S3 Ep19. Business Ballerina: Dancing Through Life with Joyce Hayward

In this episode of AB.Wilson’s Heart of the Matter, Joyce Hayward brings a vibrant mix of energy, wisdom and heart to a conversation about purpose, growth and living intentionally. Joyce describes herself as energetic, joyful and thoughtful and throughout the interview she shows exactly what those words mean in practice, from finding the silver lining in hard moments to making time for the people and priorities that matter most.

Joyce shares her journey from a childhood in rural Maryland, where she learned responsibility and resilience, to a life in Bermuda shaped by creativity, faith, family and service. She talks about being a business ballerina, blending her lifelong love of dance with her work as an accountant and advisor who helps clients move through business with confidence, imagination and grace. 

Her story is rooted in helping others, whether she is supporting a business owner with a dream, teaching, developing content or creating tools like her new invoicing app designed to help tradespeople get paid quickly and easily.

A major theme in the conversation is balance, especially the way Joyce learned to stop treating family as an interruption to work and instead build a life where both can thrive. She speaks openly about setting boundaries, protecting Fridays as Sabbath and making space for rest, joy, travel, swimming and the simple pleasures that refill her spirit. 

Joyce also reflects on legacy, storytelling and the importance of sharing life lessons with family and community so that wisdom is not lost and others can benefit from what we have learned.

This episode is full of encouragement for anyone learning how to lead with joy, stay open to change and live with purpose. Joyce reminds us that life is precious, time is valuable and the best way to honor both is to be intentional, thoughtful and willing to dance through life with faith and courage.

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Transcript

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:01.034)

Welcome to another edition of ABWilson's Heart of the Matter, a podcast that uses overwhelmingly positive questions to learn about our guests, where every episode uncovers extraordinary stories of triumph, growth, and empowerment. Hi, I'm Aderonke Bademosi Wilson. My guest on today's show is Joyce Hayward. Joyce is energetic, joyful, thoughtful.

Joyce Hayward (00:04.199)

But.

Joyce Hayward (00:22.311)

Thank you.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:30.658)

Joyce, welcome to the show.

Joyce Hayward (00:33.575)

Thank you for having me, Aderonke. It's so great to be here.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:37.718)

So Joyce, I like to ask my guests to tell me about their descriptors. And your first one is energetic. Tell me about being energetic.

Joyce Hayward (00:48.711)

I love to be involved and engaged and all these E words. And so I say I'm energetic because I am 66, but have lots of energy. I believe in using what I've been given — every morning I get up, I need to use that energy. And people call me the Ever Ready Bunny, the Energizer Bunny, because I like to stay in motion. I like to keep things moving.

I like to bring energy into the room. I like to bring energy into the things that I do. And so that's why energetic.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:25.974)

And let me say for the record, for those people who are listening, you don't look 66. I need to say that.

Joyce Hayward (01:31.079)

Thank you so much.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:35.596)

With your second descriptor, joyful.

Joyce Hayward (01:41.712)

I am joyful and I have joy. So I'm a God girl, Jesus girl. And so I believe that the joy comes from the inside. And so I like to bring joy in situations. I believe that everything you do has a silver lining if you can look for it and bring the joy from the inside. The joy doesn't come from the outside. It comes from what is within. And so I...

my name being Joyce, have found out that the root of that being joy is what I need to be. I need to live up to that. And so I try to be joyful in everything that I try to, as they say, in everything give thanks. And so I try to be joyful.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (02:21.836)

And how do you maintain that? How are you able to sustain being in joy and finding joy regularly?

Joyce Hayward (02:31.799)

I try to look for the silver lining. I try to look for what I can learn in every situation, even when there's something that's happening that's not the greatest situation. I try to think of, how can I look at this in a different way? How can I bring joy in the situation? You know, there are times when of course we can be sad when things happen that are negative, but I try to look at

what's on the other side of this. What can we learn from this? What is the silver lining in it? And so if we move into living another day, then hey, that's the joy. Pain or no pain or whatever it is, we've woken up, we know who we are and whose we are. And you know, some people don't, but how do we still look at the joy? The joy that we used to have, the joy that the person did bring us.

