Make the Money Math Math
So you can get on with your creative work
A 5-Day Money Clarity Intensive for Creatives
How long have you been telling yourself you'll start your creative work once the money situation stabilizes?
A year? Three? Longer?
How does that feel?
Here's what I know: money is not the obstacle it looks like.
It feels like a wall. It shows up like a wall. We treat it like a wall. But when you actually look at it—when you open the spreadsheet, do the math, and see what's real—it almost never turns out to be the actual barrier.
It's been standing in for the actual barrier.
And once you see that, everything changes.
This intensive is for creatives who are done letting money fear take up the space that belongs to their work.
The thoughts that keep you stuck
Maybe it sounds like:
"I can't start my creative project until I have more financial security."
"I'd love to do that, but I have to keep this job."
"It's not the right time. Maybe when the kids are older, when I've saved more, when things calm down."
"I don't even know what to charge. What if no one pays me?"
"Making money from my art feels dirty somehow. Like I'm selling out."
"If I put my work out there and it doesn't sell, that means I'm not good enough."
"How do I even start?! I don’t have the tools, or space or time."
Or maybe it's quieter than that. Maybe it's just a low hum of anxiety whenever money and your creative work show up in the same thought.
Money isn't actually the problem. The fog around money is the problem.
And that fog is keeping you stuck—not just financially, but creatively, emotionally, and in terms of what you're allowing yourself to even imagine is possible.
What happens when you look directly at the money
Here's what's been true in my creative life: there's always a gap between what I want to create and what it costs to create it.
And I've gotten good at closing that gap. Quickly.
Not because I'm magical with money. But because I've learned to trust that when I take a meaningful step toward my vision, the money shows up.
I've worked with dozens of creatives over the past several years. And what I see again and again is that money is the thing keeping people stuck. It's what keeps them afraid. What keeps them choosing safety over the work they're actually here to do.
But here's what I've also seen:
When you actually look at the money—when you stop avoiding it and look directly at the numbers—you see what's actually true.
And what's true is almost never the story you've been telling yourself.
You've been treating it as all-or-nothing. "I can't be a full-time artist, so why even try?" When there are actually a thousand incremental ways to make progress without blowing up your life.
Or the real issue isn't money at all. It's capacity. You're maxed out. You need support. You need rest. You need something about your current work situation to shift.
But you keep calling it a money problem because that feels less confronting than admitting you're at your limit.
When you look at the money clearly, you see through the story to what's actually in the way.
And once you see it, you can do something about it.
What changes over the week
This isn't a workshop about money for money's sake.
It's about removing money as the obstacle so you can get to the work that's actually calling you.
We use a spreadsheet—not because I want you to love spreadsheets, but because the constraint of looking at real numbers forces you to get honest about what you actually want to create and what it will take to bring it into existence.
And when you look at money clearly, you're not just looking at dollars. You're looking at:
What support you need
How you're spending your energy
What your work is costing you (or giving you)
What your creative expression requires to be sustainable
Whether your life is actually structured to support what you say you want
Money becomes the lens that shows you what's true about all of it.
And once you see what's true, you can act in accordance with it. That's when money stops controlling you—and starts flowing as a result of your alignment.
Make the Money Math Math is a 5-day intensive where we look directly at the money—and everything underneath it.
Over one week, you'll:
✓ Get clear on what one creative project actually needs (not what you're afraid it needs)
✓ Work with the Make the Money Math Math calculator to see real possibilities
✓ Address the stories keeping you stuck in all-or-nothing thinking
✓ Identify what's actually in the way (money, capacity, fear, exposure)
✓ Build a concrete 30-60 day plan to make meaningful progress
Live March 9 - 13 (recordings available for 30 days)
Two live sessions + three days of guided work
Investment: $249
The protective stories money lets you hide behind
Money fear isn't just about money. It's about what looking at the money would force you to admit.
Here are the stories I hear most often—and what they're actually protecting:
If you've never made money from your creative work:
"If I charge for my work, people will see I'm a fraud."
Pricing your work means claiming you're good at something. And if you claim it and you're wrong? That's the fear. So you don't price it. You don't put it out there. You stay safe.
"Making money from my art means selling out."
There's this story that real artists don't care about money. That caring about it somehow makes the work less pure. So you keep yourself small and noble instead of actually sustainable.
"I don't want my work exposed like that."
If it stays a money problem, you never have to put the actual work out into the world where people can see it. Judge it. Reject it. Money becomes the shield.
