My name is Stephen Twomey. I was born in Traverse City Michigan on June 24 1984. I’ve had a passion for entrepreneurship my whole life. My first successful business started at 13 years of age. I bought and sold paintballs in large quantities from big companies, and a distribution center for my friends to come and buy them in smaller quantities. Since the paintball days, I have been involved in insurance, investments, medical sales and running a marketing agency. I’ve grown to know and love the term, “relationships over revenue”. Once I started focusing on going outside my comfort zone and existing circle, my network, increased my net worth.
Kennected, our SAAS company which focuses on LinkedIn automation is the result of a marketing company that I was involved with. Some of the other founders and partners, Cody Harvey, Devin Johnson, Elliot Drake, and Brandon Poplstein were all involved with this other digital agency. We sort of had an epiphany. We were working so hard on other people’s business and helping them achieve significant growth. Why not do the same thing on ours? After all, in the agency world, clients never stay forever. They grow, they die. They take things in house. It happens.
We love the SAAs model so; we can really focus on helping our clients achieve success. While maintaining a super sticky service that customers use for years and years.
What gives you energy?
Getting up early in the morning. Doing devotionals, working out and lots of pre workout. My family gives me energy and inspiration. As does my Kennected team. We have such a great culture and vibe that it is hard to not be excited to grind out.
What’s your secret life hack?
Go to bed early. Wake up early. Get your mind right and take care of your body. People that are successful do the little things with consistency. Those little things pay off in the form of a great physique, or wealth or whatever it is important to that person to achieve.
Name a book that changed your life.
Sam Carpenter’s “Work The System”. It’s a book about creating systems for your work life and personal life. How to get the most out of life and enjoy it more.
Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?
My phone is a tool. Sometimes that tool has power of me, only because I give it power. My phone is an iPhone X. It’s got a crack in the screen. The old me, would have upgrade over a year ago now. Also, the old me would have bought a new phone just because it had a cracked screen. The new me, does not care. It still works. I just bought waterproof case for when we go boating. I make a conscious choice to put my phone down and be more present to engage with my with Jane and my 4 children.
How do you deal with email?
I check email periodically thought the day.
Typically, at about 11 am, and 3pm. I batch it out. I do not let email take away the most creative part of the day. I learned this from Tim Ferris’ 4-hour work week.
You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?
Shove off from work mode and go hang out with my wife or kids.
When was the last time you felt burned out and why?
Covid shutdown really was a lot to deal with, having 4 kids in the house and running multiple businesses out of the house. Now that the shutdown is lessening, we’re able to get outside more. Boating season is helping get rid of the burn out feeling.
When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?
I cannot remember the last time I felt like I failed. I have dealt with so much failure in the past, that I had to condition my mind, much like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, to forget the losses and focus on what’s right in front of me. I overcome these losses by having a short memory and focusing on my ultimate goals. Wallowing in self pity and emotions of failure do nothing to further my goals.
Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace?.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
I love this Teddy Roosevelt quote because it goes deep into pursing the heart of a warrior. The heart of a doer. Even if I fail to reach my ultimate goals, I know that I will be able to say that I gave it my best shot. And if I don’t reach my ultimate goals, I’ll still be in a really good spot.
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