You made $4,000 last month.

Your bank account has $200 in it.

And you have no idea where the other $3,800 went.

I'm asking because I've been you. Like, exactly you. Not in some motivational coach way. In a "I'm sitting at my kitchen table at 2 AM trying to figure out how I'm gonna make rent" kind of way.

So let me ask you something real quick- if money is coming in, why does it still feel like you can't breathe?

Here's What Happened to Me

In 2009, my husband and I both lost our jobs in the same week. We had a $5,000 mortgage. No savings left. We filed for bankruptcy. We genuinely hit ROCK BOTTOM.

So when I started The Cake Mamas out of my home, my back was against the wall, and I was DESPERATE to make this business work.

We didn't have time to be strategic- we just needed to make money.

And you know what? We did. Money started coming in pretty quickly. Orders were rolling. We were busy. It felt like things were working. But here's the thing nobody tells you about being desperate...

You can make money and still go broke.

The Money I Couldn't Account For

A major turning point occurred in my business when I realized I was essentially ROBBING my own household. Approximately $3,500 worth.

I was pulling money from the business. My husband was pulling money from the business. Sometimes I'd use our personal finances to buy ingredients because the business account was "low." Sometimes I'd pay a supplier from our household account because it was faster. Sometimes I honestly couldn't remember which account paid for what.

I was making sales. Money was coming in. But I had no idea where it was actually going.

I was CO-MINGLING our finances, and at that point, I realized I needed to learn HOW TO manage my money. And FAST.

I grew up without anyone teaching me financial literacy. I grew up in the HOOD. My parents didn’t have a ton of money. We didn't talk about money. So when I became an adult- let alone a business owner- I was completely flying blind.

And I stayed blind for way longer than I should have.

The Wake-Up Call Nobody Wants To Hear

It wasn't until I finally looked at the numbers- like actually sat down and tracked where money was going- that I realized something that still makes me uncomfortable to admit:

I had a money management problem. Not a money-making problem.

I could generate revenue. That part was easy. I could sell. I could convince people to buy my products. But I couldn't tell you where a single dollar went after it came in.

And that's when I learned the thing that changed everything about how I run my business:

Every single dollar that comes into your business needs a job. Before you spend it. Before you move it. Before you do anything with it.

Not a rough idea of where it goes. Not "I'll figure it out when things slow down." Not hoping it works out somehow.

An actual PLAN.

Every Dollar Has a Job (And That's Not Cute- It's Essential)

So here's how this actually works.

When money comes in, you need to divide it up. And I mean actually divide it. Not in your head. On paper. (Or in a spreadsheet. Or in an app. But somewhere.)

Each dollar gets assigned:

• Some goes to payroll (yours and anyone else's)
• Some goes to ingredients (and I mean everything- the flour, the eggs, the sprinkles, the containers, all of it)
• Some goes to overhead (rent, utilities, insurance, software subscriptions, everything that keeps the lights on)
• Some goes to taxes (because the IRS is not forgiving, trust me)
• Some goes to profit (the money the business keeps to reinvest, grow, buy equipment, whatever)
• And some goes to owner pay (this is what YOU actually take home to live on)

Now here's the part that broke me when I finally understood it:

For years, I wasn't paying myself. I was just... pulling money whenever I needed it. Which meant some months I took $500. Some months I took $3,000. Some months, I took nothing because the business needed it more.

That's not how you run a business. That's how you run a second job that doesn't pay you.

If every dollar doesn't have a job assigned to it, I guarantee you that money is going missing. And you have no idea where.

Signs You're Making Money But Actually Broke

Let me just list out what this looks like, because I bet you're gonna recognize yourself:

🚩 You make sales but can't consistently pay yourself.

🚩 You don't know what your actual monthly expenses are. Like, if I asked you right now, you'd have to guess.

🚩 You check your bank account and feel confused. Like, "Wait, where did that $2,000 go?"

🚩 You use your personal money to cover business stuff all the time. And you tell yourself you'll "pay it back."

