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Confidential BS Podcast | Featuring Vanessa Sterling
What happens when a million-dollar business deal turns into a full-blown love triangle? 🍷
This week on Confidential BS, I'm joined by Vanessa Sterling, a sharp-tongued, quick-witted business broker with 20 years of experience and enough stories to make your jaw drop.
Vanessa takes us behind the scenes of a seemingly perfect $1.2 million business sale. The financials looked great, the buyer was qualified, and everything appeared to be moving toward a successful closing.
Until due diligence uncovered a mysterious woman receiving $8,000 a month in “consulting fees.”
Let's just say… the biggest liability wasn't on the balance sheet. 👀
We're talking business secrets, questionable expenses, marital drama, and what happens when personal decisions threaten a million-dollar deal.
Because in business brokerage, sometimes the numbers aren't the only things hiding something.
🎙️ Business Stories. Business Secrets. Business Strategies.
Confidential BS with Kacy Carlsen — where we talk about the business behind the business.
Disclaimer: This episode features a fictional, dramatized story created for entertainment and educational purposes. Characters and events are fictional.
Thanks for listening to Confidential BS.
If today's story resonated with you...
Or you know another entrepreneur who needs to hear it...
I'd appreciate you sharing this episode.
Have a story?
I'd love to hear it.
Until next time...
Every business...
Has another chapter.
I'm Kacy Carlsen.
I'll see you...
Behind closed doors.
Before I knew what entrepreneurship was, I knew what “when my escrow closes” meant.
I grew up with a single mom in real estate, and whenever I wanted something, that was the answer: When my escrow closes.
At the time, I didn’t realize how much I was learning about money, commission, uncertainty, and what it meant to create your own income.
In this episode of Confidential BS, I’m going back to the beginning — the environment I grew up in, the lessons I absorbed without realizing it, and how I ended up becoming an entrepreneur at 19 before I even really knew what an entrepreneur was.
We’re talking about where my relationship with business came from, what watching my mom taught me, and how some of those early experiences shaped the way I’ve approached money, risk, and entrepreneurship for more than 30 years.
Turns out, I’ve been waiting for escrow to close my entire life. 😂
Real stories. Real business. Real BS.
🎙️ Confidential BS with Kacy Carlsen
Thanks for listening to Confidential BS.
If today's story resonated with you...
Or you know another entrepreneur who needs to hear it...
I'd appreciate you sharing this episode.
Have a story?
I'd love to hear it.
Until next time...
Every business...
Has another chapter.
I'm Kacy Carlsen.
I'll see you...
Behind closed doors.
Every business has a story. Most people never hear it.
Welcome to the very first chapter of The Confidential Business Show.
In this episode, I share the journey that led me here—from starting a truck brokerage at 19 to building multiple businesses and ultimately discovering business brokerage. Looking back, I realized there was a common thread running through every chapter of my career: connecting people with opportunities.
I also share why I created this podcast and what you can expect in the conversations ahead.
This isn't just another business podcast. It's a place for honest conversations about the stories, decisions, setbacks, successes, and lessons that usually stay behind closed doors.
Whether you're a business owner, entrepreneur, investor, buyer, seller, or simply curious about what really happens in business, I'm glad you're here.
Welcome to Confidential BS.
Business Stories. Business Secrets. Business Strategies.
Thanks for listening to Confidential BS.
If today's story resonated with you...
Or you know another entrepreneur who needs to hear it...
I'd appreciate you sharing this episode.
Have a story?
I'd love to hear it.
Until next time...
Every business...
Has another chapter.
I'm Kacy Carlsen.
I'll see you...
Behind closed doors.
From the publisher's feed
The conversations that usually stay behind closed doors.
Welcome to The Confidential Business Show, or as our listeners know it—Confidential…
Hosted by entrepreneur and business broker Kacy Carlsen, Confidential BS takes you beyond the headlines and highlight reels to uncover the real stories behind business ownership. From buying and selling businesses to leadership, growth, negotiations, setbacks, and the pivotal moments that shape an entrepreneur's journey, these are the conversations most people never get to hear.
Some episodes feature candid conversations with business owners, buyers, sellers, investors, and industry experts. Others are solo episodes where Kacy shares personal experiences, observations, and lessons learned from decades of building businesses and helping entrepreneurs grow.
Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, business owner, aspiring business buyer, or simply fascinated by what really happens behind the scenes, Confidential BS offers honest conversations, practical insights, and stories that inspire, educate, and challenge the way you think about business.
Business Stories. Business Secrets. Business Strategies.