Joanna Vargas - The Get Up Girl Podcast

06/04/2026

The Most Expensive Lesson I Ever Learned About Money

When I look back on my life, there is one financial mistake that stands above all the others.

I didn't invest when I started my first job at 16 years old.

Not because I didn't have opportunities. Not because I didn't earn money. I didn't invest because I had the completely wrong mindset about money when I was younger.

I genuinely believed that saving and investing were things that boring people did. I thought successful people spent money. I thought the goal was to enjoy what you earned, buy nice things, and show the world that you were doing well.

If I'm being honest, I thought investing was kind of nerdy.

What I didn't understand at the time was that the people quietly building wealth weren't the ones trying to look rich. They were the ones making decisions that would allow them to become rich.

Today, I often think about what would have happened if I had invested just 10% of every dollar I earned from my very first paycheck. Not 50%. Not some unrealistic amount. Just 10%.

The math is painful.

If I had started investing when I first started earning money, there is a very good chance I would be a multi-millionaire today. Not because I made extraordinary amounts of money, but because I would have given compound interest decades to work in my favor.

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time, grab my 16-year-old self by the shoulders, and shake some sense into her.

I would tell her that investing isn't boring. It's freedom. It's options. It's being able to make decisions later in life because you gave yourself a financial foundation early on. I would tell her that every dollar invested is a future employee working for you around the clock.

Instead, I spent years believing that wealth was created by earning more money when, in reality, wealth is often created by keeping and investing a portion of what you earn.

One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that they'll start investing when they make more money. The truth is that investing is a habit, not an income level. If you don't develop the habit when your income is small, there's a good chance you won't develop it when your income grows.

I learned this lesson the hard way, and I wish someone had drilled it into my head when I was young.

Every dollar you earn has two possible jobs. You can spend it today, or you can put it to work so it can continue earning money long after you've moved on to the next paycheck.

The earlier you understand that, the more options you'll have later in life.

I can't go back and change my decisions. But if sharing this experience helps someone else start investing sooner than I did, then at least my mistake wasn't completely wasted.

One of the reasons I enjoy coaching business owners today is because I see people making many of the same mistakes I made. Not just with money, but with decision making, growth, leadership, and long-term planning.

Experience is a great teacher, but it can also be an expensive one.

If you're looking for guidance on growing your business, building better habits, and creating a stronger foundation for your future, I'm opening a limited number of coaching spots.

You can apply using the link below. If we're a good fit, we'll explore how to help you reach your goals faster and avoid some of the costly lessons that many entrepreneurs learn the hard way.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfKV2McXJeetFa71-5f8EhAoOf-DimUO-EyAE4ZkkDwKXtu5A/viewform?usp=publish-editor

06/01/2026

Stop Blaming the Economy for Every Business Problem

This might not be a popular opinion, but I believe too many business owners use the economy as an excuse for problems that actually exist inside their own businesses.

Whenever sales slow down, people immediately point to inflation, interest rates, consumer spending habits, or market uncertainty. While those factors certainly impact businesses, they are often used to avoid asking the harder questions.

If the economy is the only reason your business is struggling, how do you explain the companies in your industry that are still growing?

The reality is that customers are still spending money. They are simply becoming more selective about where they spend it. They have more options, more information, and more transparency than ever before. Before making a purchase, they can read reviews, compare competitors, and learn everything they need to know about your reputation in a matter of minutes.

That means businesses can no longer survive by being average.
Average service doesn't stand out. Average products don't create loyalty. Average experiences don't generate referrals.

What concerns me is that many owners spend more time searching for external reasons behind their struggles than they do examining what's happening internally. Instead of asking what the economy is doing to them, they should be asking what they can do better for their customers.

Is the product truly exceptional? Is the service creating loyalty?

Would you choose your own company over your competitors if you were a customer?

Those questions are uncomfortable because they force accountability. However, they are often where the biggest opportunities for growth are hiding.

The businesses that thrive in difficult markets are rarely the ones waiting for conditions to improve. They are the ones constantly improving themselves.

Growth starts when we stop looking for excuses and start looking for solutions.

If you're looking for guidance on growing your business, building better habits, and creating a stronger foundation for your future,

I'm opening a limited number of coaching spots,apply here!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfKV2McXJeetFa71-5f8EhAoOf-DimUO-EyAE4ZkkDwKXtu5A/viewform?usp=publish-editor

05/29/2026

Business Has Become Too Focused on Marketing and Not Focused Enough on People

One of the strongest opinions I have about business today is that too many owners are obsessed with marketing and completely overlooking the customer experience.