🚩 You price your products based on what feels right instead of what the actual math says.

🚩 You're booked solid but you're still stressed about money. You're busy but you're not profitable.

If you're nodding at even one of these, we need to talk about what's actually happening in your business.

And here's the real question I want you to sit with:

If I asked you right now what your actual profit was last month, could you tell me? Not a guess. Not a rough number. The ACTUAL number.

If the answer is no... you're operating blind. And operating blind is costing you thousands of dollars a year.

The 15-Minute Thing That Actually Changes Everything

Here's what I'm NOT gonna do: I'm not gonna tell you to hire a bookkeeper or learn QuickBooks or become an accountant overnight. That's not what this is about.

What I am gonna tell you is this:

Spend 15 minutes. Pull three numbers. That's your starting point.

From the last 90 days (January through March, or whatever three months you want to look at), find:

1. Total revenue - Go to your PayPal. Go to your Square account. Go to your bank. Add up every single dollar that came in. That's your number one.
2. How many customers - How many people actually bought from you in those three months? Count them.
3. Average order value - Divide your total revenue by your total customers. That's what each customer spent on average.

That's literally all you need to do.

And here's why those three numbers matter:

Your revenue number tells you if you're actually growing or if you're just busy. Your customer count tells you what your actual reach is (not your Instagram followers- actual paying customers). Your average order value tells you if your pricing is even working.

You can't fix what you don't measure. And you can't measure what you don't look at.

So spend 15 minutes. Pull the numbers. Actually face what's there.

I know it's scary. I know you might not like what you find. But I promise you, the number you don't know is already running your life. You're just not seeing it.

What Actually Changes When You Finally Look

Before I did this? I felt reactive all the time. I was guessing on prices. I was overworking. I was exhausted because my business wasn't actually supporting me- I was supporting it.

Every month felt like I was starting from zero.

After? Everything shifted.

I knew my numbers. I made pricing decisions based on facts, not feelings. I worked intentionally instead of frantically. My business started to feel like it actually belonged to me instead of the other way around.

And here's the thing I want you to really hear:

Financial freedom didn't start for me when I made more money. It started the moment I understood the money I was already making.

The first time I opened my bank account and knew exactly where every dollar was supposed to be? That's when the panic stopped.

The clarity came first. Then the confidence. Then the actual decisions that moved the needle.

That's the order it happens in.

So What Are You Actually Gonna Do?

You're at a choice point right now.

You can keep doing what you're doing- making sales, feeling confused, using personal money to fill gaps, hoping it magically works out somehow.

Or you can spend 15 minutes pulling three numbers and actually understanding what's happening in your business.

I'm not gonna sugarcoat it: looking at your numbers might suck. You might find out you're less profitable than you thought. You might realize you've been underpricing for years. You might discover leaks you didn't know existed.

But you know what's worse than that? Not knowing. Because at least when you know, you can do something about it.

If You're Ready to Actually Fix This

Here's where I come in.

If you need help understanding YOUR specific numbers and building an actual strategy around them,  join me inside Power Hour. This is where we walk through your pricing, your profit margins, your capacity- all of it. Every single week. You get to bring your real numbers and we figure out what to do with them.

If what you really need is a tool to make this easier (because spreadsheets are a nightmare, I get it)- something that tracks your costs, your margins, your profitability automatically- join the Costli waitlist. We're building this specifically for food business owners who are tired of guessing games and JUST WANNA KNOW where they stand.

Either way, the first step is the same:

Stop avoiding and start looking.

Pull those three numbers. Spend 15 minutes. Face what's actually there.

Because the business you deserve- the one that actually pays you, the one where you feel calm instead of panicked, the one where you're profitable instead of just busy- that business is waiting for you on the other side of looking.

Xo, Janelle

P.S. If you're ready to stop guessing and start knowing, join Power Hour where we tackle REAL BUSINESS CHALLENGES like this, together, every single week. No judgement. No shade. Just clarity.