If you're making money, but not from the work you actually want to do:
"I have this big vision, but I don't think anyone will pay for it. So I'm doing this other thing—the more practical thing—that actually makes money. I tell myself once I make enough from the practical thing, I'll finally do my real work. But I'm so burned out from the practical thing that I never have energy left for what I actually care about."
You've created a side quest that's supposed to fund the real quest. But the side quest is eating your life. And money gets to be the reason you're not doing what you actually want to do.
"I know I need help. I've been hitting the same wall over and over. But investing in support—a course, a coach, better tools—feels too risky. What if I spend the money and nothing changes? What if I'm the problem? So I just keep grinding, burning out, telling myself I'll figure it out alone."
You're making the cost of help the barrier when the real fear is that even with help, you might still fail. Or succeed and have to own that you're capable of more than you've been allowing yourself.
"When I have money, I obsess over it. I check my account constantly. I'm terrified to spend it, even on things I actually need. I hold it so tight it controls every decision I make. And I see that this grip is its own problem, but I don't know how to let go."
Money isn't the obstacle here. Your relationship with it is. But as long as you stay stuck in the grip, you don't have to face what it would mean to actually use it. To invest. To trust.
Here's what's true about all of these:
Money is showing up as the barrier in every single scenario.
But when you actually look at it—when you run the numbers and see what's real—money almost always turns out to be just a barrier, not the barrier.
Maybe you can do less of the practical work and still survive.
Maybe the help you need costs less than the burnout is costing you.
Maybe the grip you have on money is showing you exactly what needs to shift.
And that's actually hopeful.
Because if money is just one barrier—one you can see and work with—then you're not permanently stuck.
You just have to be willing to look.
How this pattern showed up in my life
The first time I closed a money gap was when I was 23.
I had an entry-level marketing job with a low salary and my husband was in grad school. Money was tight. I learned about a conference for creative business owners and felt like I was meant to be there. Even though I didn't have a business. I had a blog, a book I was writing, and a dream of making money from my creative work.
I needed $500 to get there. $500 was so much money. I could have ruled myself out, but I chose to bet on myself. I trusted that if I went to this conference, I would learn to make money.
So I paid for my ticket and plane—I chose to invest in myself.
Then the idea came.
I recognized an opportunity to make money quick. I pitched a website redesign project to someone in my network. They hired me. I did the work in a month and made back the $500.
Something shifted in me when that money landed. It felt like money out of thin air—even though it absolutely wasn't. I had worked for it, pitched for it, delivered something real.
But it was the first time I felt like I had the power to pull a lever that had previously been invisible to me.
I was able to believe that the conference could teach me how to make money, and that got me over the edge to invest. But what I actually learned was that money can flow in when I align to a truer expression of myself. I believed that I belonged at the conference, that I was the type of person who should go. And as I stepped into that identity, it was confirmed for me.
That unlock has been serving me ever since.
When I needed $5K for book editors, cover design and printing costs, I landed a new job and pitched continued freelance work to my old employer. I made that money and more over three months of transition.
When I wanted to publish my book with the fanfare of a launch, I had the chutzpah to run a Kickstarter campaign that fully funded $14k and created marketing buzz and excitement right before launch.
When I needed startup money and time to go towards coaching certification, and new business development, I pitched consulting alongside my resignation, doubled my rate, worked half-time, and funneled that money and time into building my business.
When I wanted to buy our dream house as a new mom but the numbers said it wouldn't be possible for another 5 years, I reevaluated my business, closed what wasn't working, took a high-salary job, and closed on the house one year later.
When my kids were 1 and 3 and I wanted to quit my job so we could backpack around Europe during my husband's sabbatical, I left my job, re-opened my business with a model that let me earn what I needed, stay home with my kids, and travel.
Every time, there was a gap. And every time, I got clear on what I needed and found a way to close it.
The money showed up—once I committed and moved forward.
And these stories are truly just a sampling of ones I could have chosen from. This pattern repeats in my life over and over again. Which is why I am so excited to teach about it!
I’ve seen this pattern with clients, too
One business owner in the wellness space was working a part-time job to keep her business afloat. After working with the calculator and getting clear on her numbers, she raised her prices 3x. Found clients easier than with lower prices and was able to leave her job with confidence.
Another client had just finished a major certification alongside her busy corporate job. After getting clear on what she needed financially, she started getting requests for private consulting. She used these experiences to hone in on the work that really lit her up and build a nest egg before going into the work full-time.
In both of these situations the money became a detail. A fact. It lost its charge.
And that allowed clarity to lead the way. For action to be taken rather than spinning anxious thoughts about where the money would come from.
