Women Who’ve Sold Their Business Series: Gail O'Rourke | E168

In the past 20 years, there has been a wave of women-owned businesses, and women selling those businesses. However, no one is really talking about it. In this mini series, host Kris Plachy is bringing women business owners on to talk about their experiences of selling their businesses. In this episode of Leadership is Feminine, Kris talks with Gail O’Rourke. Gail shares her story of owning multiple businesses, and growing them from the ground up, and then selling. She takes us behind the scenes of that big sale – and everything she learned along the way. What it felt like keeping it under wraps, dealing with the legal hiccups along the way, and the bittersweet emotions that came with it. As Gail aptly puts it, "The sale of a business isn't just a transaction, it's a transformation." Gail talks about what actually sold her business wasn’t the customers or profits she made, it was the process she created that made sales easy, from start to finish. She's big on process management and she attests that a well-oiled process is the secret sauce to business success, whether you're managing teams, training, or onboarding new employees. Kris talks about how inspiring it is to see what women do after they sell their business. How divine it is when women have freedom to either create something again or invest time in making a difference. And that’s exactly what is next for Gail, who also talks about what she’s been creating with her latest endeavor, Benefact 4. There’s a wealth of wisdom and inspiration packed into this episode. Tune in to learn more about Gail's remarkable journey on Leadership is Feminine. Key Takeaways From This Episode Gail O'Rourke's experience of selling a business: Setbacks and solutions during the sale process Importance of structured processes in business management: Processes keep things simple when addressing training opportunities, onboarding new employees, and supporting staff The need for business owners to take a step back as the business grows: Identifying what you want to do, and hiring staff for the rest Influence of market conditions, pandemic impact, and industry changes on the sale of her business Emotional implications of business selling: Concerns for employees after the close of the sale Gail's life post-business sale: Shift in focus to philanthropy and volunteering and launching Benefact 4 Contact Information and Recommended Resources Join Kris to help impact 20 Million Women across the Globe! Become a Visionary.CEO/catalyst and spread the word! Kris explains all the details on the podcast this week. Essential, go to www.theVisionary.CEO/catalyst, Register, Grab the Visionary.CEO/Podcast link from your dashboard and SHARE IT with all the women you know in your friend, colleague and network circles. We'll be tracking links by Catalyst and awarding each Catalyst who shares her link to at least 20 women with a free digital course from Kris's Boutique.  Get Access to LEAD LESSONS The best leadership guidance and mentorship experience exclusive for women who lead. High performing teams require highly skilled, high performing leaders. It's time to develop exceptional leadership prowess. THE LEAD LESSONS for Women equip you with the tools and strategies to navigate the leadership landscape like a true visionary. Our unique blend of Digital Lessons and live Mentorship-calls delivers the real-world practices you need for confident and consistent leadership. thevisionary.ceo/nextstep Work with Kris and Her Team: TheVisionary.ceo CEO Boutique Email: hello@thevisionary.ceo Linkedin Instagram Facebook Pinterest

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For most women, when we are invited to study leadership the teachers, scholars, authorities and models are primarily… men. We are indoctrinated from the time we are born that men are the leaders and that natural male characteristics are the strengths you must also possess to be a good leader. Powerful. Strong. Authoritative. Direct. Assertive. Decisive. These and so many more are attributes that are typically associated with the male model of a leader. And so, for the better part of the last one hundred years as women have made their way into the fold, in a variety of leadership roles, we have learned and studied to walk the way of a men to achieve success. Women dismiss their own knowing because we’ve been so indoctrinated in male leadership models. We dismiss what we know for what others tell us to be and how to be seen. There is another way to lead. To be in alignment. To not feel like an imposter. It’s time for the reimagining of leadership. That’s not to disparage any of the progress that has come before us. Progress is progress. For those of us who stand in the footsteps of the women who came before us we are here because of their courage, bravery and resilience. I wonder instead if women equally looked to the characteristics they learned from their mothers for leadership. I wonder if we were taught to lean on different qualities to drive success. I wonder what might happen then? The traditional qualities of mothering are communication, nurturing, listening, strength, support, grace, and yes… love. What if to be the best leader you can be as a woman, you integrated the best of both? This is how women will stand with integrity in their role as leaders. As women, we can be assertive, direct, powerful, and authoritative but we need not only rely on those attributes for success. After 25 years of watching and studying leaders, I can tell you that for sure many traditional male attributes are effective in the short run, but they typically only serve a few. Whereas, when leadership is feminine. When the leader possesses the strengths of femininity and grace the results are for all. This podcast is my like my gentle request and invitation to my fellow female leaders that we reclaim the world leadership as one that is a feminine definition. That we continue to work with all of our allies to build organizations and systems that include more support, collaboration, grace and communication. And that we do so not because we are uncomfortable with the more traditional male-dominating models, but because we truly do know that leadership is a feminine strength and attribute. And the world needs more of us leading. Now more than ever.