All those things — I try to see what is it that I can look at in this situation that can bring me some joy.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (03:32.878)

Thank you. And being thoughtful. Tell me about that.

Joyce Hayward (03:37.938)

So as I've gotten older, I am trying to — I feel like I'm the matriarch of a lot of things now. I used to always be in the room and be the youngest person in the room. And now I look around and I'm like, I'm probably the oldest person in here. And so I've realized that making memories is so important, that life is really short, that we are losing people at all ages. And so I try to be that connector, to be that thoughtful person

that remembers people's birthdays, that remembers somebody's special occasion, that when someone says they aren't feeling well, to circle back and say, well, how are you feeling today? So I am trying now to be that person that brings our family together on Zoom once a quarter, or to have our immediate family come together for dinner once a month, for those things that are important to someone else.

To be thoughtful in those kinds of situations. So I'm trying to strive more and more to not just think about me, but how other people feel and what I say and what I do, how that impacts someone else. And so I'm trying to be more thoughtful. And I think it's important that people need to feel that they are seen. And so I guess that's what it is — helping people

to make sure they know I see them. And I'm trying to remember Maya Angelou's quote that people won't remember what you said, but they'll remember how you made them feel, or however the quote goes. And that's about being thoughtful.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (05:14.328)

Joyce, I'd like our listeners to learn a little bit more about you. Please share three interesting things about yourself that our listeners may not know and your friends will be surprised to learn.

Joyce Hayward (05:40.454)

Well, some may know or may not, but I consider myself — I call myself a transplanted onion — because I grew up in Maryland in a rural area about 35 miles south of Washington, D.C. And when I grew up there, traffic was not like it is today and it wasn't as easy to get into Washington, D.C. And it was very rural and my dad had a big garden.

And in the summers, my brother's and my responsibilities were to tend the garden. And so during the summer, when all the other kids were doing stuff, we were up at five or six in the morning with the onions and the beans and the corn and the watermelon and all the stuff. And so I look at the onions that I used to pull up and then I look at the Bermuda onion and I say, hey, I've moved from being a Maryland onion to a Bermuda onion.

I consider myself a transplanted onion because I'm blessed to have two places that I call home, places where I can call home, and people that I love in both places. I love the fact that I had that background. I hated it when I was growing up that I had to be in the ground with the dirt and the bugs and all of that stuff. But I realized how much I learned from it.

And now I resonate with that — the earthiness of it, and where you call home. And so it's just, I really feel like I'm blessed to have two places that I call home. So that's one. So another one would be — and a lot of people may know — but I love dance. I started dance as a little girl at four or five years old. So I call myself a business ballerina. And so...

I, when I was young, wanted to be a professional ballerina. That's what I thought I was going to be. And that's what I told my mom. It wasn't one of those things where "I'm going to be a fireman." It was like, I was going to do that. I was in these ballet classes. I took all — I was in ballet from four years old up until I graduated from high school. And I planned to go to university to major in dance. My mom was like, nope, nope, you're going to do something that you can get a job in. And that's not guaranteed. So.

Joyce Hayward (07:54.034)

Hence, I'm now an accountant. But I still look at myself as a ballerina through life because I look at what I do. I'm a very creative person. I don't consider myself that green eye shade accountant. I was always the one, when I worked in public accounting, who wore the funny color suits. Everybody else had black and blue, and I was wearing orange and green and multicolors. And I just am that. And so...

I've always used my creativity even in whatever I do. So as an accountant, I help my clients and I feel like they're partners with me — that we're doing this life of dance. We're dancing through life and I'm the leader. I'm leading them through this life to help them see the joy and to help them love their business and love their life, because that's what I call profit freedom. And so I find that I

use my dance at church, I use my dance in my business. And so hence I call myself a business ballerina, because I always wanted to be a ballerina and I am determined I still am a ballerina. And let's see, the third thing would be how much I love the water. And anybody who follows me on Facebook, a lot of my friends know I love to swim. I love the water. I just feel something

about the water. I was a lifeguard when I was a child. I guess a lot of the stuff is going back to childhood things. They say whatever you were as a child, that inner you comes out as you get older. A lot of people may not know I was a lifeguard as a younger person. And I just always loved the water. And so being here in Bermuda — anytime I can get in the water, I want to get in the water. Like, I love jumping in the water on New Year's Day. That's a huge thing for me, because

none of my friends in Maryland can do that. And so I love to be in the water whenever I can. So if I could swim all year long, I can, and I try to. Like I've been in the water several times. You know, I was trying to get there today, but I wanted to make sure I got here on time. So I might still go later, but I love the water. And you know, people say, oh Joyce, you're a fish. You can just stay in the water all day. Even if I get 15 to 20 minutes, it recharges and refuels me.

