How Women Can Master Business Exits with Carrie Kerpen

The She Leads Podcast: Real Conversations with Women Entrepreneurs

Understanding how to build a sellable business is a game changer.

Carrie Kerpen is the founder of The Whisper Group, an exit-readiness advisory firm dedicated exclusively to women-owned businesses.

Carrie has built and sold one of the world's first social media agencies and has continued helping female founders build and sell their businesses and live their lives fully. She is on a mission to get as much money in the hands of women as possible.

Carrie has been a great friend and supporter of Adrienne and the She Leads LIVE conferences from the early days and has contributed her wisdom consistently.

Carrie says that women often start businesses driven by passion but rarely think about how they will exit. It's imperative to consider an exit strategy from day one. Creating sellable businesses rather than focusing on immediate monetization is a key point Carrie is very passionate about.

She says that so much about exiting is not just about the business but about us personally and being honest and relatable rather than projecting an overly polished image.

Many business owners face regret post-exit due to lack of financial planning. Women must realize that small businesses can exit with six times more value and we need to embrace the idea of extracting wealth from our businesses in order to provide the security and power for ourselves and our families that we so rightly deserve.

Notes:
🌸 The visualization exercise at the first She Leads LIVE event changed many lives: the power of women circles. 03:37
🤯 Getting married in front of 5000 people on the Minor League New York Mets field: sponsorships and charity funds raised and the birth of Carrie’s SM agency. 06:30
⏰ Timing is crucial: people who are prepared to capitalize on starting movements are the people who truly succeed. 10:45
🌟 The growth of Carrie’s company Likable Media was fast: switching gears to a side project and finding her passion and life purpose. 11:51
🔑 In The Whisper Group, women are sharing real experiences on business exits: providing women with the freedom to make choices is the key. 16:07
🙃 Do you think about how your business will end? The education-then-monetization approach was mind-shifting for Carrie. 19:33
⚠️ Challenges of exit strategies: plan your exit properly to avoid regret for selling the business. 23:52
✌️ We should normalize seeing exits for 6-7 figures for smaller businesses. 26:49
7️⃣ Seven tenets are required to build a healthy, scalable and saleable business. 29:50
😇 Anticipatory anxiety is so much worse than actual reality. 31:42
👩‍💼 Being a businesswoman, leader, and mom: the trick is having all the family participate in the work and family life. 33:19
🛑 Prioritizing business brings guilt in women: we put things on ourselves and that is just too much. 35:46

Links:

Connect with Carrie: www.linkedin.com/in/carriekerpen

Website: www.wearethewhispergroup.com

Personal website: www.carriekerpen.com

Gap reports: www.closetheexitgap.com

Connect with Adrienne: https://www.sheleadsmedia.com

Listen to podcasts for women by women on the She Leads Podcast Network: https://www.sheleadspodcasts.com

Join Us at She Leads LIVE 2024 in NYC - Oct. 17 - 19th. Get Your Early Bird Tickets TODAY!

https://bit.ly/SheLeadsLIVE2024

> "I love ❤️ Adrienne and The She Leads™ Podcast!” If that thought crossed your mind at any time while listening to our special show, can I ask you to please take a moment and give our podcast some love? To do so, simply Rate, Review & Follow Us on Apple Podcasts & Spotify. Taking this simple action helps my team and I to spread the word about all the incredible guests of The She Leads Podcast and contributes overall to helping women leaders and entrepreneurs everywhere! 🗺️ Also, if you haven’t done so already, please +follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. Thank you so much!! XO -Adrienne <<