7 Mistakes You’re Making with Owner Pay (And How to Stop Funding Your Business With Your Nervous System)

You just finished a $50,000 month. On paper, you’re killing it. You should be out celebrating with a glass of something expensive or at least buying that pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing for three months.

Instead, it’s 11:45 PM. You’re sitting at the kitchen table, the glow of your laptop the only light in the house, staring at a bank balance that doesn’t seem to match the "success" you’re seeing on your P&L. Your kids are asleep, the house is finally quiet, and all you can think is: Where did the money go? And why am I the last person to get paid?

If you’re a female business owner pulling in $200k+ in revenue and you’re still "taking what’s left" at the end of the month, you aren’t running a business. You’re running a very expensive, very high-stress hobby that is currently being subsidized by your nervous system.

At Purpose Driven Freedom, we see this every day. You’re brilliant at what you do, but you’re likely making one (or all) of these seven mistakes with your owner pay. It’s time to stop being the bottleneck and start being the beneficiary of your own hard work.

1. The "What’s Left Over" Strategy

This is the most common mistake we see with owners hitting that $200k–$500k mark. You pay the rent. You pay the vendors. You pay your team (and you pay them well because you’re a good human). Then, if there’s a few dollars rattling around the bottom of the bucket, you transfer it to your personal account.

The Reality Check: When you pay yourself last, you are telling your brain, and your business, that you are the least important expense. This creates a cycle of scarcity. If the business knows it can just "borrow" your salary to cover a late invoice, it will never learn to be efficient.

You need to set a fixed owner’s draw or salary. If the business can't afford to pay its CEO, the business model is broken. Period.

2. Funding Your Business with Your Nervous System

Have you ever checked your bank account at 3:00 AM? That’s not a financial strategy; it’s a symptom of a dysregulated nervous system. Many owners use their own stress as a "buffer" for the business. You skip your pay to "keep the peace" or avoid a tough conversation with a vendor.

You are effectively using your own mental health as a line of credit. The interest rate on that "loan" is burnout, resentment, and missing out on the moments that actually matter, like being present at soccer practice instead of mentally calculating payroll.

Our mentors at Purpose Driven Freedom have been in that 3:00 AM panic. We know that reliable revenue systems are the only way to stop the stress-checking and start trusting your numbers.

3. Treating Gross Revenue Like Spendable Cash

When that big client payment hits, it feels amazing. $20,000 in the bank! You feel rich for exactly four minutes. Then you remember the taxes. And the overhead. And the software subscriptions.

One of the biggest mistakes is failing to separate your "tax money" from your "operating money" from your "owner money." If you are spending your tax money to run the business, you are essentially taking an unauthorized loan from the government. That never ends well.

The Fix: Open a separate tax savings account. Every time a dollar comes in, a percentage goes out to that account immediately. It’s not your money. It never was.

4. The "Lone Wolf" Financial Trap

As a woman business owner, you likely don’t have a group of "work friends" to grab coffee with and ask, "Hey, how much are you taking in draws this quarter?" You are figuring this out in a vacuum.

Most owners don't have colleagues. They have employees, vendors, and family members who think they’re "rich" because they own a company. This isolation leads to bad decision-making. You don’t know what you don’t know, and you’re too tired to go looking for the answers in a 100-tab spreadsheet.

This is why mentorship is different than coaching. A coach asks you how you feel; a mentor tells you how they fixed the exact same mess you’re currently in.

5. Confusing "Profit" with "Cash"

Your accountant tells you that you made a $50,000 profit this year. Great! But where is it?

Often, that "profit" is sitting in unpaid invoices, equipment you bought, or principal payments on debt. You can’t pay your mortgage with "accounting profit." If you’re making mistakes with how you track your cash flow, you’ll find yourself profitable on paper but broke at the grocery store.

You need one source of truth. Without it, you’re just guessing. And guessing is what leads to that frantic "funding the business with your savings" move that we’re trying to avoid.

6. Sacrificing Your "Freedom Score" for a Fancy Title

Are you the CEO, or are you just a very highly-stressed employee of your own company?

If you stop working, does the money stop coming in? If the answer is yes, you haven't built an asset; you've built a job you can't quit. Many owners underpay themselves because they are trying to "grow" the business, but they are growing a monster that requires 80 hours a week of their time.

True freedom is when the business manages outcomes instead of people. Your pay should be a reflection of the value the business creates, not just the hours you put in.

7. Skipping the Systemization of Your Own Pay

If your payroll for your team is automated, but your own pay is a manual, emotional decision every month, you’re making a mistake.

When pay is an emotional decision, it becomes a "guilt-based" decision. “Well, we had a slow month, so I’ll just take half.” or “I didn’t work as hard this week because the kids were home sick, so I don’t deserve a full draw.”

Stop it. You wouldn’t do that to an employee, so why are you doing it to yourself?

How to Stop the Bleeding (In 240 Minutes)

If you’re reading this and feeling a bit called out: good. That means you’re ready for a change. You’ve hit a ceiling. You’ve scaled to $200k+, but the "more money, more problems" cliché is starting to feel very real.

You don't need another 6-month coaching program to "find your why." You need a mentor who can look at your mess and say, "Here is the system. Here is the path. Here is how you get your life back."

This is exactly why we created the 240 Minute Owner Transformation. In just four hours, we help you stop the leak. We look at your cash cadence, your profit margins, and your "Runs Without Me" score.

We’ve worked with countless women who were running both a business and a home on pure adrenaline. We helped them move from "funding the business with their nervous system" to building a legacy that provides actual, tangible freedom.

Purpose is where it starts. Freedom is what follows.

You started this business because you wanted freedom. You wanted to choose your hours, be there for your kids, and build something meaningful. Somewhere along the way, the business became the boss, and you became the servant.

It’s time to flip the script.

You don't have to figure this out alone. You don't have to keep choosing between your business’s bank account and your own well-being. Our mentors at Purpose Driven Freedom have been through the fire, and we’re here to hand you the fire extinguisher.

The question is: Are you ready to stop being the most expensive "volunteer" in your own company?

Let’s get you paid. Let’s get you your time back. Let’s get you the freedom you actually deserve.

Ready to see what 4 hours can do for your business? Check out the 240 Minute Owner Transformation and let’s get to work.