When I give training sessions on financial ratios to entrepreneurs, I always see the same look: one of intellectual recognition without personal application. They understand the importance of monitoring their liquidity ratio, but how many monitor their own "energy liquidity"?
The truth I learned in the most brutal way — lying in a hospital bed in 2019, my business on autopilot, and my body in survival mode — is that we manage our businesses exactly like we manage our health . And both use the same financial principles.
Let me explain to you.
The cash budget: your energy isn't infinite.
In corporate finance, the cash budget is sacred.
Do you know why?
Because a company that's profitable on paper can still go bankrupt if it runs out of cash at the wrong time. This is called technical insolvency: you have assets, future income, but not enough cash right now to pay your employees on Friday.
Your energy works exactly the same way.
You can have all the skills in the world (your assets), a full order book (your future income), but if you don't have the energy this morning for that crucial meeting, you are technically in "energy bankruptcy".
Here's how I adapted the cash budget to my life as an entrepreneur:
Your incoming funds (energy) - your cash in
- Quality sleep = your recurring income
- Physical exercise = your investments with a quick return.
- Adequate nutrition = your working capital
- Moments of rejuvenation = your emotional dividends
- Nurturing relationships = your subsidies (free energy!)
Your cash outflows (energy-related) - your cash out
- Important meetings = your planned operating expenses
- Crisis management = your unexpected expenses
- Excessive multitasking = your financing costs (you pay with interest)
- Toxic relationships = your bad debts (you'll never get that energy back)
- Procrastination = your penalties and interest.
The question I now ask every entrepreneur I support:
"Can you show me your energy budget for next week?"
The silence that follows speaks volumes...
The financial ratios of your entrepreneurial health.
In my finance training, I always emphasize three critical ratios. Today, I religiously apply them to my own management.
1. The liquidity ratio (working capital / short-term liabilities)
In corporate finance:
A healthy ratio is 1.5 to 2.0. This means you have $1.50 to $2.00 in liquid assets for every dollar of short-term debt. You can breathe easy.
In entrepreneurial health:
Energy liquidity ratio = Hours of replenishment / Hours of intense stress
If you have 10 hours of high-intensity meetings this week, you should have planned 15 to 20 hours of real recovery (not "tired Netflix," but real rest).
My ratio before my cancer diagnosis? 0.2 . For every hour of rest, I had 5 hours of stress. I was chronically energy bankrupt, but my company was showing record profits. The irony is cruel.
Today, I aim for a minimum of 1.5. And guess what? My business is performing better.
2. The debt ratio (total debt / total assets)
In corporate finance:
You want a ratio below 1.0. That means your assets are worth more than your debts. You have room to maneuver.
In entrepreneurial health:
Debt ratio = Accumulated recovery debt / Current energy reserves
"Recovery debt" is all that rest you haven't taken, those postponed vacations, those 5-hour nights you have to pay back with interest.
Calculate it honestly:
- How many days of complete rest do you owe yourself?
- How many 8-hour nights did you miss this month?
- How many meals have you skipped or eaten in front of your screen?
Multiply by 1.5 (the compound interest of fatigue), and you have your recovery debt.
Me, in 2019? I had a debt of 6 months of complete rest. My body ended up forcing the repayment. With cancer as the bailiff.
3. The interest coverage ratio (EBIT / Financial expenses)
In corporate finance:
Measure your ability to pay the interest on your debts with your profits. You want at least 3.0: for every dollar of interest, you generate $3 of profit.
In entrepreneurial health:
Coverage ratio = Energy available after essentials / Energy required for new opportunities
Before accepting that new client, that exciting contract, that prestigious conference, ask yourself the question:
After "paying" for my essentials (sleep, family, health, basic operations), do I still have 3 times the energy needed for this opportunity?
If not, you go into debt. And you pay off those debts with your health.
My personal financial dashboard (yes, I have one)
Every Friday afternoon (I no longer work in the evening), I do what I call my "personal monthly closing." Like a business closing its books, I look at:
1. My energy cash flow statement
- Opening balance: Energy level last Monday morning (out of 10)
- Inputs: Hours of sleep, exercise, restorative moments
- Outings: Times of high stress, conflict, difficult decisions
- Closing balance: Energy level this Sunday (out of 10)
2. My doubtful receivables
- What activities or people have drained my energy without giving anything back?
