Auctioneer, Antiques Mall Owner, Antiques Appraiser,
Estate Liquidator and Real Estate Agent

Blake Kennedy

Some might think that Blake had difficulty deciding what he wanted to be when he grew up. Those of us who know him view it quite differently. If the truth were known, Blake Kennedy is the equivalent of the modern day Renaissance man. Those of us who have worked with Blake over the years are left scratching our heads trying to figure out how he gets it all done.

Most people would consider themselves hard working professionals if they had just one of the jobs listed above. Not Blake Kennedy. Picking just one of them and being good at it wasn't enough for him. He decided to become an expert at all of them.

For many of us, the only way to handle such a grueling schedule would be to go home at the end of each day and rest up until the following morning. That wouldn't work for Blake. He has a beautiful wife and four great kids who take up his evenings.

Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, Blake always had an entrepreneurial spirit. At the start of his working career, while living in Tallahassee, Blake gave yearbook publishing a try. This was the business his father was in and he had always assumed that he would follow in his father's footsteps. According to Blake, "I tried it for a while but found it lacked the excitement I was looking for, so I decided to join one of my brothers and together we opened a night club and limousine business." Soon after, he realized that he had not yet found his niche so he sold his half of the business back to his brother Brad and continued his quest for the right profession - one that would not only support his family but also hold his interest.

He started up his own carpet cleaning business in Tallahassee but after the birth of their first child, Blake's wife announced that she would like to return to the St. Pete area. Blake reluctantly agreed, with a few conditions. He insisted that they had to put the house as well as the business up for sale. If they got their asking price for both, they would move back to St. Pete.

What Kim didn't know was that Blake had inflated the asking price on each. Not expecting either to sell, but not one to tempt fate, Blake admits, "I packed up my family and moved back to St. Pete when the first person gave me full price for the house and the second person gave me full price for the business."

Upon returning to St. Pete, Blake found that there was too much competition in the carpet cleaning business to make it a viable enterprise, so once again he was on the lookout for something different. What he didn't realize was that the beginning of his new lifelong career, one that would prove wildly successful for him, was sitting right under his nose. Not until another brother Brett, who is also Blake's identical twin, gave him the idea.

Brett recommended that Blake buy their mother's antique mall. Their mom, Patty, had opened a mall in St. Pete in 1980 with just five dealers. It quickly grew to 25 dealers. Although the property, which Patty also owned, had three buildings on it she only used one for the mall. The expansion continued however until "Patty and Friends" filled all three buildings, presenting the general public with a very large selection of antiques and collectibles offered by 80 different dealers.

When Blake first approached her about the idea she turned him down. Even after he told her of his plan to give her a respectable down payment and to pay it off in ten years, Patty still wasn't convinced. At the time, Patty told Blake, "In ten years, you will be forty and I will be seventy." According to Blake she didn't like the sound of that number seventy so she changed her mind and agreed to the sale. When Blake thinks back to that time he recalls, "I was proud of the fact that I managed to pay my mom off in just eight years instead of ten."

Once "Patty and Friends" was his, Blake immediately went into overdrive. He felt that auctioning was a perfect tie-in with owning an antiques mall so he went to school and secured his auctioneer's license. He immediately hooked up with a couple of local auction houses where he could practice calling and being a ringman. Not long after that he was hired by two other local auction companies to call their sales. His career as a freelance auctioneer was in full swing.

In addition to estate auctions, Blake now calls over fifty charity/fundraising auctions a year, both locally and nationally. According to Blake, "Charity auctions are different from antiques and estate auctions. At a charity auction, the auctioneer has to put on more of a show and also serves as the emcee for the entire event. I enjoy both forms of auctioning. Actually, I just enjoy auctioning, period."

Over the years, Blake had always hoped to increase his visibility in both the antiques and the auction businesses so when the time was right, he started Kennedy Brothers Estate Services. To compliment this he became a certified personal property appraiser with the designations of MPPA (Master of Personal Property Appraiser) and CES (Certified Estate Specialist). He is also a member of CAGA (Certified Appraisal Guild of America).

However, there was still one piece missing from the multi-tier operation he had envisioned creating ever since buying his mom's antiques mall. The question Blake kept asking himself was, "After someone liquidates an estate, what do they do with the house?" The answer was obvious. "They let me sell it for them." A real estate license would further facilitate his "soup to nuts" approach to the ever-growing estate liquidation business. Not only did Blake get the requisite license, so did his twin brother Brett.

Blake explains, "This allows us to offer our customers creative solutions for every single one of their needs. We can pick-up an entire estate and dispose of each piece via whatever method is right for that particular piece. Maybe it is auctioning it, or selling it in the mall, or including it with other items in an estate sale and so forth. Perhaps there are several good pieces that some customers wish to keep and therefore need to have appraised. Whatever they want or need, we have the ability to get it done."

Although he owns Kennedy Brothers outright, Brett was invaluable to Blake a few years ago during the real estate boom. "Auctioning homes instead of selling them in the traditional manner is becoming more and more popular," says Blake. Brett also helps to promote Kennedy Brothers and he assists Blake when he runs his own auctions or does estate sales.

Blake comments, "The full service approach in the estate business can be invaluable to customers. Having the entire process handled by one company can decrease the stress level of clients. This is especially important when an estate is being liquidated due to a death in the family. Sensitivity on our part can make a big difference in people's lives when they are going through what is already a very difficult time."

In addition to everything else, Blake attends antiques shows where he does appraisals. He is also an expert witness in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Sarasota and Collier counties when it comes to antiques and household items.

I asked Blake if having so many irons in the fire ever gets to be overwhelming. Always one to give the credit to others, Blake told me, "I love the excitement. I enjoy what I do because every day there is something different going on. I have great people working for me, great friends helping me and a great family supporting me. Life is good."

Author's Note: Having known Blake for roughly thirteen years, I can tell you that what you see is what you get and what you get is a hard-working, dedicated, upbeat and very supportive person who is always willing to pitch in to help anyone who needs it. Whatever success Blake enjoys, he deserves. No one cares more about their family and friends than he does.

Being around Blake is the same as taking anti-depressants. You cannot be in a bad mood. His excitement and positive outlook is contagious. Also, he is able to easily separate business from pleasure and he never holds a grudge. Personally I'm a better person for knowing Blake and I hope we will continue to be involved with each other on some level for many years to come.

I once asked Blake which method of advertising works best for him. He replied, "Word of mouth. Getting ringing endorsements from other people drives new business and the way to get those endorsements is by treating everyone honestly, fairly and being perceptive to their needs, the way I would want to be treated."

Check out some of Blake Kennedy's How to Videos on www.eHow.com. Click on "Videos" and search "Blake Kennedy."

Written by Anne Benedetto, Auction House Talk
 All Rights Reserved

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