Joyce Hayward (10:16.047)

Longer, that's great too. So holidays, that's what I like to do. I like to be in and around the water.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (10:22.702)

And Bermuda has some, in my opinion, of the most beautiful water in the world — turquoise and beautiful blues. And so do you go swimming in the winter as well? I know you said New Year's Day and that's kind of cold, but then you get into February and March here in Bermuda and it really does get cold. Do you go swimming then?

Joyce Hayward (10:28.817)

Absolutely.

Joyce Hayward (10:47.847)

Yes, I try. I try. I will say if it's really rainy and gloomy, I may not, because I like the sun to be out. I like to feel the sun when I'm getting in or getting out. But I have — I went several times in March. I'm trying to think if I went in February because February was very rainy this year, but I try to. I'm trying to join the swim clubs that swim every morning and I keep telling them I'm going to join them and.

When family and friends come, I meet up with — whatever time of the year — I meet up with the sunrise swimmers over in St. David's and I say, hey, look, we got to see the sunrise and hey, we can jump in because look, people are in the water. So I try to swim year-round. I will say I'm not as good as some people, but I've gotten better. I used to inch in and I've gotten better at — I like that feeling of

getting in bit by bit. I recognize when it's really cold, sometimes you just have to make up your mind and just get right in, plunge right in. That's part of who I am too. I just realized you have to take action sometimes. And if you wait too long, it might not happen. And so I try to go year-round, but March is like my beginning of the season for me, and I try to go up to October, November. So yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (12:07.566)

Thank you. Can you tell us about a recent accomplishment or success that you're particularly proud of?

Joyce Hayward (12:17.607)

I am excited for a new season of some things in my business. So one of those is writing apps. And so I haven't finished it the way I want it, but I recognize sometimes getting things done is better than finalized and perfect. But I've written an app that I'm excited about that I'm gonna look to launch probably in May.

And so I'm really excited about that because I didn't think it was something I could do. I always thought that's something that coders do and other people do. So I'm really excited that, you know, at 66, people — I look at other people my age and I'm helping them with the computer. Like they go to their children, their grandchildren. I'm like, you can figure this out. So I'm really glad that I'm kind of staying up on some of those things. I'm really excited about all the AI things that I'm beginning to use more and more.

You know, a lot of people have negative things, negativity around it, but I am finding I'm really enjoying that. I will say another accomplishment just this week — I taught a class or a session with the BDC and I so enjoy developing classes and content and helping people learn something new, or open their eyes to something they may not have been open to, and helping people to see that accounting

doesn't have to be daunting and numbers don't have to be scary if you look at them in the way that will help you to navigate what you're trying to go through. So those are a couple of things that I'll say.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (13:55.292)

Tell me a little bit more about your app. Can you say what it does?

Joyce Hayward (13:58.972)

Yes, so it is called Job Done Invoice, and it's for people who need to invoice right away, like on the spot. So it began with thinking about tradespeople and people that will come fix your air conditioner, fix your door, or whatever. And quite often I find that my clients are usually not those persons, but I will

assist those people — those kinds of people ask me questions and whatever — and I find that they were saying, okay, I'm out of money. I don't have cash flow. And it's because they haven't billed, so they haven't gotten paid — they've done the work but they don't have the money because they haven't billed somebody for it. So I was like, well, how can I help? How can these people be helped? And as I learned about writing apps I was like, this seems like something easy that could really help. And so that's what it's for — it's for

tradespeople, or anybody who wants an easy invoice that they can just do right away, whether they're out in the field, do it on their phone, do it on the computer, and just get an invoice out. And then they can easily get it out so they can get paid.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (15:09.592)

So can people wherever they are in the world use it, or is it primarily for people in Bermuda?

