Guest post by by Cass Mullane, Accountability Coach, Right-Brain Business Plan® Licensed Facilitator, Prosper Creatively, LLC

I’m writing another book right now. While I’m spending a lot of time writing, I’m also spending a lot of time not generating revenues. This means my cash flow for the next few months could be drastically impacted.

Does this mean that I’ll be folding up my business and calling it quits? Heck no! Why? Because I have a flexible business plan that covers situations like this.

Planning ahead gives me the leeway to choose to reduce my billable hours and not worry about still having money available to pay the bills. And if a crisis were to pop up that took me away from my business, having a plan in place also means I have a clear roadmap to guide me. That way I will not stress out about my business, and I can, instead, fully focus my energy on handling the crisis at hand.

What measures do you have in place for situations that drastically affect your cash flow?

Whether you are a service business or a retail operation, you need to set up a plan to ensure that you have at three to six months of operating expenses in the bank. Then you need to put that plan into motion and stick to it.

“Six months of expenses?! But I barely have enough to make it through the month right now.” Yep, six months.

Your immediate reaction may well have been based on scarcity thinking. Once you lift your head up and look at the bigger world, you can focus on solutions and longer range planning. If you keep your head down, you not only perpetuate the scarcity situation, but you also miss opportunities that might move you right out of your scarcity position. What I’d like you to think about is lifting your head up and looking at the big picture. What do you really want? What can you do now to move yourself closer to what you really want?

When I started out in my business, I made a plan that included setting aside money from each check I received to build up a safety net. I stuck to it faithfully, even when my money was really tight. To say it was uncomfortable is an understatement. But you have to stick to your guns and do what is necessary to go after what drives you. That initial period of discomfort has resulted in a great deal of freedom now.

Like many of you, I am a solopreneur. This does not mean I work alone, it simply means I am the only person employed by my company. I have a number of contractors who work with me to keep my operations moving along. So when I stop working, my company does not stop functioning. But remember, it took me a few years of very hard work to arrive at this position. What keeps me on track is not simply passion. Having a flexible plan to help me go after my passion and doing the hard stuff is what makes my business roll.

When you set your sights on achieving what you really want, you will look ahead and plan for success. And your plan will include ways to make sure you have enough cash on hand to weather what comes up.

What are you doing to plan for your success?

Cass Mullane is an artist with an MBA. Cass’ calm, comfortable approach consistently yields positive results for clients. Her business and personal coaching practice, www.ProsperCreatively.com, specializes in delivering solid left brain business skills to right brainers and creatives in a fun, visual way. She’s a best selling author, textile and mixed media artist and creator of the Cool Stuff Jar™ coaching program. You can also visit Cass on Facebook!