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How to Use Financial Goal Setting as the Foundation for Your Business Budget – Ep. 241

Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

Release Date: 09/23/2025

4 Balance Sheet Red Flags - The Risk of not Understanding your Balance Sheet

Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

Cash is the number one reason small businesses fail, and it usually happens quietly. In this episode of Business By The Books, I walk you through four balance sheet red flags I see business owners ignore all the time, even when revenue and profit look strong. We talk about why the income statement alone can create a false sense of security, how debt and owner draws quietly drain cash, and what warning signs to watch for before financial stress takes over. My goal is to help you understand what your balance sheet is actually telling you so you can take action with clarity and confidence as a...

11 Lessons in 11 Years

Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

After 11 years in business, I’ve learned this: becoming a CEO isn’t a finish line. It’s a practice. The lessons that shape you most don’t come from perfect plans or polished systems. They come from starting before you feel ready, trusting yourself through uncertainty, asking for help, navigating loneliness, and continuing to grow even when leadership feels heavy. In this episode, I’m reflecting on the lessons that mattered most and how they’ve shaped the way I lead today. This episode is for business owners who are learning as they go and want to lead with more clarity and...

Reasonable Compensation for S Corp Owners

Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

Paying yourself incorrectly as an S Corp owner creates quiet IRS risk, cash stress, and year-end cleanup that many business owners don’t see coming. In this episode of Business By The Books, Danielle explains what reasonable compensation actually means, why payroll must come before owner draws, and how setting this up early can save you stress later in the year. You’ll learn: What reasonable compensation means for S Corp owners Why underpaying yourself through payroll creates future tax problems The IRS rule that requires payroll before owner draws How paying yourself through...

Sunk Costs: The Silent Trap Sabotaging Your Goals (And How to Break Free)

Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

Every January, business owners set big, impressive goals for the new year… but drag last year’s mistakes, sunk costs, and emotional baggage with them. It’s no wonder most of these exciting goals fade away by February. But it doesn’t have to be that way! In this episode, we break down what sunk costs are, why they quietly sabotage your decisions, and how to finally break free from them. You’ll learn how to identify old contractors, software, offers, and spending that no longer serve you, so you can protect your business, gain financial clarity, and make smarter, forward-focused...

I'm Not Setting Goals This Year — And Why You Shouldn’t Either

Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

Why do most small business owners never achieve their goals? It’s rarely a lack of ambition. It’s usually a lack of systems, habits, and financial leadership. This episode is about why goals alone don’t create results and how a proven, repeatable financial framework builds CEO confidence. I share a five-part monthly financial system designed to help you shift from an owner mindset to thinking like a CEO. I also talk about why bookkeeping for small businesses isn’t about doing the work yourself, and why understanding your numbers matters most when money anxiety and cash flow problems...

How to Use AI Without Creating Financial or Operational Risk

Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

AI isn’t going anywhere. But for small business owners, using it the wrong way can create financial blind spots, bad decisions, and long-term risk. This episode is about what happens when AI replaces judgment instead of supporting it, especially when it comes to your numbers. I’m joined by Carol Cox, founder of Speaking Your Brand and an early adopter of AI with a background in software development. We break down how small business owners can use AI to save time and reduce overwhelm without outsourcing financial leadership or losing clarity in decision-making. Carol explains: 04:39...

Beyond the Budget: The Hidden Psychology of How Entrepreneurs Think About Money – Ep. 254

Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

If you’ve ever delayed looking at your numbers, dreaded a bookkeeping meeting, or felt a pit in your stomach when someone says “Let’s review your finances,” this episode is going to feel like a deep exhale. In this conversation, Danielle sits down with financial advisor and partner at Brad Cunningham for an honest look at why entrepreneurs struggle with money clarity and why confidence doesn’t come from spreadsheets. It comes from understanding your numbers and applying that knowledge to your life and your business. Key Takeaways: Money Avoidance Is Emotional, Not...

The Year-End Reflection Framework: The Truth About How Real CEOs Grow – Ep. 253

Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

Most entrepreneurs skip reflection altogether. They’re busy, tired, and ready for a fresh start. But if you don’t pause to reflect, you repeat the same mistakes. You carry old habits into a new season. You build goals on top of unclear patterns. Reflection is where leadership starts. It’s where clarity lives. It’s simple, but not easy. In this episode, Danielle walks you step-by-step through the Year-End Reflection Framework built into the Kickstart system. It’s the tool that helps you understand what worked, what didn’t, and where you can step more fully into your CEO role next...

Why Most Entrepreneurs Stay Stuck (and the Framework That Fixes It) – Ep. 252

Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

Most entrepreneurs stay stuck for one simple reason: they do bookkeeping for taxes, not for leadership. They record their numbers, send them to the accountant, hope the IRS is happy… and then cross their fingers the rest of the year. But, you can’t lead a business with guesses, gut feelings, or your bank balance alone. In this episode, Danielle Hayden, reformed corporate CFO and founder of Kickstart Accounting, Inc., covers the same systems she used as a corporate CFO in boardrooms with top executives and brings them to entrepreneurs through Kickstart’s 3-step framework, so you can...

AI Won’t Tell You the Truth About Your Numbers—But I Will: The Dark Side of Bad Bookkeeping – Ep. 251

Business By The Books with Danielle Hayden

If you’ve ever thought, “My books are fine,” because you’re using QuickBooks’ automations or have uploaded your QuickBooks file into ChatGPT for analysis, this episode is your wake-up call (delivered with love!). Bad bookkeeping covered up by pretty software dashboards or people-pleasing AI chatbots hides real problems. This week, Danielle Hayden, CEO and founder of Kickstart Accounting, Inc., gets honest about one of the biggest dangers facing entrepreneurs today: the false sense of confidence created by messy books, automation, and AI “insights” built on inaccurate...

More Episodes

Ever sat down to build your budget, only to realize you don’t even know what you’re building it for? A budget without a goal is like a map without a destination. In this episode, Danielle Hayden, reformed corporate CFO and founder of Kickstart Accounting, Inc., is pulling back the curtain on the exact step-by-step framework she and her team use with CFO clients to set financial goals first, and then create a budget that actually gets them there.

Key Takeaways:

Celebrate the Wins (and Lessons) First: Before setting new goals, reflect on what you achieved last year and the hard financial lessons you learned. This helps you build from a place of clarity instead of starting from scratch.
Big Picture and Dreams Before Details: Start with your 10-year vision, narrow it down to a 3-year target, and then break it into actionable 12-month goals. This ensures your short-term actions align with your long-term vision.
Your Personal Life Matters: Your business goals must support the life you want to create, not work against it. Aligning both ensures sustainability and fulfillment.
Define Your CEO Role: Whether you want to be client-facing, step fully into the visionary seat, or do a blend of both, knowing your role helps you make smarter hiring and budgeting decisions.
Pay Yourself First: As the business owner, you deserve to be compensated. Budgeting your pay upfront creates healthy financial guardrails and sustainable profitability.

Topics Discussed:

(00:00) Intro: Why Your Goals Need to Come Before Building a Budget

(02:02) The Importance of Looking Back Before You Move Forward

(06:03) Setting Long-Term, Mid-Term, and Short-Term Goals

(10:27) What Mode Are You In: Aligning Your Life & Personal Goals with Your Business Goals

(12:44) Defining Your CEO Role and Team Structure

(14:54) Profitability, Sustainability, and Paying Yourself First

(18:30) Action Steps to Complete Your Financial Goal Setting Worksheet & Your Responsibility as a CEO

(19:33) Outro: Kickstart’s CFO Services, Like, Share and Subscribe!

Resources:

Financial Goal Setting Worksheet | https://kickstartaccountinginc.com/goal-setting-worksheet

CFO Services | https://kickstartaccountinginc.com/the-cfo-solution/