Solopreneur Liquidity: Managing Cash Flow with Margin
It’s a problem every businessperson knows: lumpy cash flow. Let’s say you’ve got $18K in receivables landing in 38 days, a contractor who needs a $4K deposit tomorrow, and a portfolio you don’t want to liquidate at today’s prices.
The traditional options for managing cash flow might be: A business line of credit you don’t have. A 0% APR card you maxed during last quarter’s campaign push. Or selling holdings and crystallizing gains you’d rather defer.
But there’s a fourth option many people don’t always consider: borrowing against your portfolio using margin. It doesn’t trigger a sale or require a credit application.
Keep in mind, margin involves risk, including the potential for greater losses. Review M1’s margin disclosure and ensure you understand maintenance requirements and margin call procedures before borrowing.
How borrowing on margin works at M1
M1 Borrow lets you access cash against margin-eligible securities in your account. There’s no application and no credit pull. Furthermore, the borrowing rates on M1 margin are often lower than traditional options—however, it does come with more risk, as your portfolio is used as collateral for the loan.
Here’s how it works:
- You hold at least $2,000 in margin-eligible securities
- You draw what you need, up to your available margin
- You repay on your timeline, provided you continue to meet maintenance requirement
Limited-time promotion: M1’s standard margin rate as of 1//26 is 5.65%. If you’re eligible, you can get a 1.66% margin discount on M1’s standard rate for the next 12 months—that’s 3.99%. Find the details here (promotional terms and conditions apply).
Unlike some other brokerages, there are no balance-based tiers. This rate doesn’t depend on how much you borrow. After the promotional period, the rate reverts to the standard margin rate.
5 margin use cases worth considering for solopreneurs
As a solopreneur, here are five scenarios where margin could be potentially useful for managing cash flow. Please note, this is for educational purposes and is not a recommendation.
1. Invoice bridge (30–45 days)
The scenario: You’re net-30 or net-45 with enterprise clients. Payroll, contractors, and SaaS stack don’t wait.
The potential move: Draw enough to cover 45 days of ops. Repay in full when the wire hits. You keep your portfolio positioned, avoid selling at the wrong time, and bridge the gap for pennies in interest.
Tip: Time-box it. This isn’t working capital—it’s a bridge. In and out.
2. Talent deposits and retainers
The scenario: You find a specialist (e.g. designer, engineer, fractional CFO) but need to lock them in with a deposit before the client SOW is signed.
The potential move: Use a short draw to secure the retainer. Retire the balance when the first milestone payment lands. You don’t miss the talent window, and you don’t liquidate positions to cover a two-week timing gap.
3. Marketing and campaign timing
The scenario: A conference booth opens up. A creator collab has a narrow window. The placement makes sense, but it’s $3K up front and revenue is 60 days out.
The potential move: Front the spend with margin, execute the campaign, track to breakeven or better, and repay as cash converts.
4. Equipment and toolkit upgrades
The scenario: You believe a new camera rig would 10x your content quality. The gear is on sale, but your cash account is earmarked for Q2 expenses.
The potential move: Use margin to capture the pricing window. Repay over 30–60 days as revenue flows in. Essential upgrades shouldn’t wait for the “right” cash timing if the financing cost is negligible.
5. Opportunistic portfolio adds
The scenario: Your see an opportunity in the market to invest wisely, but you’ve already deployed this quarter’s allocation and don’t want to sell anything.
The potential move: You could develop a small, pre-defined window to use margin for investing with a strict exit and repayment plan. To mitigate risk, you may choose to stay well below the maintenance margin and keep a close eye on your margin health meter on M1.
Guardrails to keep in mind
The margin threshold up to 50% of your eligible securities. If your portfolio value drops and you fall below maintenance, you’ll receive a margin call. On M1, you’ll receive a warning if you are coming close to a margin call.
If that happens, you’ll need to deposit cash or sell securities to restore the requirement.
Remember: Borrowing on margin can magnify losses. If the market moves against you while you’re borrowing on margin, the downside is amplified.
Managing cash flow: M1 as your liquidity stack for 2026–2030
M1 can be useful for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and solopreneurs. Here are the three pillars that can streamline your financial moves:
- M1 Earn (High-Yield Cash Account) for true reserves—emergencies and 90-day runway
- M1 Invest (brokerage accounts, SEP IRAs, etc.) to automate the tedium of building sustainable wealth over time.
- M1 Borrow (margin) for tactical, short-term liquidity when selling is the wrong move
You’re building a business step-by-step with the best tools out there. Now build your wealth with the best platform for long-term investors.
Ready to get started?
Disclosure: Margin trading involves risk, including the potential for greater losses. Review M1’s margin disclosure and ensure you understand maintenance requirements and margin call procedures before borrowing.
M1 Margin Loans are available on margin accounts with at least $2,000 invested per account. Not all securities are available for M1 Margin Loans and the amount that may be borrowed against a security is subject to change without notice. Available margin amount(s) of M1 Margin Loans may require greater than $2,000 per Brokerage Account. Not available for Retirement or Custodial accounts. Margin rates may vary.
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