- Should I "provision" them (reduce my exposure) or "write them off" (cut them off completely)?
3. My emotional dead spot
- What is the minimum amount of energy I need to function?
- Am I over or under this month?
This dashboard saved me. Not my business — me. And ironically, it saved my business in the process (when I experienced a major emotional burnout last year).
The provision for unforeseen events: your health emergency fund
In finance, it's taught that a healthy business should have 3 to 6 months of expenses in emergency reserves. Why don't entrepreneurs apply this principle to their own lives?
My emergency health fund currently includes:
Time:
- 2 weeks of flexible availability in my schedule at any time.
- No week "booked" at more than 70% capacity.
- One day a month completely free (for unexpected events or for me)
Energy:
- I systematically refuse any opportunity if my energy liquidity ratio is below 1.2.
- I have identified 5 "quick recharge" activities available in 15 minutes (walking, meditation, calling a friend, music, writing).
Resources:
- A support network that can be activated quickly (my coach, my mastermind group, my assistant)
- Business systems that can run for 2 weeks without me (learned the hard way in 2019)
This fund cost me short-term growth. I turned down contracts. I said no to exciting opportunities. But today, I'm still in business. And alive. Many of my competitors from that time have closed down or are suffering from burnout.
The ROI of your health (Return On Investment)
Let's talk numbers, because that's my language.
Before my cancer, my business generated X dollars, but I worked 80 hours a week. My "real hourly income" was ridiculous. Worse: I didn't account for the hidden costs.
My hidden costs from 2014-2019:
- Fatigue-related judgment errors: ~$50,000 in missed opportunities
- Employee turnover (my irritant): ~$30,000 in recruitment/training
- Healthcare and treatments: ~$75,000 (part of which is not covered) - hiring an employee at additional cost
- Loss of income during treatment: ~$50,000
- Emotional cost to my family: priceless.
Total cost: $205,000 + 18 months of my life.
Today, my company generates 85% of what it used to, but I work 45 hours a week. My actual hourly income has increased. My profit margin (energy and financial) is higher. My team is stable. My family is present.
The ROI of investing in my health? Incalculable.
Your next step: a financial audit of yourself.
Here's what I'm proposing for this week — not next month, not "when things calm down" (spoiler: they never will) — this week :
1. Calculate your 3 health ratios
- Energy liquidity ratio (restorative hours / hours of intense stress)
- Debt-to-equity ratio (recovery debt / current reserves)
- Coverage ratio (energy after essentials / energy for opportunities)
2. Identify your biggest "cash hemorrhage"
- Which activity/person/commitment drains your energy disproportionately?
- Can it be reduced, delegated, or eliminated?
3. Create your health emergency fund
- Block out 2 hours this week for yourself (non-negotiable)
- Identify 3 "quick recharge" activities that can be done in 15 minutes (stretching, dancing, running in place, etc.)
- Add 1 blank day to your calendar for next month (I'm adding 4 today).
The truth that no one is saying.
Financial leadership doesn't begin with your company's balance sheet. It begins with your personal balance sheet. You can't manage a company healthily if you're chronically running a deficit in your own personal finances.
I learned this lesson by losing almost everything. You can learn it by reading these words and acting now.
Your company needs a leader in financial health. But before that, it needs a leader in health, period.
The question isn't: "Do I have time to take care of myself?"
The real question is: "Can I afford NOT to do it?"
Do the math. You already know the answer.
💬 Your thought of the week
What is your current energy liquidity ratio? Share it in the comments (no judgment, just awareness).
If this article resonated with you, share it with an entrepreneur who's running too fast. Sometimes, the best ROI you can offer someone is a break.
About the author
Christiane Constantineau is a serial entrepreneur, business coach, and author of "Manage. Grow. Breathe." She combines her MBA and a postgraduate degree in corporate finance with experience in entrepreneurial resilience to support leaders in building sustainable businesses without sacrificing their health.