Joyce Hayward (15:14.125)

Absolutely. Anywhere. Anywhere in the world. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (15:18.478)

So I'm going to get the link to your app when it's launched and put it on the webpage.

Joyce Hayward (15:25.403)

Thank you. So yeah, and I'll invite you to the launch. We're going to have — I'm getting ready to start with the wait list. And so for people who maybe want to come to the launch and give me feedback as to things that they see they might like, or that they're not sure is needed — but you know, it's one of those things where it's an MVP. What is the minimum viable product? So what is the main thing that you need, and then we can add the bells and whistles — but it's got some bells and whistles with it too.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (15:27.874)

Please!

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (15:55.498)

Okay, and thank you. I'm looking forward to coming to the launch. Thanks. Please tell us about a time when you made a difference in another's life. What were the circumstances? Paint a picture for me.

Joyce Hayward (15:59.833)

Okay, thanks.

Joyce Hayward (16:11.204)

The one that comes to mind

quickly is when I was a banker.

And this is the pivotal point for me in starting my business. So I was a banker in the States and was a lending officer, and a gentleman came into my office and wanted to get a loan. And he had a great idea and a great vision for a shoe repair shop. It's many years ago — and people repaired their shoes back then. Yeah. And so

his idea was something that he wanted to leave as a legacy for his children and his grandchildren. And he came with the sparkle in his eyes and he was so excited. And he came with a shoe box — it was like a shoe box full of dreams. But I knew that that shoe box was not gonna pass muster for the loan committee. So I'd been doing the job a little while and I was like, this is gonna be a problem. And that's when I knew I've got to help.

I have to be the one to help him because I can't present this like this. So I let him talk and I had to present what he gave me, because the rules were that I could not take his stuff and do something else with it. And he got hit — it didn't pass. And when I had him come back into my office and I let him know that his loan didn't get approved by the loan committee and I watched his face drop, which I knew was going to happen, but sometimes we have to do that. So...

Joyce Hayward (17:49.969)

But I said, I have a solution. I have a suggestion for you, if you're willing to trust me. And because, even though I just met him when he came in — it was probably a week or two before that — we had developed a rapport. And I will say he was an African-American man, and the banks at the time were not as lender-friendly to African-Americans. And I had found I had to work with the Small Business Administration and a few things to get loans passed. And so

I said to him, if you'll trust me — I said, I'm a CPA. I am a lender, but I left public accounting to come into banking because I wanted a different venue, a different way of using my skills. I said, if you'll let me, I'll work after hours for you to help you present a loan package. And I worked at night for like a week developing a loan package that I knew was going to pass.

And it did. To shorten the story, he was over the moon. He brought his wife in. I think he brought his son in — it was a grown son because they were going to join in business with him. And it made such a difference in his life. I became his accountant because he was like, well, I don't have an accountant. And that's what launched me into realizing — I started helping businesses that would come in with these shoe boxes of dreams. And I said, okay, this isn't going to pass, but this is what I could do for you.

And initially I didn't really charge for it, but then I realized I am up all night long helping these businesses get these loans passed — I might as well make this a business. And so I found that helping people achieve their dreams made all the difference for me. It made a difference for them, but it made a difference in their lives. And I really loved that feeling of how that

allowed him to move into where his dreams were headed. And that's what I love to do for my clients, my businesses now — I like to look at what their visions and their goals and their dreams are, and how can I help, how can I partner with them to help that happen? So.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (20:01.358)

What were the key strengths and qualities you relied on to make a difference for this man with his box of dreams?

Joyce Hayward (20:12.218)

Well, I think it was vision and again that thoughtfulness — looking at what he wanted and trying to figure out how I could make his dream come true, what skills I have that could help make that dream come true. And then I used the knowledge, of course, that I had gotten from school and the book work, but then taking that practical application and saying, okay,

how can I help him with my accounting skills, but also thinking about my writing skills and storytelling, and taking everything that he said to me and making it tell a story. And so I realized that I had something — that creativity, that business ballerina in me that...

When I had to present the loan and they were like, didn't you just present this loan last week or the week before? I'm like, yep, but now I'm going to tell you the story. Like, I presented this before, but I've worked with him. Here's the story. And there was not a dry eye in the house, so to speak. They understood the life of a cobbler and what that could mean to the community and what that would mean to his family and how that would help the businesses on that block, and you know, all the things.

