Book Review
The Whisper Way: The Secret Formula for Women Entrepreneurs to Scale and Sell for Life-Changing Money by Carrie Kerpen is a game-changing guide for women to turn their lifestyle businesses into sellable life-changing assets, closing the exit gap, and ensuring they earn as as much as their male counterparts—if not more.
On average, companies controlled by men still earn twice the amount that female-owned businesses do, something Carrie Kerpen, author of The Whisper Way, aims to help change with her simple yet revolutionary process of starting, scaling, and selling for success. She believes that despite growing opportunities for women-owned businesses to thrive, they still deliver consistently less revenue and profit compared to their male-owned counterparts. And when it comes time to sell a business, even highly successful women entrepreneurs are settling for less. Her new book, The Whisper Way: The Secret Formula for Women Entrepreneurs to Scale and Sell for Life-Changing Money, brings her proven method to life in a relatable fable following seven women as they transform their businesses into impactful assets.
What you will find in The Whisper Way: The Secret Formula for Women Entrepreneurs to Scale and Sell for Life-Changing Money
Actionable advice from Carrie’s own eight-figure exit
Leadership lessons from women who have sold their businesses for substantial profits
Effective evaluations to assess your own company
Tried and true tips and tools for improving your business
Implementation guidelines for using Carrie’s methodology in your own business
Women are fighting to close the wage gap . . . and The Whisper Way provides concrete steps that business owners can take to close the exit gap. Whether you are beginning your business, finally creating capital, or approaching a time where you are considering cashing in, The Whisper Way will provide you with a practical and profitable path from starting to scale, right through success and sale.
Author Quotes
Over the 10 year period from 2012-2022, less than 1% of businesses that sold a majority stake were female founded. And the average transaction value of those exits were 1.5x less than that of their male-owned comps.
I don’t need you to build a billion dollar business. I need you to realize that the awesome business that you've put your heart and soul into building can become a life-changing asset.
The Whisper Way gives you a road map to ensure that you get paid for the value of your hard work. And I won’t stop until I close the exit gap.
About the author
Carrie Kerpen is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, investor, and keynote speaker. Carrie and her husband Dave Kerpen cofounded Likeable Media, one of the very first social media agencies in existence. In 2013, she became the CEO and led the company to triple digit growth. In 2021, she sold to technology firm 10Pearls, where she now leads the global digital division. Carrie is a champion of women everywhere, launching her podcast, All the Social Ladies, in 2014. Her book, Work It: Secrets For Success From The Boldest Women In Business, became a bestseller in 2019, and her Facebook Watch show of the same name has featured some of the most successful women in marketing. Her 2023 Ted Talk ‘’How to Change the Whispers in Your Head” speaks to how to overcome self-doubt to achieve your deepest desires. Recently, Carrie co-launched Kerpen Ventures with Dave, investing in early-stage women and BIPOC-owned early-stage startups.
Why LoA loves it…
Carrie Kerpen’s latest book, The Whisper Way: The Secret Formula for Women Entrepreneurs to Scale and Sell for Life-Changing Money, is part fable, part implementation guide, designed to help women tackle the challenges of running a business from start to scale through sale. Seven women business owners all receive a mystery invite to a retreat. Each of them have their own challenges holding them back from extracting the wealth they deserve from the businesses they’ve built. Together, they workshop the challenges, and show you how to do the same. This is a great book to read if you are focused on scaling this year and want to learn from others who have walked the journey before you. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa