204: Make Better Decisions Around Business and Speaking Opportunities with Danielle Hayden [Goals & Planning Series]

How can we create a decision-making filter to determine which opportunities to say ‘yes’ to and which to say ‘no’ to?

If you are newer in your business and/or with speaking, it can be very beneficial to say ‘yes’ to a lot of opportunities because it provides you with experience and with data for future decision making.

Then, as we get further along in our businesses and in our speaking careers, we inevitably get more and more invitations and opportunities.

My guest today is Danielle Hayden, who is the founder of Kickstart Accounting, Inc. where she and her team help business owners with bookkeeping, financial analysis, and education.

Danielle and I talk about:

• Decision-making filters to help you decide what opportunities to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to
• Identifying the goal you have for a speaking engagement
• Determining if that particular audience is the best one for you
• Tracking metrics beyond dollars (so important)
• When an entrepreneur should hire a bookkeeper and CPA
• The framework Danielle uses with her clients

This episode is part of our Goals & Planning series.

About My Guest: 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.

About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/204

Connect with Danielle at www.profitplannerbooks.com and www.kickstartaccountinginc.com.

Download Danielle’s free financial goal setting worksheet: profitplannerbookkeeping.com/speaking

Danielle’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellehayden__oh

Be sure to get on our email list so you don’t miss the details of our next Brave. Bold. Beyond. live online event that will be on April 1st. Call for speakers is coming in early January. Go to https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join.

Connect on LinkedIn:

• Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox
• Danielle Hayden (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-hayden-kickstartaccounting/

Become Bookable Live Online Workshop - April 15, 2026
If you want to speak more but you’re not sure where to start or your efforts haven’t produced the results you want, I’m hosting a live online workshop called “Become Bookable: How to Get Speaking Invitations” on Wednesday, April 15th.

A lot of brilliant women assume they just need to pitch themselves more. But the real reason speakers get invited isn’t because they pitch harder — it’s because they’re positioned as bookable.

In this 3-hour interactive workshop live on Zoom, I’ll show you how speakers actually get invited — and help you clarify the positioning that makes event organizers say yes.

As a podcast listener, use the coupon code “Podcast100” to save $100 on your registration.

Learn more and register at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/bookable