Welcome to How I Sold! I’m Jessica Fialkovich and I created this podcast after spending over a decade in mergers, acquisitions, and exits and noticing that we often hear the stories of unicorn sales, those that are valued at over a billion dollars–but we don’t often hear about the real-life stories–the stories of the thousands of entrepreneurs every year that build, grow and sell their small business. These are their stories.

So today... we’re going to switch up the roles. Many of you have asked about our president's own story and the first business she founded and sold, Decanted - a wine boutique and collector’s market in Naples, FL.  Since she can't interview herself, we brought in a very special guest, Jaclyn Poole, Jessica's sister and also an entrepreneur, owner and founder of MOD Assistants. Jaclyn is going to help Jessica tell her story today of founding and building one of Naples’ most talked about wine boutiques from scratch when she knew nothing about wine, Florida, or retail.

To learn more about Jessica Fialkovich and her new company Exit Factor, please visit https://exitfactor.com.

Presented and sponsored by Exit Factor. Learn how to build a valuable and sellable business at exitfactor.com/pod.

Do you have an interesting story about how you sold your business? Apply to be a guest on our show: www.howisold.co.

Welcome to How I Sold! I’m Jessica Fialkovich and I created this podcast after spending over a decade in mergers, acquisitions, and exits and noticing that we often hear the stories of unicorn sales, those that are valued at over a billion dollars–but we don’t often hear about the real-life stories–the stories of the thousands of entrepreneurs every year that build, grow and sell their small business. These are their stories.

Today on How I Sold: Can you do it twice? That is the question Erik Holmberg had to ask himself after he built and sold his company, Windward Electric for the first time. Can he do it again? Without revealing major spoilers, Erik did what only about 13% of entrepreneurs do: built and sold a business from scratch ... and then he did it again! Along the way, his motto, "failure is not an option," drove him through some of the toughest challenges business owners–and people–will ever face. Join us today and listen to How I Sold, Windward Electric.

Erik Holmberg resides presently in Longmont Colorado with his wife and 2 teenage children with his wheaten terrier. A lover of adventure, he spends his summers paddle boarding and sailing the local lakes, and biking the local trails. In the winter he spends his time snowboarding and snowshoeing. Erik is a self-employed business coach and is passionate about training team leaders and managers the challenging soft skills necessary to navigate today's rapidly changing world of business. Eriks' dream is to sail the pacific ocean from the west coast of the continental USA through Fiji. Erik can be reached at erik@nauvatis.com / 720-324-1291

Presented and sponsored by Exit Factor. Learn how to build a valuable and sellable business at exitfactor.com/pod.

Do you have an interesting story about how you sold your business? Apply to be a guest on our show: www.howisold.co.

Welcome to How I Sold! I’m Jessica Fialkovich and I created this podcast after spending over a decade in mergers, acquisitions, and exits and noticing that we often hear the stories of unicorn sales, those that are valued at over a billion dollars–but we don’t often hear about the real-life stories–the stories of the thousands of entrepreneurs every year that build, grow and sell their small business. These are their stories.

Today on the show… building a culture that fuels a business. Erin Carpenter was inspired at a young age to help others battling with mental illness. But it was not until Grad School that she realized that part of that journey involved building a successful practice that supported those who support the rest of us. Today we learn how she started building the foundation of her practice from a young age – learning from others and her own experience along the way. Those skills ultimately allowed her to face some of the toughest challenges as an entrepreneur: switching business models, tackling a pandemic as a mental health provider, and battling cancer. This is Erin’s story on how she sold Thrive Counseling.

Erin Carpenter is a therapist, author and trauma specialist. She grew her group practice over a decade and had a successful exit in 2021. Erin pivoted her work to psychedelic therapy and launched a new practice this year offering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. You can connect with Erin at www.psychedelicgrowth.net.

Learn more about How I Sold at www.exitfactor.com/howisold.

Presented and sponsored by Exit Factor. Learn how to build a valuable and sellable business at exitfactor.com/pod.