Michael Kennedy

Former anthropologist @Columbia. Now building companies and Threshold, a brotherhood of entrepreneurs asking one another the oldest question: how to live well.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

https://t.co/2MspSRIiNp

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

@MatznerJon Too soon Jon. Too soon.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

I bought a home service franchise a few years ago. It was an absolute dumpster fire.

The same franchisor had a fencing brand. It was essentially a dashboard, SEO / PPC management, and a pricing tool that could be built in Chat GPT + a required late model pickup for a sales vehicle and bunch of other things in no way necessary to start this sort of business.

Most of them folded. And the ones that made it wished they’d done it alone.

I’m not saying all franchisors offer no value. But I think anyone ought to go into it cleared eyed about what they are being offered, and whether, given the debt you have to take on, you might be able to figure it out on your own without a PG on an SBA loan that could cost you your home.

Glad this dude figured it out. Rooting for him.

[Hoyt Crouch @hoytcrouch]

I almost bought a $350k fence franchise.

Started from scratch with $5k instead. Cash flowed 100% of growth.

3 years later, we’ll beat 99% of their franchisees in revenue and profit.

Best $345k I never spent.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

@jamesonhaslam @pinpulleddrmf I got that plenty but didn’t listen 😂

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

Best advice anyone’s ever given me. Wish @pinpulleddrmf had been on my dissertation committee 😂

[Christian Ruf @pinpulleddrmf]

My close friend asked me for tips on how to grow your audience on X.

This is what I told him:

“Mike, you’re very smart. PhD smart. You’re very intelligent and you’re great at critical thinking. I need you to stop doing all of that.”

@smallrites

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

Nightmare. Like 90% failure rate. Over 100 closed. And most of the zees were really good, sharp folks.

A lot declared bankruptcy to keep their homes. A much more were in sort of financial purgatory. Enough savings / assets to not want a bankruptcy filing but not enough to pay off their note. So they’re running an unprofitable business 40 hours a week, crossing fingers something will change. Was sad.

I had 2 other companies and was able to just take my licks and move on. I def learned a lot, mostly about what not to do. Was expensive tuition.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

@alexpotato Hahaha. It’s more like: you have an issue?‘talk to corporate’ and the same dude swivels around in his chair and asks how he can be of assistance

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

@Tri_Stanisaurus @pinpulleddrmf Smooth like an egg baby

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

@rossiadam @pinpulleddrmf LFG

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

@rossiadam @pinpulleddrmf Hahaha. I just ordered a sick katana blade. Maybe we should collab??

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

Jack is really good at what he does. You ought to read this.

[Jack Gerstner @JohnGerstner9]

@GermanMotorsLV has been fixing cars in Las Vegas since 1982. This week they started piloting AI automation.

I spent two days on-site with @MosheSherman00 and his team. Before we touched any tech, we walked the shop, talked to customers, and watched how the work actually flows: from the phone call to the service bay to the invoice.

We came out with three buckets:

→ Quick wins they can knock out over the next week
→ Bigger projects worth investing with a timeline to implement
→ An exciting automation that takes repetitive admin work off the team’s plate, so they can spend that time on what actually brings in revenue: customers and cars

The best part was watching a 40+ year old business get excited about trying something new, without disrupting what already works.

Thanks @MosheSherman00 and the @GermanMotorsLV crew for the hospitality.

If you run a shop, a service business, or anything with a lot of repetitive back-office work, this is exactly what we do at Dual Force Partners. DM me.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

@micahspruill I think you’re right. Which basically excludes all home service brands. One of the promises of franchising is to buy down your learning curve in a given business. I just don’t think it shakes out that way for most brands.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

This is 100% the move. And the same logic applies 10x to buying a franchise.

Ask yourself: if somebody gave me the 100-125k territory fee as start up capital for a business, could I figure it out on my own?

Most of the time, the answer is yes. And chances are you could figure it out for a fraction of that amount, and not sweat an SBA payment.

Happy for this dude.

[Brandon Pahler @BrandonPahler]

Lat last year I almost bought a plumbing business for 750k. Would’ve have to personally guarantee a 10 yr SBA loan for a business doing 80k a month in revenue where half the net profit went to debt service.

Instead I took the down payment money and opted to start my own from scratch. 6 months in we hit the same monthly revenue as the other business but with no debt.

When analyzing a business to buy the question should always be asked, what would it take to start this and would I be better off in 12 months?

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

Name me a better way to start your morning. I’ll wait.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

Man, that was a pile of fun. Couldn't be happier for my boy Jordan.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

@FranchiseMnA Curious what models you think it makes sense for a prospective franchisee to consider?

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

Hard to ask for a better endorsement from someone who knows the SMB world as well as Jon does.

Jon is welcome as soon as his kids grant him parole.

For the rest of you, no need to wait until your kids are grown.

I promise very little time will be spent sitting in coffee shops, and probably less on golf courses.

We're just getting started.

DM me if you want in.

[Jon Matzner @MatznerJon]

When and if I ever escape the very small children phase, the only peer group I would join is Mike's. I don't really want to sit in a coffee shop with a bunch of boring people.

Let's go do some fun shit.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

@taywall @pinpulleddrmf @CliffGry Hahaha. Except in my case the Zyns are 3mg and the coffee is decaf.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

@dmbkparker @pinpulleddrmf Deal. Christian will deliver it to you on horseback.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

@pinpulleddrmf @dmbkparker Not after you referred to my elk as a ‘little guy’ on the internet.

[Michael Kennedy @smallrites]

I don’t need a $5,000 longsword. But my boys deserve a father who owns one.

I’m asking 5,000 of you to invest $1 in their future. @XMoney

[Tod's Workshop @todsworkshop]

This Beautiful Handmade Longsword Could Be Yours! 🗡️
https://t.co/yh4f3sVZPE