And so I realized that I use, of course, prayer — you know, being a God girl — I realized that one of the things I had to do was, okay, help me get in his head. Help me to think like you are thinking, God, as to what you want this guy to do and how can we help make this happen? So thinking about my skills, thinking about the storytelling, and thinking about how to bring it all together and how to be creative — how to take something and bring it into something.

Think about the end, keeping the end in view, as they would say with Barclay.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (22:12.43)

Can you tell us about a situation where you overcame a challenge that led to personal growth? What did you learn from that experience?

Joyce Hayward (22:25.83)

There's probably a lot of them in life. But I would say the whole

work-life balance — business and family. And so again, telling a little story. So the crux of it: I was sitting at my desk one day, head down. It was tax day — like yesterday was, depending on when this airs — but it was a tax day and I was busy, swamped, all the stuff. And I saw

a number come up on my phone and I saw my husband's number come up, and I'm like, man, why is he calling me in the middle of my workday? I've got stuff to do. He knows it's tax day. And when I picked up the phone, I realized his voice was very different than it usually is. It wasn't the "honey" — it was, we have to get to the hospital right away. And immediately I'm like, okay, wait — what? And so

what happened: he had been at the doctor. The doctor said something's going on. He had to rush to the hospital. He ended up — there was something going on with his heart. We flew out air ambulance like a day later. And as we were flying in this air ambulance, we're going up in the air and I'm thinking, this could be the last time. Like, if this could not go well — what is going on right now? And I said, life has to change. Life cannot be that my family is an interruption

in my business. Family needs to be part of everything — everything needs to work together. And that's when I said, all the work that I'm doing means nothing if I don't have a happy life and a happy family. And so that was a challenge — to look at what I was doing and say, I need to make a shift and I need to do better at...

Joyce Hayward (24:25.284)

When I see a number come up, it should make me happy. Any number that comes up on my phone should make me smile instead of frown or exhale with a, you know, one of those kind of things. And so I realized that I needed to restructure how I look at my business and how I do business, so that it's not an either/or, and that I'm working so much that

it interrupts my life, or life interrupts my business. They have to come together. And so from that I say that that's personal growth for me, because I made sure my clients understand that, and that they respect my boundaries, and that I set boundaries — but as well, I made sure that my family knew that they're the most important thing for me.

I always pick up the phone when my family calls. They know I'm at work. They know that my business is just like I'm on a quote-unquote job. And I am my boss — God is my boss. So they're not going to waste my time, but I also have to set my own parameters and set things so that clients, family, and friends understand that time is valuable and we have to use it to the best of our ability.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (25:50.658)

Was it difficult for you to make the adjustment — for you to find that work-life balance?

Joyce Hayward (25:56.803)

Initially, it was a bit. And sometimes as I'm saying this now, I'm like, I need to go back to some of those feelings I had as I was flying in that air ambulance, to make sure I set boundaries for myself. Because with the energy, I can work a lot, but I have to set my calendar so that I do have — so one of the things I've done recently is Fridays are off for me.

Fridays is my Sabbath, because I'm in ministry on the weekends and Saturdays and Sundays are fully busy for me with things that I do with our church and doing workshops and things that I do ministry-wise. So I realized that I didn't have a day for me. I didn't have a day for me and my husband. So that is a non-negotiable for me now. And I very seldom will pick up the phone when

I know it's a client or business-related. But I've told my clients. And what was difficult initially was the guilt of feeling like, they're not going to understand that I'm taking off on Fridays, or why are you taking off on Fridays? People are supposed to be at work. But if they know me and they understand me and if they appreciate me, then they'll understand that. And so that's what I realized — that not everybody is my client. And if people don't understand that I need that to be whole,

then that's not who I want to work with. And so initially it was hard. Initially, I think it was restructuring. I've even used ChatGPT to help me with a schedule. As I moved to this four-day work week, I'm like, ChatGPT, how can I do all of this stuff in four days a week? But I realize it's using your time wisely. It's

you know, making the most of your time. And not everything has to be done this week or next week. And I've realized some things — you know, people say, can we meet this week? And I would usually say, yeah, let's. But now I'm like, you know what? This week is pretty full. Can we do it next week? Because I have to make the main thing the main thing. As I realized — if something happens to one of my family members today or tomorrow, or to me, would I be happy with how I spent that last day?

