We were lucky to catch up with Danielle Hendon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Danielle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

For so long, accounting and finance has been untouchable for anyone that’s not an accountant. There was a time, early in my career, that I would tell you the industry actually prided themselves on this fact. Accountants stay in business and necessary because nobody else understands it. The more complicated the tax code or audit requirements are, the better for the industry. But it’s not better for the business owners. After more than a decade in accounting and finance, I found myself on the other side of a corporate bankruptcy, with my last employer, and in the middle of a pandemic that made all of us question our priorities. I knew there had to be a better way. There had to be a way for me to do what I love while being there for the people I love most. There had to be a way to bring these “big business” financial concepts to every business owner in a way that they can understand and afford. I never thought I’d say I was grateful for experiencing a business bankruptcy, but it was the reason I knew I could downsize these concepts and make them accessible. As that billion-dollar business shrank to about 20 people in the back-office, I was the one helping write and rewrite the processes. I knew we could do this on an even smaller scale. Accounting and finance can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Our mission at 4 Corners CFO isn’t to tell anyone what they should do or how to do it. We collaborate with business owners and their team to give them the confidence and information they need to take the next step in their business. We do this because we envision world where big business financial concepts are accessible and understandable for every small business so they can build livelihoods and legacies. The numbers and strategy are important, they are a core part of what we do with clients every single week and month, but the people are even more important. We collaborate and work with the people. Mindset and what we like to call the “softer side of finance” matter just as much as the numbers on paper. We get to work on that when we see people for who they are and not just the numbers on a page. The icing on the cake for me, as a business owner and CPA, is being able to provide jobs to other accountants just like me. I get to employ people that are absolutely amazing at what they do, kick-butt accountants by all accounts, but don’t want to be part of the hustle culture or put in ridiculous hours. They get to do what they love and be with the people that are most important to them.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I love telling my “origin story” because there are so many moments that I was certain life would go differently but actually turned out better than I could have imagined. I’m going to take it all the way back to college and tell you that this accountant actually started college as a music major. There’s some uncanny link between music and numbers but at that time I was all about the music. That was, until an English professor had us write all about the future of our career choice and I realized I did not have friends in high places and was going to end up broke and/or teaching music instead of performing it. So, I went where I did have friends…the business school. I took a few accounting classes and love them which led to changing majors and graduating with a Masters in Accountancy. Like most accountants I know, I went right into public accounting after I graduated. I was there for a few years and on what they call the “partner track”. I really loved what I was doing and the people I was doing it with. In that season of life, the work hard, play hard mentality fit. Until it didn’t.

When I had my first child and realized how much harder it was to juggle a newborn and 60-hour work weeks with a husband that worked a shift (days/nights) schedule. I still loved the work and the people, but I couldn’t handle the hours without feeling guilty and juggling childcare needs. Being in the Houston area, most of my experience in public accounting was with oil and gas clients so landing a job at an oil and gas company was the natural next step. I stayed with that oil and gas company for a decade before they closed their doors. When prices crashed, the Company went through bankruptcy and was owned by financial bankers on the other side. Those bankers started slicing and dicing and two years later we were in a pandemic with things being sold for pennies on the dollar. I don’t ever want to take away from what anyone suffered as a result of the pandemic, but it had a silver lining for so many of us – me included. The pandemic was a forced opportunity to slow down and reprioritize life. It was the moment this workaholic mom needed to realize how much I was missing out on. Once I had a taste of this other aspect of parenting, I couldn’t go back. I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined myself as an entrepreneur or business owner but a friend introduced me to another fractional CFO that cheered me on. I calculated the risk and financial runway before eventually taking a leap of faith in opening 4 Corners CFO.

When I started this business, I had so many people telling me I needed to offer bookkeeping and taxes to “get my foot in the door”. I had dabbled just enough in both of these to know I did not want to do either. I could have hired someone to do it as part of the business, but it just really wasn’t where my heart was. I love the accountants and bookkeepers that are passionate about bookkeeping and taxes, but I am not one of them. What I’m passionate about is the strategy and the planning for the future. On top of that, I wanted to do this WITH our clients, not just for them. I wanted to empower and encourage business owners. I drew a line in the sand and vowed that we would never do bookkeeping or taxes. It was a bit of a gutsy choice looking back on it now, but it was the right one. I networked like crazy with other bookkeepers and accountants that were equally passionate about their “zone of genius” and I stuck to mine. I followed my heart and never looked back.