Everywhere I look, people are chasing the next social media trend, hiring content creators, learning the newest AI tool, and trying to figure out how to get more attention online. While all of those things can help bring customers through the door, very few people are talking about what happens after they arrive.

Marketing can get someone to buy from you once. The experience you provide is what determines whether they come back.

I've watched businesses spend thousands of dollars generating leads only to lose customers because nobody answered the phone, nobody followed up, or the product simply didn't deliver on the promise. Then when sales start slowing down, the first thing they blame is the economy.

Sometimes the economy plays a role. But sometimes the truth is much simpler. The product isn't as good as the owner thinks it is. The customer service isn't memorable. The business has become transactional instead of relational.

What many business owners fail to realize is that consumers have changed. People are smarter than they used to be. They can sense when a company genuinely cares about them and when they're being treated like another number. They can spot fake authenticity almost immediately, and they're becoming less willing to tolerate it.

The businesses that will continue to grow are not necessarily the ones with the biggest marketing budgets. They are the ones that consistently make people feel valued, appreciated, and understood. They create experiences worth talking about, which turns customers into advocates.

The future of business is not becoming more digital. It's becoming more human. The companies that understand that will win.

Apply here and let's work together if you are a female founder who is done playing small, done hiding, and ready to operate at the level your business actually requires.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfKV2McXJeetFa71-5f8EhAoOf-DimUO-EyAE4ZkkDwKXtu5A/viewform

05/28/2026

Latest article is out! I write all about what I am noticing in business. It's time to focus on our product and our people...

What happens after we make the sale?

Make your product better and watch your business grow

05/19/2026

Becoming a Student Again at 48
You’re not behind… you’re just being asked to evolve.

One of the biggest challenges I’m facing right now is learning how to keep up with the speed of technology, AI, social media, and the constantly changing world of digital marketing. And honestly, I know I’m not the only one feeling this way.

I’ve been an entrepreneur for over 30 years, which means I built businesses in a completely different era. I started before Instagram, TikTok, Canva, AI tools, online branding, and personal content creation were even part of business. Back then, businesses grew through word of mouth, community relationships, flyers, networking events, referrals, and real life human connection. You built trust face to face. You built businesses by showing up consistently, getting to know people personally, learning names, and becoming part of the community.

Now the landscape changes almost weekly. One week there’s a new platform everyone says you need to master. Every week there’s a new algorithm, a new marketing strategy, or a new AI tool that people claim is going to completely change business forever. Sometimes it honestly feels overwhelming trying to keep up with all of it while also running a business, managing life, and staying mentally present.

I think a lot of entrepreneurs in their 40s and 50s quietly struggle with the fear of being left behind in a world that seems to move younger and faster every day.

There have definitely been moments where I’ve questioned myself and wondered if younger entrepreneurs naturally have an advantage because they grew up in this digital world. They’re fluent in content creation, editing, trends, platforms, and technology in a way many of us never had to be while building businesses years ago.

I’ve had moments where I wondered if I was behind. Moments where I questioned whether I missed the wave or whether I could still evolve at this stage of my life. I think a lot of people feel that way but don’t say it out loud because there’s embarrassment attached to admitting you’re learning something new later in life.

But instead of resisting it, I decided to become a student again.
That mindset shift has changed a lot for me. Because the second we think we already know everything is usually the second we stop growing. So now I study. I’m actively learning AI, improving my social media skills, practicing content creation, learning new platforms, taking classes, watching tutorials, asking questions, and adapting to how business and communication are evolving in 2026. Not because I’m trying to become 25 again, but because I refuse to mentally age out of growth.

I think one of the most important things people can do as they get older is stay curious and stay teachable. Some people slowly become rigid over time. They stop learning, stop adapting, and start leading every conversation with “Well back in my day…” But while experience and wisdom absolutely matter, so does the ability to evolve.

What’s actually been empowering for me is realizing that while younger generations may have an advantage with technology, many of us who have decades of real business experience also have something incredibly valuable that cannot be taught overnight. We understand resilience, leadership, communication, emotional intelligence, relationship building, sales psychology, consistency, and real life human connection. Those skills still matter deeply, even in a digital world.

Technology changes constantly, but human nature really doesn’t.
The goal is not to compete with younger entrepreneurs by trying to become them. The goal is to evolve, adapt, and combine wisdom with modern tools. I think that’s the season I’m in right now. Learning how to merge decades of real life experience with today’s technology instead of being intimidated by it.

And honestly, maybe that’s one of the greatest advantages of getting older. Not pretending the world isn’t changing, but having enough life experience to know that you’re capable of changing with it.

