a waste of time.

It took me a full year to actually try it. I started showing up to networking events without a pitch. I asked questions instead of looking for leads. I stopped treating every room like a sales floor. And something strange happened: I crossed $100,000 in revenue for the first time, and I found love, in the same twelve months.

My income had always tracked my personal fulfillment more closely than my marketing tactics. I just hadn’t been paying attention to the right thing.

“Business is only partly fulfilling if you don’t have love in your life. Money and love have to flow together.”

When you’re depleted, anxious, or running on resentment, that energy bleeds into every client interaction, every sales conversation, every offer you put into the world. But when your life outside the business is rich, when you have genuine joy, connection, and love, you stop needing the business to fill a void. And paradoxically, it tends to grow faster.

The Business Is the Vehicle. Life Is the Destination.

I now talk about getting more love in your life and more money in your business as a unified strategy, not two separate goals. Most entrepreneurs keep them in completely separate mental boxes: personal life over here, business over there. But they feed each other constantly. You can’t compartmentalize your way to sustainable success.

If your business feels like a grind right now, the first question I’d ask isn’t about your marketing or your pricing. It’s: what’s missing from your life outside the business? Sometimes the answer to a revenue plateau has nothing to do with revenue.

Stop redesigning the business in isolation. Start redesigning it around the life you actually want.

1. Call for Authors & Speakers – I’m looking for authors AND speakers this year for my Power of Connection book and virtual summit happening this Summer. I have a client filling a book with co-authors called The Way She Leads. And I have openings for about 5 more clients writing solo books this year. Will you be one of these best-selling authors? 

2. PolkaDot Powerhouse Events – If you’re looking for more connection, sisterhood, support, and community with other positive-minded women, then I would invite you to check out what we’re doing at Polka Dot Placer County! Learn more about our upcoming events and get on the email invite list here. (P.S. There are chapters everywhere and online if you’re not local to me, still go.)

3. She Levels Up Mentorship (Monthly Coaching Program) – If you’re ready to get coached, be seen, take aligned action, and you want real-time strategy from someone who sees the whole you (not just your funnels)… You belong here. This is for ambitious women on a mission to create a better life for themselves, their family, and those they serve. Click here to learn more.

4. Book Self-Publishing Support and Launches – these services are all 1-on-1 right now, and pricing is all “a la carte” depending on what you need. I love helping people self-publish as it’s the fastest way to get your message out there and start getting your book to work FOR YOU in your business, bringing in leads, clients, and speaking. Learn more here.

5. Speaking opportunities and Co-Author opportunities – there are many… if you want to learn more about these, book a call, please.

6. 10th Annual Women’s Wealth Symposium happening on March 7, 2026 – 150 women in one amazing room at The Highland Dallas, Curio Collection by Hilton. More info HERE.

7. Voices of Women Summit 2026 on March 4, 2026 | Live on Zoom – Join us for a transformative virtual event featuring inspiring women from around the world. Gain powerful insights, tools, and strategies to elevate your life, career, and purpose. I’ll be speaking about the Unshakeable Self-Trust: The New Non-Negotiables for Women Who Are Done Playing Small. Make sure to register HERE.

8. Remember to attend the calls in my NEW FREE Training Series! I still haven’t had time to put together a sign-up page, but you’re already on my list, so I’m just going to give you the schedule and the Zoom link, and you can put the ones on the calendar that YOU want to attend live! (No replays at this time, depends on what I share on these and who shows up) Same Zoom Link for All. 

• THURSDAY, MAR 5TH, 9-10 am PST: Leveling Up Your Value Ladder, Pricing, Worth, and Income. Women tend to undercharge and undervalue themselves. If you think there’s room to levelup then join me for this one!

I know how to show you how to tweak what you’re doing to get really BIG RESULTS in the next year! Book a 1on1 clarity session with me here now! Here’s to creating and enjoying a life full of lots of Love & Money!

Katrina Sawa, The Jumpstart Your Biz Coach

I know how to show you how to tweak what you’re doing to get really BIG RESULTS in the next year! Book a 1on1 clarity session with me here now! Here’s to creating and enjoying a life full of lots of Love & Money!

Katrina Sawa, The Jumpstart Your Biz Coach