Why Smart Women Make Emotional Business Decisions Around Money ft Danielle Hayden
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Do you dread looking at your financial statements? This conversation with Danielle Hayden might be the bit of encouragement you need to change your perspective. Danielle is the founder of Kickstart Accounting Inc. and brings 15+ years of finance experience to help six and seven-figure founders understand their numbers, feel confident making financial decisions, and build sustainable wealth.
In this episode, Victoria and Danielle cover the four money personality types she sees most often in entrepreneurs and how understanding your money mindset can change how you run your business. They dive into the impact childhood experiences have on your present-day view of money, money myths that keep entrepreneurs stuck, and why relying on AI tools for financial planning can be problematic.
If you’ve ever told yourself, “I’m just not good with numbers”, spend from a place of fear or lack, or simply avoid looking at your finances altogether, this conversation will inspire you to approach your numbers with clarity and confidence. Whether you’re deep cleaning your house or sipping on a latte from your favorite local coffee shop, you’ll leave this episode feeling empowered to know your numbers.
Introduction to Danielle Hayden from Kickstart Accounting Inc.
Danielle Hayden is the founder of Kickstart Accounting Inc. and host of the podcast, Business by the Books. In her business, she helps six and seven-figure founders understand and feel empowered by their numbers. Danielle brings over 15 years of experience in finance to her business and wants her clients to build confidence and create sustainable wealth.
If you’re depending on AI to manage your bookkeeping and guide your financial decisions, or if spending in your business feels scary or emotional, Danielle’s perspective and strategies will leave you feeling more capable and excited to know your numbers.
Danielle’s Journey to Finance for Entrepreneurs
Before she became a CPA, Danielle was a hairstylist. She recalls that even in that role, she used numbers to help the salon track performance, adjust targets, and hit their goals. She also helped her coworkers read their paychecks and understand their numbers.
Eventually, Danielle became a CPA and moved into the corporate finance space. She realized that numbers are a game that can help you get what you want. Danielle then worked as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for over 10 years. She took everything she learned serving CEOs and private equity firms and created that same experience for small business owners in her current business, Kickstart Accounting.
How Childhood Shapes Money Mindset
Your unique money mindset is shaped through life experiences. The way you feel about money as an entrepreneur is likely tied to how you were raised and how you viewed money as a child. Those money beliefs carry into how you treat it in your business—you don’t just check your personal baggage at the door.
The Report Card Effect
Danielle shares what she calls the “report card effect”. Growing up, report cards were pass or fail. You either passed, and were rewarded, or you failed, and there were consequences.
Whether they realize it or not, many entrepreneurs view their profit and loss statements like a report card. They’re afraid it will tell them that they failed, they aren’t good enough, or they should just go back to a 9-5. That fear response causes many people to avoid their numbers altogether, instead of viewing them as data that can help them make better decisions.
3 Money Myths Holding Entrepreneurs Back
There are many money myths that hold entrepreneurs back from assessing their numbers and maximizing their profits. Here are some of the most common ones Danielle sees.
1. “I’m not a numbers person”.
This is really just an excuse to not use numbers to make business decisions, resulting in saving, underspending, or not investing properly. If you don’t pay attention to what the numbers are telling you, you can’t fully step into your role as CEO.
2. Cutting spending as much as possible
Without even looking at their numbers, many entrepreneurs think their problem is spending and the solution is cutting back. In reality, Danielle often sees women entrepreneurs underspending in their businesses. That means they aren’t getting the support they need and aren’t investing in their growth.
3. Feeling intimidated by your financial team
Your money team should work with you and speak in a way that’s easy for you to understand. The Kickstart Accounting team shares a high-level overview of the numbers with their clients and takes the time to answer any questions they have. It’s so important to find a team that’s willing to explain things to you in simple terms. If they intimidate or overcomplicate things for you, they likely aren’t the right fit.
When to Hire Financial Support
If you aren’t sure when you should start building your financial team, here is Danielle’s advice based on your annual revenue.
$100K revenue per year: Consider hiring a bookkeeper and a CPA. You may also find you need additional contractors, like a VA or operations support.
$250K revenue per year: Hire employees as needed.
$500K revenue per year: Hire a CFO to help you create a growth strategy.
Four Money Personality Types
Danielle shares four main money personality types, and understanding where you fall will help you make more strategic financial decisions.
The Free Spender
If you’re able to spend money regardless of what the financials say, you’re a Free Spender. You likely take risks and go with your gut, without even consulting the financials.
The Saver
The Saver errs on the side of caution and wants to make sure they have enough. They may struggle with investing in the business and taking a profit distribution.
The Balance Seeker
If you understand you need to spend money to make money but also want enough in savings, you’re a Balance Seeker. This personality type is a combination of the Free Spender and Saver and desires both to feel safe.
The Fear-Based Spender
The Fear-Based Spender often makes decisions from a place of comparison or feeling afraid of being left behind. If you fall into this category, try the 48-hour rule. When you’re considering making a purchase, booking a new service for your business, or hiring a team member, wait 48 hours and see if you still want to move forward. This often helps you identify if you’re making a decision out of fear or if it’s truly a strategic investment.
Should you use AI for financial decisions?
It’s important to remember that AI tools like ChatGPT aren’t always accurate, and they mainly want to make you happy. They won’t push back, ask questions, or tell you things you don’t want to hear. It will fill-in-the-blanks on strategy, without taking into consideration the truth.
Danielle shares an example of a client who used AI-powered QuickBooks. She was using it to process and categorize her transactions, and essentially it categorized them incorrectly and duplicated each deposit, leading to inflated revenue. She then uploaded those inaccurate financials into ChatGPT and asked it to analyze her finances.
After Danielle’s team assessed her financials, they found her profit was overstated by almost $150K. This means she overpaid estimated taxes to the IRS and made a very large investment in her business she otherwise would not have.
This is something to be mindful about with AI financial tools—they want to keep you happy and don’t account for numbers potentially being inaccurate or incomplete.
Strategies for Approaching Finances with Confidence
Knowing your numbers isn’t just a smart practice as a business owner; it helps you make informed decisions based on data. Here are some strategies to feel more confident with your finances.
Review financial reports regularly.
Set a recurring task for yourself to review your financial reports every month. Reviewing your numbers regularly will help you set realistic sales goals, track expenses, and double down on the marketing efforts or offers that are already working and spend less time on the ones that are not.
Look at trends over multiple years.
Most entrepreneurs experience slower seasons in their businesses. When these seasons occur, it can feel stressful. This is why it’s important to assess trends not just month-to-month, but over multiple years. This practice reveals seasonal patterns that will remove panic and help you plan ahead for slower time periods.
Acknowledge that money is emotional.
Money is emotional for everyone, influenced by the money mindset you’ve adopted thus far in life. But once you start a business, you take on a responsibility as a CEO. You have to lean into what feels uncomfortable and grow in the financial area in order to be a better business owner.
Conclusion
Knowing your numbers is part of the job description as a CEO. Don’t be afraid to see what’s happening financially in your business; use that information to make better decisions. Partner with a money team that you trust will support you and equip you with the tools you need to grow.
If you’d like to connect further with Danielle and work with her team, you can reach out to them here or tune into her podcast, Business by the Books.
Key Quotes
“We need to be focusing on metrics like profit and not the vanity metrics like revenue, likes, and followers.”
Danielle Hayden
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