Now, with a team of equally amazing accountants, we get to do just that. We focus on budgets and cash flow and helping business owners understand the story their numbers are telling them. We do this while recognizing we work with people, not machines, and their mindset, goals, and perspective directly impact the action they take. 4 Corners CFO uses a holistic and collaborative approach to business finance so our clients can improve their livelihoods and leave a lasting legacy for their family and community.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

Any business owner that tells you they’ve never experienced this is telling a lie or misinterpreting the question. We have all had moments where we forgo our own paycheck to make sure everyone else gets paid (whether that’s payroll or bills). We work with our clients to avoid this but sometimes it’s just inevitable and yes, I’ve been there in my own business too.

I will start by saying, hiring someone else in your business is one of the scariest moments you will ever experience, and it doesn’t exactly get any easier. The thing that makes it a little less scary is the forward thinking/planning/budgeting that we do with our clients every month. There are three key areas that can put your payroll in jeopardy but none of them has to be the end if you are monitoring and managing your finances.

The first financial hurdle that could keep you from making payroll is having too much payroll. Deciding when to hire, who to hire, how much to pay, and how long it will take them to get going isn’t always easy. It’s important to map out what this person is going to add to your revenue and what they are going to cost so that you know you can afford them. That sounds simple in theory, but there can be a lot of moving parts and factors to consider. This first potential payroll hurdle is a mix of finance and HR. Both require that you set expectations and have quick conversations if those expectations are not being met. Don’t get stuck paying for someone that does not add value to your business, but don’t cut them off before figuring out if it’s a people problem, a training problem, a tools problem, or maybe even a sales pipeline problem.

Speaking of sales pipeline problems, the second financial hurdle that could prevent payroll is a lack of sales. This could be due to a loss of customers or a key customer or it might just be that you aren’t bringing in enough new business. This is a completely different issue from having too much payroll and it is probably one of the most important reasons to keep an eye on your finances constantly. If your sales numbers are not meeting expectations, you are not going to be able to afford the bills, You have to know what’s going on so you can respond quickly. That response might be doubling down on marketing efforts, changing marketing efforts, raising rates, or cutting costs…but something has to happen and happen fast if sales are falling short of expectations.

Last but not least, you could have the right team and great sales but not have the money in the bank account to pay for payroll. The number one reason this happens is because you aren’t collecting money up front or on time for your sales. This tends to happen more often with brand new companies, that aren’t charging up front or on a recurring schedule, and companies that work with bigger organizations use to paying on “terms”. Paying on terms means something is not due the moment you invoice it but instead is due 30-90 or I’ve seen as far out as 160 days from the time you invoice. For these types of company, you’ve paid for or have to pay for things far in advance of getting paid back. The easiest solution to this is a line-of-credit that is used to pay the up-front costs and gets paid back when the invoice is paid. If you don’t fall into either of these categories then you might just need to dig in and see what your collection rate is. If you aren’t collecting money on sales then you don’t have money to pay the bills.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Short and sweet…talking. That doesn’t necessarily mean physically speaking but I believe that putting myself out there on social, podcasts, articles, etc. and being authentic has built our reputation. I am not the suit and tie or well put together accountant. I’m a mom with kids running in the background sometimes and juggling school and swim activities non-stop. My hair is in a messy bun with no make-up on 90% of the time. I don’t have time to beat around the bush with or for clients and I tell it like it is. But I tell it with compassion and empathy because I get it. Running a business is not easy. I’m also willing to talk about the hard stuff, the numbers that make us want to put our head in the sand. I’ve mentioned this before, but I want accounting to be approachable and accessible. I can’t do that without being approachable, accessible, and available to have those conversations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.4cornerscfo.com
• Instagram: 4cornerscfo
• Facebook: 4cornerscfo
• Linkedin: danielle-hendon