I grew up in a tiny Polish town with no streetlights, population 9,000. No one around me liked manga—except for one person who introduced me to it. But I wanted more. I wanted a community. I wanted resources. So I built them.

At 12, I taught myself HTML and created a website where we translated manga into Polish. I pulled together a small team of volunteer translators and editors—people I met in a random online chatroom. Within five months, the site became one of the biggest in its niche with 45,000 views. This was my first real taste of marketing and branding, even if I didn’t realize it at the time.

The First Taste
of Building
Something Bigger

2002

At 13, my family moved to the U.S. I barely spoke English, had a thick accent, and felt terrified to speak up. So I let go of everything that made me different. The website, my creative projects—anything that could make me stand out. Fitting in felt like the only way to survive.

Becoming an Immigrant & Learning to Adapt

2003

At 18, I took a high school photography class and fell in love with it. A year later, I started doing nightclub photography in Chicago, getting paid to shoot exclusive parties multiple nights a week.

I didn’t think of it as a business at the time—I just wanted to be part of the scene. But it was my first taste of making money on my own terms.

My First Business (Without Knowing It)

2009

I was deep in the party scene: networking, hustling, drawn to the glamour of it all. I loved being in VIP, capturing high-energy moments, meeting celebrities, feeling like I was part of something exclusive. But something still felt off.

On my 21st birthday, I had a feeling of impending doom - I felt like I couldn’t see life past my birthday. I know it feels ominous, but I felt like I wasn’t meant to live past that day… It was eerie and scary.

That night, on the ride home, we got in a horrible accident - hit by a drunk driver. I spent months in physical therapy, and it forced me to reevaluate everything.

I realized I wasn’t living a life that meant something. I wanted to make an impact. I just didn’t know how.

The Wake-Up Call That Changed Everything

2011

I started a health and wellness blog, Sensual Appeal, to document my journey of self-improvement. What started as a creative outlet quickly turned into something bigger.

Within a year, I learned how to monetize it with brand deals and ads. Three years later, it was bringing in 100,000+ visitors per month and making thousands each month. It was my first experience with a business that could grow without me constantly showing up—a model that would later define everything I teach today.

For fun, I also got a life coaching certification. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with it, but I had this pull toward personal development and helping people. I just didn’t know how it fit into my life yet.

My First Scalable Business: Blogging & A Random Life Coaching Certification

2012

I graduated in 2013 with Honors degrees in Psychology and Integrated Marketing Communications. By then, my blog was taking off, but I wasn’t convinced I could make a full-time income from it. So I got a job in marketing.

I started working at a top ad agency (Havas), and later, as a marketing strategist at a digital agency. I thought I’d found the perfect balance—working a job I enjoyed while growing my blog on the side.

But as time passed, I realized I didn’t want to grow that business. I wanted to help people like me—people trying to build something of their own. That’s when I started coaching entrepreneurs on marketing as a side hustle.

My Corporate Marketing Career & The Leap into Coaching

2014

I invested in my first $10K business coach (money I didn’t have) based on just pure trust and discomfort, and within a year, I hit six figures. I sold my blog to the highest bidder, left my job as a marketing strategist, and went all in on my coaching business. 

First $100K Year & Going Full-Time in Business

2015

I was doing so well in business, I wanted to go farther. I moved to NYC to live my “dream life.” I made $330K that year. I had everything I thought I wanted. But I was miserable.

I was working nonstop, alone in a new city, and basing my self-worth on my business. The panic attacks became constant. My health declined. I was seeing doctors every week, trying to figure out why I felt so awful.

The Hustle Era & My Breaking Point

2016

I left NYC, moved to San Diego, and let my business coast at $150K per year while I focused on healing and rebuilding.
For the first time, I stepped back from the grind. I took acting classes, improv, yoga. I searched for who I was outside of business. I wanted to build something… but I didn’t want it to consume me.

Burnout & The Search for Something More

2017

I rebranded from Kamila Gornia to Heart Behind Hustle®. This was my first step in creating something bigger than myself.

I hosted events, retreats, and group programs. I focused on helping entrepreneurs sell online in a way that felt good, that had heart. And most importantly, I built a business that didn’t fully rely on me anymore.

This was also the year I met my husband, the love of my life. For the first time, I had a relationship that felt stable, supportive, and safe. It changed everything.

The Heart Behind Hustle Era Begins

2018

By this point, I had built a business that gave me freedom. But I was still helping clients grow in unsustainable ways.
I launched Evergreen Icon to take everything I had learned and create a movement around it.

It wasn’t just about making more sales. It was about making smarter sales. Shifting from selling 1:1 to building scalable offers. From only live launching to evergreen sales. From grinding on social media to building sales assets that work 24/7. From stressing over client churn to creating programs where people stay for years.

It was about stepping into leadership and taking full ownership of the kind of business you actually want.

The Birth of Evergreen Icon®

2022

By this point, I had what most people dream of. A business that worked (almost) without me. I worked as little as 5 hours a week. Consistent sales. Systemized operations. A schedule that gave me freedom.

But something began to feel off.

I had spent years helping others build brands… but I wasn’t fully stepping into mine.

The Business Runs (Almost) Without Me… But I Wanted More

2023

This year, everything changed.

I had spent years hiding. Behind systems. Behind comfort. Behind a brand name that didn’t feel mine anymore. But I’m not just the woman who teaches you how to build sales systems. I’m here to lead.

HBH was my escape. It was my healing. But this is my next era.

I’m stepping forward fully—into my voice, my name, my leadership.

Because I’m not here just to help people make passive income. I’m here to help them build businesses that give them true security, real stability, and the kind of growth that lasts.

For some, that means comfort, automation, and ease.
For others, that means expansion, power, and impact.

The Rebrand: Kamila Von Retteg

2025