Prefer to listen? Hit play below — then scroll for Jillian’s cash flow strategy (and how to use it even if you hate spreadsheets).
Cash flow is one of those topics that can make even the most confident, capable creative entrepreneur suddenly feel like they need to lie down.
Because you can be really good at what you do. You can have clients. You can have money coming in. And still… have months where you’re like:
“Why do I feel rich this month and terrified the next?”
That’s what I call the cash flow rollercoaster — the emotional whiplash of:
- a high month where you feel unstoppable
- followed by a low month where you’re refreshing your bank account like it personally owes you money
And here’s the truth: you’re not bad at business if this is you.
Cash flow is literally one of my biggest responsibilities as a money coach for creatives — because it’s the number one thing that makes otherwise successful businesses feel chaotic. Not because you aren’t making money… but because you’re not making money consistently.
So let’s talk about a strategy to level out the rollercoaster without needing to become a QuickBooks wizard or build a spreadsheet that requires an advanced degree.
The foundation of cash flow: Know your monthly minimum
The first thing I tell everyone when they want to manage cash flow better is deceptively simple:
What is your monthly minimum?
Your monthly minimum is the amount of money you need to bring in every month to cover life and business.
Not just your rent or mortgage — everything it takes to run your life and your business month-to-month, like:
- groceries
- insurance
- utilities
- dog food
- software subscriptions
- business expenses
- paying yourself
- payroll (if you have a team)
- client delivery costs
- all the “boring but required” stuff
And you would be shocked how many people don’t know this number.
Because if you don’t know your monthly minimum, cash flow will always feel like a surprise. And money surprises are never fun.
Here’s why this matters:
If your monthly minimum is $6,000, and you look ahead and see that October is only projected to bring in $3,000–$4,000, that’s not bad news.
That’s useful information.
That’s the difference between:
- “Oh shoot, I’m short $2,000 and it’s the 31st, what can I do this week??”
and - “I can see a gap coming. I can plan for it.”
That second one is where financial peace lives.
Because cash flow planning isn’t just about financial freedom — it’s emotional freedom. It’s sleeping better. It’s unclenching your jaw. It’s not spiraling at midnight over a credit card bill because you know what’s coming.
And here’s the best part: your monthly minimum doesn’t have to be perfect.
You don’t need to calculate your groceries down to the exact penny. Even a solid estimate like:
“It costs me about $6,000 a month to live and run my business.”
…is wildly powerful. You can build an entire strategy off that.
Why the rollercoaster happens (and how the plan fixes it)
Without a plan, your business will naturally do this:
- High month: “I’m thriving. I’m a genius. Everything is fine forever.”
- Low month: “I’m doomed. I need to sell everything. Someone call my mom.”
And it’s not because you’re dramatic (although… same).
It’s because when you’re not forecasting, you’re forced to react in real time.
Cash flow planning helps you respond instead of panic.
So once you know your monthly minimum, the next step is:
Plan for the highs and the lows
Most people have a plan for when things are bad.
They dip into savings. They scramble. They pitch clients. They throw a sale up and pray.
But very few people have a plan for when things are good — and that’s where a lot of cash flow problems are born.
1) Plan for the lows (before you’re in them)
When you plan for low months ahead of time, you stop making “Supermarket Sweep” decisions — you know, when everything feels urgent and you’re sprinting through your business grabbing random tactics trying to fill the gap.
Instead, you create a calm, grounded plan while things are okay.
Your “low month” plan might include options like:
- offering a limited batch of mini sessions
- adding a few bonus coaching calls
- picking up extra hours at a part-time job
- running a small promo that’s strategic (not desperate)
- launching a simple low-lift offer
- leaning on an emergency fund you already decided on in advance
And the point is not that you’ll never have a low month.
The point is: you won’t be surprised by it, and you won’t make fear-based decisions in a crisis.
Also: your emergency fund should match your nervous system and your business.
Some people feel fine with $1,000 set aside.
Some need $5,000.
Some need $20,000 to feel steady.
And that can depend on your reality:
- Do you have a team? Payroll matters.
- Do you sell products? Inventory costs matter.
- Are your expenses high? Your cushion needs to reflect that.
2) Plan for the highs (so you don’t celebrate your way into stress)
This is where things get spicy.
Because in high months, people tend to go one of two ways:
Option A: Hoard it.
“I can’t spend this. I need to keep every dollar. What if the other shoe drops?”
Option B: Spend it all.
“I deserve this. Vacation, house upgrades, dinners, new equipment, everything!”
Neither is inherently “bad.” But both can become a pattern that creates future cash flow problems.
So the question to answer ahead of time is:
When extra money comes in, what is the plan for it?
If you have a $20,000 launch month — amazing.
But before that money hits your account, decide things like:
- how much goes into savings to cover upcoming slow months
- how much goes toward debt payoff or tax reserves
- how much gets reinvested (team, equipment, education, marketing)
- how much gets paid to you
- how much is for celebration
Because there is a difference between celebrating and sabotaging.
And planning lets you do both — intentionally.
The “cash flow plan” can be simple (and it does not require spreadsheet trauma)
I know “cash flow” can feel like a trigger word.
But truly, you can do the foundations of this plan on a piece of paper in an hour.
Here’s your starting point:
- Find your monthly minimum (rough estimate is fine)
- Look ahead 3–6 months: what do you already have coming in?
- Spot the gaps: where are you under minimum?
- Decide your low-month plan (options you can pull quickly)
- Decide your high-month plan (where surplus goes on purpose)
This is the work that prevents you from waiting until your house is on fire to buy a fire extinguisher.
And if you’re thinking, “Yeah, but I don’t even want to look under the hood…”
I get it. Money is loaded. But you don’t have to do it perfectly — you just have to do it consistently enough to stop being surprised.
If you’re ready to get off the cash flow rollercoaster and build a plan you can actually stick to, Cash Flow for Creatives is the place to start. Inside the course, I walk you through finding your monthly minimum, mapping your income ahead, and creating a strategy for both high months and low months—so you can make decisions from a grounded place, not panic.