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (28:14.667)

Hmm.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (28:24.268)

And that's the thing about life, right? We really don't know when that day will come, how it will show up. And we sometimes forget that each day is precious.

Joyce Hayward (28:36.954)

Yes, yeah. It's so easy to just do what we do and not be intentional about some of the things. And so that's — I guess that's another word — being intentional about how we spend our time and who we spend our time with. And that's the thing I love about working for myself — I get to choose who I spend my time with, because I'm starting to realize some clients that

are negative all the time or don't appreciate me or don't appreciate how I do what I do. It's like, it's okay. You know what? We are on different wavelengths. It's all right. I don't like to spend a lot of time being negative. And it's funny — I spoke with some of my girls. I teach children dance, and we were talking, and one of them got a little down and upset, and another one got upset because she saw the other one get upset. And I said, okay, I'm not one that

works well with attitudes and being in that mode, just because something didn't happen the way you wanted it. So what's the solution? What else can we look at? How do you fix that? Take the power back. So yeah, I look at it with adults and with children. And not everybody is in that space, but I don't want to be in a space where people are negative just because they want to be negative. It's

not a nice place to continually be in. And I think it's stressful. I think it's not good for us and our bodies. Joy is what I like.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (30:11.948)

You are listening to ABWilson's Heart of the Matter podcast. Welcome back to ABWilson's Heart of the Matter. My guest today is Joyce Hayward. Joyce, you've touched on being a transplanted onion, your early years growing up in Maryland. You've touched on being joyful, what that looks like, what that feels like for you, and being able to find

the work-life balance so that you're able to truly enjoy both sides — all sides of your life. What self-care practices or strategies help you to sustain your energy and motivation while navigating this journey?

Joyce Hayward (30:59.486)

I would say making Sabbath time. As I mentioned, I take off on Fridays, and so that is important for me. That's a self-care strategy that I've taken, where I do whatever I choose to do on that day, but I don't do work stuff and I don't even do ministry stuff. I ask my husband, where do you want to go?

Do we want to take the bus, do we want to take the ferry, do we want to go out to eat? I'm a foodie. I love to eat, I love different things to eat. As I've gotten older, I realize I have to watch, you know, salt and sugar and those kinds of things. So I try to find places where I can try something different that's healthy, that's good for me and my body, because that makes me feel good. And so also going swimming, exercising — you know, I recognize the things that now make me feel better and are keeping me

living longer, because I want to be younger internally than I am externally. So you have to do certain things to make that happen. I think that, and having positive people around, and doing things with people that you like to be around. I also love to travel. And so every year I look forward to a nice trip. Like last year when I turned 65, we did a cruise to many different islands.

And it was — I hadn't been on a cruise in a while and I just wanted to relax and not have to be somewhere. Although I'm one of those people that like to do all the excursions and things, because if I'm going to be somewhere, I want to see the stuff. But, you know, they give you some downtime. And that's what I think for a busy person — energetic and joy and all of that — is finding that downtime, finding that time to refuel and recharge. And sometimes

just do nothing. And I've had to be okay with that, because it took me a while. I felt like I'm being lazy if I'm just doing nothing. I need to read a book that's going to enhance my knowledge and I need to be doing something productive. And I realized, you know what? No — not all the time. Sometimes you just need to veg, sit at the beach, watch the waves, feel the breeze, take a drive, sit on the ferry.

Joyce Hayward (33:20.036)

Say hi to somebody, call somebody you haven't spoken to in a while, send an email to somebody you haven't spoken to in a while. So those are the things that have helped me sustain and have helped me navigate, I think, and keep motivated.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (33:40.856)

Thank you, Joyce. How might sharing your experiences of success and growth create a ripple effect in your family, community, the world?