05/13/2026

The Day I Stopped Abandoning Myself

What happens when you finally listen to the voice you’ve been ignoring

I was blessed with an early gift of awareness and intuition.

People used to call me a “know it all” growing up, but the truth is…I really did know things before I could explain how I knew them. It wasn’t arrogance. It was a deep inner knowing. The kind of knowing you have when you trust the sun will rise in the morning. Quiet. Certain. Unshakable.

I believe God gives all of us intuition, but for whatever reason, I learned to listen to mine very early on.

I could feel people deeply. I could walk into a room and instantly pick up on energy, emotions, tension, excitement, sadness, fear. Sometimes it felt like a superpower…and sometimes it felt incredibly heavy.

Being highly aware means you don’t just hear words.

You feel what’s underneath them.

When I was in high school, I never naturally dreamed about college the way everyone else did. I wasn’t fantasizing about campuses or majors or dorm life. Deep down, all I wanted to do was dance, create, perform, build businesses, and make something out of nothing.

But by my sophomore year, all my friends were talking about college nonstop and slowly I started absorbing their dreams as if they were my own.

I took on their desires.

Their fears.

Their expectations.

I convinced myself that if everyone else wanted this path, maybe I was supposed to want it too.

So I forced myself to chase something that never truly belonged to me.

The irony is…I was highly dyslexic and struggled tremendously in school. I barely passed tests. I became really good at masking it and surviving academically.

I am incredibly street smart, intuitive, creative, resourceful, and visionary…but my brain never worked in the way conventional systems celebrate “intelligence.”

I scored a 712 on my SATs and that was WITH a paid prep course. Somehow, by pure determination and probably a little divine intervention, I finagled my way into University of California, Santa Barbara and started there in the fall of 1995 at just 17 years old.

And honestly?
I hated it.
I hated almost everything about college.
I felt trapped.
Lost.
Disconnected from myself.

I was surrounded by people who seemed excited for a future I didn’t want. Every single day I felt further away from who I truly was.

All I wanted to do was dance, choreograph, create ideas, and build businesses.

I cried constantly.

I would call my mom from the payphone in the dorms (yes…actual payphones ) begging for permission to leave. Begging for someone to tell me it was okay to choose myself.

But approval never came.

After two quarters, something inside me finally snapped awake.

I remember thinking:

“I cannot live my entire life abandoning myself.”

That sentence changed everything.

So in early 1996, I packed up my dorm room and left college in the middle of the school year.

My mom told me if I left, she would cut me off financially.

And I remember thinking:

“Fine by me.”

Because even at 18 years old, I knew I would rather struggle financially while being true to myself than live a comfortable life pretending to be someone I wasn’t.

Looking back now, that decision changed everything.

My intuition paid off.
Choosing myself paid off.

Back in the mid 90s, entrepreneurship was not celebrated the way it is now.

There were no motivational entrepreneur podcasts.

No “girl boss” culture.

No social media telling people to follow their dreams.

Especially not for an 18 year old Mexican American woman who dropped out of college with no money and no backup plan.
People genuinely thought I was crazy.

And honestly?

Maybe I was a little crazy.

But I had vision.
I had resilience.
I had knowing.

I started hustling immediately. I threw so much spaghetti at the wall trying to see what would stick. I started business after business after business.

Some ideas failed fast.
Some embarrassed me.
Some barely survived.

It took me over five years before I built something truly profitable.

FIVE YEARS.

Most people would have quit long before that.

But I couldn’t quit because the knowing inside of me was louder than everyone else’s doubt.

Everyone around me kept telling me to “just get a real job.”
And I refused.

I kept going.
I kept creating.
I kept believing.
Even when it made no logical sense.
Even when I had no evidence.
Even when things looked impossible from the outside.

That resilience was a gift.
That intuition was a gift.

And now years later, entrepreneurship is respected. Creative women are celebrated. Thinking differently is admired.

The very things I was judged for became the exact things that built my life.

I chose the path less traveled before it was trendy.

Before it was applauded.
Before people understood it.

And I am so incredibly grateful that the younger version of me had the courage to listen to herself anyway.

Because here’s what I know now:

A lot of people spend their entire lives abandoning themselves in order to be accepted by others.

They ignore the feeling.
They silence the voice.
They keep following paths that look good on paper but feel completely wrong in their soul.

And eventually, that disconnect catches up to them.

Your intuition will whisper first.

Then it will nudge.

Then eventually…it will scream.

Mine screamed from a payphone in a dorm hallway in 1995.

And thank God I finally listened.

05/11/2026

What If the Second Half of Your Life Could Actually Be Better Than the First?

Why midlife might actually be your most powerful chapter yet.

