Ep. 052 How Virtual Assistants Can Take Control of Their Business Finances with Danielle Hayden

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 Last month in The Support Squad Membership, I did a live coaching call with members where we talked about Money Mindset and how a positive mindset can help us sell better and reach our financial goals.

So many of us put so much emotion into the way that we think about money and then we project our anxieties or fears about finances onto our clients, which can really limit the way we price our services and make business.

 As I shared with my members, the key starting place of having a healthy money mindset is having a realistic awareness of your finances and your numbers, which is why I am thrilled to have Danielle Hayden on the podcast today.

Danielle Hayden is a reformed corporate CFO (chief financial officer) who is on a mission to help rule-breaking female entrepreneurs understand their numbers so they can gain the confidence needed to create sustainable profits. After spending 10+ years in the boardroom as a corporate finance officer, Danielle is now in her sweet spot as the co-owner of Kickstart Accounting, Inc. where she helps business owners with bookkeeping, financial analysis, and education and as the author of the Profit Planner book series. When Danielle isn’t crunching numbers on her clients’ behalf or crafting the next iteration of the Profit Planner, you can find her hanging with her two kids as she inspires them to lead their fullest lives or doing any, and almost every fitness-related activity ranging from Spartan races to pilates.

Today Danielle is going to share the important steps we need to take regarding our business finances, what accounting software will help us grow, how to pay yourself as a business owner, and how to set financial goals. Let’s dive in! 

About Danielle

Danielle lives in Cleveland Ohio and owns a virtual accounting firm that supports entrepreneurs and small business owners in knowing their numbers and improving their money mindset. She believes that information is power and her mission is to get that information into entrepreneurs hands. 


She’s a mom of a 14 and 10 year old and also has a new Golden Retriever!

The Important Numbers You Should Know About Your Business 

Danielle has a few recommendations for virtual assistants that are just starting their businesses. 

She recommends starting by opening a business checking account and keeping your business and personal expenses 100% separate. She wants to make sure that you have a POS (point of sale system) that is linked to your business account. So make sure to open up a separate PayPal account for your business. 

All of this will help you to do 2 things:

  1. Look like a legitimate business to the IRS, rather than just having “hobby income.”
  2. Allow you to easily get set up in an accounting software. 

What Accounting Software Should You Use? 

Danielle always recommends to her clients that they use Quickbooks Online. As she shares, in Quickbooks you’re able to see long-range information. Danielle likes to say “Your numbers are trying to tell you a story” and the more you know, the more you can learn about your financial story. 

The Dangers of Not Tracking Financial Metrics 

As entrepreneurs we often go with our heart, but it’s really important to use both your brain and your heart to make important business decisions. 

Danielle shares the story of a client of hers who had to make a tough decision regarding a passion project that she had started after reviewing the real financial data. 

Paying Yourself as a Virtual Assistant

When you’re deciding how much to pay yourself as a virtual assistant, make sure that you have enough in your business account to cover the next 1-3 months of business expenses.

Whatever’s left in the account is how much you can pay yourself. You then transfer that amount from your business account to your personal checking account.

 


If you want to dive deeper into our thriving virtual assistant community, here’s what’s coming up in the membership this month:

Our theme is Personal Branding and international business coach Amanda Kolbye is sharing strategies for establishing and evolving a captivating personal brand.

To help you on your journey of self-discovery, this month one of our bonus goodies is 30 journal prompts made especially for virtual assistants.

I’m also going to be sharing a simple Content Planning System that makes it super easy to batch and repurpose content that illuminates your personal.

And of course, we’ll have 2 live group coaching calls and you’ll get access to all the past content in the membership area.

 Get instant access when you sign up for a free 14-day trial.

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