Me, at the Yellow Conference in 2015
This is for you if
✓ You keep saying "I can't afford to invest in my creative work right now" but you suspect that's not the whole truth
✓ You're treating your creative dreams as all-or-nothing when there might be a thousand other ways forward
✓ You're afraid to charge for your work because it would mean exposing yourself
✓ You tell yourself the issue is money but you suspect it might be capacity, or fear, or something else
✓ You're done waiting for the "right time" and you're ready to see what's actually possible
✓ You want to make progress on one creative project without blowing up your whole life
You don't need to be good at spreadsheets.
You don't need to have your finances perfectly organized.
You don't need to know what you're going to charge.
You just need to be willing to look.
How we'll spend the week together
Monday, March 9 • Live Session 1 (90 minutes)
What do you actually want to create—and what will it take?
We start by getting clear on what you actually want.
Not the all-or-nothing version. Not the "someday when I have money" version.
What's one creative project you want to bring to life?
What would it look like to take one real step toward creative abundance?
We'll envision together. We'll get specific. We'll start to see what this could actually be.
Then I'll walk you through a live example—a real project I'm considering right now—and show you how I use the Make the Money Math Math calculator to see what's actually possible.
You'll watch me work through it in real time. You'll see how the numbers reveal what's true.
You'll leave Monday with:
Clarity on what you're actually working toward
The calculator in your hands
A lived example of how to use it
Permission to explore what's possible
Tuesday-Thursday • Guided Solo Work
These three days are where the transformation happens.
Each day, you'll receive:
Audio lessons (15-20 minutes) covering:
How to work with the calculator and what the numbers are telling you
Common stories that keep creatives stuck and how to work through them
How to identify whether money, capacity, or something else is actually in the way
Reflection prompts to help you process what's coming up
Access to a private community space where you can:
Ask questions as they arise
Share what you're discovering
Get feedback and support from me and the group
This is when you'll actually work with the calculator. Play with possibilities. See what's true. Notice what comes up.
You're not alone in this. I'll be in the community space daily, responding to questions and offering guidance.
Friday, March 13 • Live Session 2 (90 minutes)
Planning: Making It Happen
We come back together to turn clarity into action.
You'll share what you discovered. We'll troubleshoot what came up. We'll address the fears and stories that surfaced.
Then we'll build your plan:
What are your actual income levers?
What needs to shift about your current work situation?
What's the next 30-60 days going to look like?
What's one concrete step you're taking this week?
You'll leave Friday with a plan that feels aligned and ready to let the money flow in.
What you walk away with
✓ Two 90-minute live sessions (Monday & Friday)
✓ Three days of guided work with audio lessons and prompts
✓ Make the Money Math Math calculator (yours to keep forever)
✓ Private community space for questions and support all week
✓ Recordings of all live sessions available for 30 days
Investment: $249
How this relates to my deeper work
In Body of Work, my six-month coaching partnership, I help people recover direct access to their creative power and reorganize their entire life around it.
But before you can reorganize your life, there are obstacles to clear. Hard conversations to have. Boundaries to set. Responsibilities that need to shift.
And money decisions to make.
This intensive addresses that last one—and helps you see what's actually in the way.
Some people will do this and realize they're ready for Body of Work. Some will take the calculator and run with it. Some will just breathe easier because they finally know what's true.
All of that is good.
Questions
-
You can watch a recording. Recordings will be available for 30 days.
But live participation is strongly encouraged—the collective energy and real-time support are valuable. -
To get the most benefit you should have a sense of what you want to work toward. It doesn't have to be fully formed. I imagine that if you are reading this far, you have something in mind. Trust your gut!
-
No. The calculator does the math. You just need to be willing to look at what it shows you. And I'll be there to help you understand it.
-
Perfect. That's exactly what this intensive helps you see. Knowing what's actually in the way is the whole point.
-
No. This is about clearing the fog so you can see what's actually possible and make real decisions about your creative life.
-
That's fine. This is about seeing clearly first. What you do with that clarity is up to you.
The truth about what you're actually afraid of
Let me say this plainly:
You're not afraid of the money.
You're afraid that if you look directly at it, you'll have to admit what you actually want.
And if you admit what you actually want, you might have to do something about it.
And if you do something about it, you might fail.
Or worse—you might succeed, and then you'd have to keep going.
I get it. All of that is scary.
But staying in the fog is scarier.
Because the fog costs you:
The creative work you're not making
The life you're not building
The version of yourself you're not becoming
This intensive is about choosing to look.
Not because it's easy. Because staying stuck is harder.
I'm done watching people—including myself—stay small because we're afraid to see what's actually possible.
Let's look together.
— Jennifer