Joyce Hayward (33:53.319)

I am finding that when you share your stories, testimonies, or whatever you want to call it, somebody always sees something in it that can help them — that they might say, wow, I'm not going to do that because I see that when she did it, look what happened. I don't have to make the same mistake she made. Or, wow,

that was really good — she really enjoyed that. Maybe I'll try that too. Or, that was a hard time, a hard place, but she made it through. I can make it through. So I find that storytelling is huge. I took a class on public speaking and the whole thing is about telling stories. How do you weave stories into what you say and what you do?

That's sharing — sharing your life experiences, telling your stories — so that you can leave a legacy. That's the other thing: I had said, and I still want to go back to it, I was going to write a book about my mom because she had such stories, she had such information. And I realized once people are gone, those stories are gone unless somebody has written them down. And so that's

important for us — to write these things down, to share with people. The griot — I guess they call it in our traditions — that who is the storyteller? And as we get older, we need to share our stories. I actually have a book sitting on my desk that my sons gave me that says, mom, tell us your story. And it's all these pages that ask you prompting questions to fill in, because they don't know.

My sons are bonus children for me. My husband had these two children before we got married and, unfortunately, his first wife passed, and so I'm blessed to have these sons. And they don't know a lot of my history — and most kids don't know their parents' history because they weren't here then. But they are interested in, how did you grow up? What was the most interesting thing that happened to you in first grade, or when you turned 16? And so it's important to share those things.

Joyce Hayward (36:10.134)

And I will say even health-wise — so many in families don't know about the health challenges or the health matters that are passed down in our DNA. And so I think those are such important things to share with our family, our community, the world, so that the things we learn from, we can help others.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (36:31.758)

Thank you. What exciting opportunities do you see on the horizon? How do these opportunities align with your passions and aspirations?

Joyce Hayward (36:44.528)

Whew, this is a time where so much is happening. So I see a lot of opportunities and it's a matter of saying, okay, I can be that bright shiny object person — that's happening, that's happening, that's happening. During COVID, I was on every Zoom, every podcast, every webinar, because everything was happening online and I could sit here and just absorb it all. And I was realizing, okay, I have to stop and do something, finish something.

But I see a lot of opportunities in a couple of areas. So of course the whole AI boom and the things going on with that — you can streamline your business with AI, you can be more productive, your team can be more productive, you can work better together and save money, save time, be more efficient. So I see a lot of opportunities with

AI and some different courses that I'm taking with AI to learn some different tools, as well as with the app and things like that. But the other thing that I'm finding is there's a huge boom for my age group, where a lot of people are selling their businesses. A lot of people are trying to now retire. And there's a huge thing that's happening where people are needing to know what to do. And I see that as an opportunity for me, because a lot of

my peers who are in business and looking to sell their business don't know how to price it, don't know what to sell it for, how to sell it. Or the person buying doesn't know what to look for. Do I just give it away? Do I give it to my family? Do I sell it to my family? Do I sell it to another person? Is there value? So those are some big opportunities — just a couple of things that I'm seeing that align with me. I'm doing more VIP days, so I'm moving my business from doing more

accounting — and I do it more advisory now — but more VIP days, helping people with those dreams and visions that they have. How can I help them build? How can I help them see the opportunities that are out there? So that's where I'm seeing the opportunities: more VIP days and helping businesses thrive and scale or sell, and helping others step into something where somebody else has already done

Joyce Hayward (39:09.06)

a lot of the leg work — now how do you step into the next?

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (39:13.08)

Hmm, thank you.

Joyce Hayward (39:15.654)

More.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (39:25.142)

We've talked about joy previously, but I'm still going to ask you the question — what brings you joy?

Joyce Hayward (39:35.377)

Being with people that I love — of course God, so I should have started with that. God, and the things that just happen every morning that I think about how blessed I am — things that I couldn't have imagined, I couldn't have put that together. Some things even this week that have just fallen into place — it just brings me joy, because I just feel like a blessed person. But people that I love, and being around people that I love.

Good food brings me joy, swimming brings me joy, talking to people like you brings me joy. Things that just make me smile. Even the simple things, like watching a kid take their first step, watching somebody learn something for the first time, that epiphany moment — helping somebody is really a thing I love. Like those thoughtful things I talked about — doing something that makes somebody smile

really brings me joy. When I can make somebody else happy, so to speak. You can't make other people happy, but when you can do something thoughtful for someone and they smile from it, or I can send somebody a message that says, wow, thank you for thinking of me, it lifted my spirits — those things bring me joy.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (40:51.63)

Thank you. What book recommendation do you have? It can be a book you've read recently or something that has stayed with you over the years.

Joyce Hayward (41:03.918)

So I have a couple of books right here with me and a couple that I know were on my Audible that I was looking for and need to find. But one book that has stuck with me is called Rest Is Resistance by Tricia Hersey. And it deals with people who sometimes don't want you to rest — people who think that taking a nap is being lazy, or, why are you doing this?

So it was a very interesting take on making time to rest, and whether other people agree with it or think it's okay for you or not — you have to do what you have to do. And the subtitle references the fact that she's the founder of the Nap Ministry. So I thought it was hilarious. Another book that I love is Exponential Living. And I'm trying to remember — I should know her name because it's somebody I've met, a contemporary. And so I'll find her name.

And it really is a great book that talks about living exponentially — that it's about our mindset and how we think about what we do. One of my mentors has written a book called Born to Multiply by LaShawn Holland. And she has written a couple of great books that deal with how we — that we were born to do more, we were born for a purpose. And how do we multiply that? How do we use that

in our lives, in our businesses, and to help others? How do we multiply ourselves? And so there are a few other books. There's a lady that came to Bermuda who wrote a book about scuba diving. And I have to remember the name of that book. And then there are several business books that I think are really good that deal with how you spend your time and being mindful of time. So I'll get the names of those books to you, because there are books that you read and you use pieces of them.

And it's like, what's the name of that book? And of course my book called Profit Freedom — that's a recommendation for a book for business persons that deals with, like I mentioned, love your business and love your life, because that is profit freedom. And yeah, so those are, I guess, the big ones I like. There are also some fiction books that I like reading, but lately, I guess with having coaches and things like that, I've been reading books that are

Joyce Hayward (43:28.516)

self-help, or things that help me think about what I'm doing and how I'm doing it — mindset. So it's kind of those kinds of things. I'm looking at a book over here now called Break the Cycle — and I haven't gotten into it as much; one of my coaches recommended it. And so there are a lot of books out there, a lot of books out there. And

Marketplace Christian is another book. I have books all over my office as I'm sitting here. So there are a lot of books that I use. People's ideas — even little quotes in books. My husband — I was just ordering something the other day and he said, you're ordering another book? Like, we have a huge library and I really need to gift some books to people. My library is at a point where I really need to gift some books. And of course, the Bible is the one book I

try to read every day, and take tips from, and examples of women from the Bible, and a lot of things about how women do business and how we have navigated life. Those kinds of books I like to read as well, to get inspiration from others who have gone before us.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (44:41.058)

Joyce, we're at the end of our conversation, believe it or not. Is there anything else? Do you have any final comments?

Joyce Hayward (44:52.046)

I would just say to live life

keeping a view of the future in mind, but realizing that you never know when the last time is the last time. So keeping in mind that we need to be intentional about what we do and how we make people feel. When people — to think about how do we want people to remember us when we've left the room? And what can we do to help somebody else in this life?

There's a lot going on in this world right now. And I think life is fleeting, but we can leave a legacy.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (45:35.352)

Joyce Hayward, thank you so much for your time today. And I just want to share some of the appreciation nuggets that I'm taking from our conversation. One of the things you said is that you want to be younger internally than you are externally. You also describe yourself as a business ballerina, stemming from bringing

your formative years together with the work that you're doing now. And you also describe the work that you do as being creative — in that you see the work that you do for clients as a dance of life.

Joyce Hayward (46:23.002)

Yes.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (46:24.299)

And this one thing that you just said — you don't know when the last time will be the last time.

Joyce Hayward (46:33.078)

Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you. Those are good summaries. And yes, that summarizes it really well — the Dancing Business Ballerina, trying to leave a legacy, leave a mark, and leave a memory.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (46:48.118)

I appreciate you taking the time to join me on ABWilson's Heart of the Matter, a podcast dedicated to asking overwhelmingly positive questions as we uncover incredible stories and wisdom of people you may know. Joyce Hayward, thank you so much for joining me today.

Joyce Hayward (47:07.771)

Thank you, Aderonke. All the best.