There’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately…

What if we were taught aging all wrong?

What if the second half of your life wasn’t supposed to be about slowing down, shrinking yourself, playing it safe, or quietly fading into the background?

What if it was actually supposed to be your comeback season?

Because honestly?

That’s exactly how I feel right now.

For over 30 years, I’ve built my life around movement, community, entrepreneurship, and helping people become more confident versions of themselves. I’ve founded multiple businesses and community brands including Jayvee Dance Center, The Fit Factor Studio, Alhambra Pumpkin Run, Maxt Out Dance Competition, QueenVee Entertainment, and MainFest Music Festival.

And through every version of my career, one thing has always stayed the same:

I’ve loved creating experiences that bring people together while helping them grow stronger physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and personally.
I’ve taught over 10,000 fitness and dance classes.
I’ve taught in gyms and studios since the 1990s.
Spin. Strength training. Barre. Pilates. Dance fitness. Cardio. Stretch. Small group coaching.
I’ve coached entrepreneurs.
I’ve coached women rebuilding their confidence.
I’ve helped people start over.
Reinvent themselves.
Get unstuck.
Dream bigger.

But here’s the part that makes my story a little different…

I never followed the traditional path.

I dropped out of college at 18 years old to pursue entrepreneurship before entrepreneurship was cool. Before Instagram bios said “CEO.” Before podcasts glamorized being a founder. Before people celebrated taking risks.

Back then?

People thought I was completely insane.

A young Mexican American woman wanting to build businesses in dance, fitness, entertainment, and community events instead of getting a “safe” job?

Yeah…people had opinions.

But I trusted my intuition early.

And that decision completely changed my life.

Was it always easy?
Absolutely not.

I failed.
I lost money.
I trusted the wrong people.
I got embarrassed publicly.
I questioned myself constantly.
I had seasons where I felt exhausted, discouraged, and honestly…lost.

But resilience changes people.

And somewhere along the way, I realized something really important:

You do not need permission to reinvent your life.

That’s a huge part of why I’m so passionate about the work I’m building now.

I’m currently creating a new brand called The Comeback Club, a community focused on helping women reinvent themselves in midlife through strength, confidence, health, business, connection, and personal growth.

Because I think a lot of women hit their 40s and suddenly feel disconnected from themselves.

Their body changes.
Their energy changes.
Their priorities change.
Their confidence changes.
And instead of getting support, many women are told:

“Well…this is just aging.”

No.

I reject that completely.

I want women to understand the importance of strength training, muscle building, bone density, hormones, nervous system health, movement, community, confidence, and taking care of themselves BEFORE crisis hits.

I want women to feel strong.

Powerful.
Energetic.
Confident.
Alive.
Not invisible.

And honestly?

I think women become more interesting with age.

We stop caring about dumb things.
We stop chasing approval.
We stop performing for strangers.

At least hopefully.

One of the things I’m most proud of is that I’ve never stayed inside one box.

I’ve produced large dance competitions.
City races and festivals.
Women’s workshops.
Party boat cruises through QueenVee Entertainment.
Music festivals like MainFest.
Fitness events.
Networking experiences.
Hiking groups.

Community experiences that bring people together in REAL LIFE.
Because at the core of everything I build is this:

Connection.
Real connection.
Real transformation.
Real community.

That’s why I’m so excited about expanding The Comeback Club through workshops, women’s events, hiking experiences, strength training programs, speaking opportunities, digital content, and community experiences.

And it’s also why I’m continuing to grow Hotties Who Hike, a women’s hiking community built around movement, friendship, connection, laughter, and getting women outside together.

Because people are craving real life again.

Not just more scrolling.
Not just more content.
Not just more information.
People want to FEEL alive again.

And honestly?

So many women spend the first half of their lives living for everybody else.

Trying to make everyone happy.
Trying to fit expectations.
Trying to earn approval.
Trying to become someone they don’t even recognize anymore.
Meanwhile…

they lose themselves.

But here’s what I believe now more than ever:

Choose for YOU.
Work on YOU.
Build YOU.

Because at the end of the day, most people are too busy thinking about themselves anyway.

And the people judging you?

Most of them won’t even matter in your real life story.
I heard something years ago that stuck with me:

If it rains on your funeral, a percentage of people won’t even show up.

So why do we spend our entire lives living for strangers?
Seriously.

Why?

Life gets a lot lighter when you stop building your identity around other people’s opinions.

The second half of your life can be stronger.

Healthier.
More aligned.
More exciting.
More peaceful.
More profitable.
More connected.
More YOU than ever before.

And maybe that’s the real comeback.

