Hey hey, Hard Knocks Community!💰

We’re back with another edition of the School of Hard Knocks Newsletter! This week, we’re featuring Carrie Kerpen. She’s the CEO and Co-Founder of Likeable Media, a globally recognized content studio and award-winning social media agency, which she successfully exited for 8+ figures. With a career spanning groundbreaking achievements, she has become a trusted voice in empowering women entrepreneurs to scale and exit their businesses with confidence.

Today’s Schedule

• Starting With the End in Mind: How Carrie Kerpen built an award-winning social media agency and exited for over 8 figures.

• From the Hard Knocks Library: Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

• In Case You Missed It: We asked New York City billionaires how they got rich.

Let’s go!🔥

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Starting With the End in Mind

Carrie Kerpen started her business with $10,000 of her life savings…and it was the best ride of her life.

It all happened kind of by accident when her fiancé (now husband) wanted a larger-than-life wedding. They both love baseball so Carrie contacted the ballpark of the Brooklyn Cyclones minor league team.

Carrie and her husband got married on the field in front of 5,000 people during a game. She bought out the entire night for sponsorships for $6,000.

Instead of tossing t-shirts into the audience, Carrie tapped 1-800-Flowers and tossed bridal bouquets. In her words, it was cute, campy, and a whole lot of fun. They even raised $100,000 for the National MS Society.

Carrie's wedding made it to ABC World News Tonight, CNBC on the Money, and other major media outlets. Big sponsors took notice of her unique way of buzz marketing and asked her to do it for them. It was then that Carrie's word-of-mouth marketing business began.

All of this happened in 2006, before the rise of influencer marketing. Then, in 2007, Facebook opened up beyond the college market and Carrie seized the opportunity to start Likeable Media, their social media agency…before anyone knew what a social media agency was.

Carrie and her husband learned as they went and landed big-name clients like Neutrogena. Carrie's business was self-funded and they used every dollar they made to hire more people and grow. In 2013, her husband wound up leaving the business to begin a tech startup. Carrie decided to keep running the agency and take it to exit.

As time went on, social media was no longer a new thing, which meant more competition. Carrie also invested so much money into growth that the business wasn't profitable.

Carrie read a fiction book called Built to Sell, which is about a man who goes to sell his agency after 25 years in business. In the book, a seller tells the main character that his business isn't worth anything because he didn't build it with an exit in mind.

This was the a-ha moment Carrie needed to change direction and grow her agency with an exit as the main goal. She started a podcast called All the Social Ladies and grew her network. She also grew her net worth and doubled the size of her business.

In 2021, Carrie crossed the $10 million mark, put her business up for sale, and found a buyer.

Today, Carrie helps other women create wildly profitable businesses and take them through to a successful exit. In her current venture The Whisper Group, Carrie helps women turn lifestyle businesses into life-changing assets.

On a recent live call inside the School of Mentors community, Carrie shared a ton of wisdom and knowledge for the entrepreneurial journey. Let's look at four top takeaways:

Swinging for the Fences

If she was starting her business all over again, Carrie says she would have swung for the fences more and taken more risks. When she was first starting out, she was super nervous. She grew up in a very risk-averse household, so she wasn't prepared for entrepreneurship.

Carrie also says she would have acquired more agencies and built her business more through acquisition. Today, she has the capital to take more risks without the same fears she had at the beginning.

When you're financially prepared, it's much easier to take big risks, but when you have nothing, it can be difficult. However, that shouldn't stop you from trying. A huge part of being an entrepreneur is having the tolerance for calculated risks. You never really know how things will turn out unless you take those leaps.

Time to Shine

When you're looking to start a business with the exit in mind, a big factor is timing. Carrie says that the longer you're in business, the less risky it is for an acquirer to buy it. If you've only been in business for six months, a buyer may wonder if there's something wrong. The longer you stay in business, the better your track record.

People also want to buy predictability over a headache. Carrie says most buyers are lazy and want to buy something they won't have to redo. Get your business into the best position possible for a smooth transition and buyers will pay top dollar.

For the best outcome in your own venture, focus on making it the best you can through what makes it unique, or your "secret sauce." Focus on your income and profit and keep good records so you can transfer it to the right person with ease. It also helps to research who buys businesses like yours and why so you can work that into your plan from the start.

Talent Over Passion 

If you're currently working a nine-to-five job and want to level up, Carrie says to start by thinking about what your talents are, not your passions. Find out what you're really good at and think about how you can build a business around it.

She also advises to start something up on the side while you're still working. When you're desperate for money, it can be hard to think clearly. When you have a steady income and stability, you have more access to your creativity.

The nine-to-five grind can really wear you down, especially if you're a true entrepreneur. Try to shift your mindset and look at it as a means to an end more than something that's holding you back. Use it to fund your hopes and dreams and before you know it, you'll be handing in your two-week notice.

Remember What Matters

To maintain her happiness and well-being, Carrie makes an effort to prioritize what's important to her. Every day, she has an old-school dinner with her family at the table - no phones. Everyone goes around the table and talks about their favorite moment of the day. These moments keep Carrie connected and grounded.

She also prioritizes food and her body. When she's in a space of deep work, Carrie finds herself neglecting this piece and she feels much less happy. When wellness is at the top of her list, she stays at the top of her game.

When you're on a roll in your business, it's easy to get caught up in all the excitement. However, you have to remember what's most important to you to avoid burnout. Things like health, fitness, and family tend to get passed over, especially when the money's coming in. Always make time for yourself and your loved ones to keep yourself grounded.

Connect with Carrie here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carriekerpen/?hl=en

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Words of Wisdom

From the Hard Knocks Library

In Case You Missed It

New York City’s home to some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs and business people in the country. We hit up the Big Apple and asked them about the most amount of money they have made in a year and for their best career and life advice. We talked to people in a variety of industries such as fashion, construction, real estate and finance. Hear what they had to say in this video!

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