Not becoming who the world wanted you to be…

But finally becoming who YOU were always supposed to be.

So I’ll leave you with this:

What if the second half of your life could actually be better than the first?

05/06/2026

The 3 Things That Changed My Life, My Business, and My Success

People always ask me what made the biggest difference in my journey.

Was it strategy? Marketing? Talent? Timing? Honestly? No.

Looking back after 30+ years in business, building multiple companies, producing events, teaching over 10,000 classes, coaching people, and selling/exiting businesses…I can confidently say the three biggest things that changed my life were: Resilience. Intuition.

And learning how to truly connect with people. Not sexy answers, I know.

But they changed EVERYTHING.

1. Resilience Will Take You Further Than Talent Ever Will

I started businesses before social media existed. Before Canva. Before podcasts. Before online courses. Before people glamorized entrepreneurship.

Back then, owning your own business was considered risky, unstable, and honestly…a little crazy.

Especially for an 18 year old Mexican American woman who dropped out of college with no money and a dream bigger than her circumstances.

I failed A LOT.
I started businesses that didn’t work.
Hosted events that lost money.
Made terrible decisions.
Trusted the wrong people.
Got embarrassed publicly.
Questioned myself constantly.

And I still kept going.

That’s the part nobody talks about enough.

Most successful people are not more confident than everyone else. They’re not fearless superheroes walking around with perfect certainty. Most entrepreneurs are scared constantly.

The difference is they continue anyway.

Most people quit way too early.

We live in a world where people expect results immediately. If something doesn’t “blow up” in six months, they think they failed. Meanwhile, some of the best things I ever built took YEARS before they became profitable or successful.

Years.

Resilience is continuing to move forward before you have proof it’s going to work.

That’s the game.

2. Intuition Changed My Entire Life

My intuition has guided almost every major decision in my life.
And honestly? Some of those decisions made absolutely NO logical sense to other people at the time.

Leaving college.
Starting businesses with no money.
Producing events before I knew how.
Choosing entrepreneurship before it was respected.
People thought I was crazy.
But deep down, I knew.

I think one of the biggest problems today is that people are consuming too many opinions. Everyone online is telling you who to be, how to live, what your morning routine should look like, how to market, how to dress, how to build your business, how to think.

It’s too much noise.

Not every path is YOUR path.

One of the greatest skills you can develop is learning how to hear yourself again.

And honestly? Stop caring so much what other people think…especially people who won’t even be at your funeral.

That sounds harsh, but it’s true.

We spend so much of our lives trying to impress strangers.

Trying to gain approval from people who barely think about us. I once heard that if it rains on your funeral, a percentage of people who knew you won’t even show up because of the weather.
That perspective changed me.

Why are we living our lives based on the opinions of people who may not even inconvenience themselves to celebrate our life one last time?

Stop living for others.

Choose for YOU.

3. Human Connection is Still the Greatest Business Skill on Earth

Every major opportunity in my life came through relationships.

Every single one.
Not algorithms.
Not followers.
Not viral posts.

People.

Community has been one of the biggest blessings of my life and career. Whether it was dance, fitness, events, coaching, or women’s empowerment, I’ve always focused on bringing people together and making people feel seen.

And one of the biggest business lessons I ever learned is this:
Learn people’s names. And SAY them often.

Seriously.

People LOVE hearing their own name. Yet so many people don’t use names anymore. It’s becoming a lost art.

I built businesses by greeting people personally, remembering details about them, and making them feel important.

Learn names.
Study names.
Practice names.

Watch how it changes your relationships and your business.
People remember how you make them feel far more than they remember what you sold them.

I think so many people today are obsessed with followers when they should be focused on connection. Talk to people. Help people. Support people before you need something from them. Be someone people enjoy being around.

That’s how real opportunities are built.

At the end of the day, success is less about being the smartest person in the room and more about being willing to keep going, trust yourself, stop living for everyone else’s expectations, and stay deeply connected to people along the way.

That’s the real magic.

03/26/2026

Now we’re in it…

This is the part no one glamorizes.
The pressure.
The moving pieces.
The moments where it would be easier to quit.

And the truth is… none of this was clear.

No blueprint.
No guarantees.
Just the UNKNOWN.

Getting comfortable with the unknown is the work. That’s where everything is built. That’s where most people stop…and where you decide to keep going.

If you’ve been sitting on an idea…waiting to feel ready… waiting for clarity…

It doesn’t come first.

You create in the unknown. You build while it’s messy. You move before it makes sense.

This was 2016. Figuring it out in real time. And if you’re in that season right now… good. You’re exactly where you need to be.

🎬 part 3 coming next…