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By Ted Williams |
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Hello Thursday. I’m booking a staycation for my 4 year old daughter and me at The Ballantyne Hotel.
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We’ll view the gingerbread house competition, swim in the indoor pool, grab an appetizer at The Gallery Bar, and then rent an overpriced movie and order room service.
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I’ve done this with each of my two older kids. It’s an awesome reminder that there’s nothing quite as fun as one on one time with a child. Anyways.
💼 Hot Job: Accounting Manager at Carolina Select Brands, owner of Reid's Fine Foods, Salted Melon, and Lebowski's. 10+ years experience. Work directly with CEO Tom Coker (he's great).
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👩 Shout-out: Kristi Coleman, Clemson ‘06 grad and previous Deloitte auditor, on her promotion to CEO of Tepper Sports & Entertainment. She'll be hiring a chief revenue officer and chief business officer for Charlotte FC.
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MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE
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Nasdaq |
19,735 |
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S&P 500 |
6,086 |
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THE LEAD
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Former 2ULaundry Co-Founder & CEO Alex Smereczniak launches "Zillow for franchises"
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Franzy founders Alex Smereczniak (great flow!) and Chris Wright
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“Each year, thousands of people start on the franchise journey, but the process is fragmented,” explained Alex. "Franzy is here to change that. We’re making franchise ownership accessible — like Expedia did for travel and Zillow did for real estate."
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Solution: Franzy allows prospective franchise buyers to browse and compare 3,000 different franchise opportunities.
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Examples include Ivybrook Academy ($629K investment), K9 Resorts ($2.1M investment), Soccer Stars ($89K investment), and 1-800 Striper ($270K investment).
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Why now: Currently, most buyers work with franchise consultants who often make a 50% commission from a franchisor if a deal is signed (ex, 50% of a $50K franchise fee). It’s old school!
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Similar to luxury real estate, there's a lot of money to be made in matching buyers with sellers as well as financing options.
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Competition like Franchise Gator is a hot mess.
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Bullish: It's a BIG idea. Building a digital marketplace is hard as hell, but 33 year old Alex is a huge franchise nerd after scaling high tech LaundroLab units.
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PRESENTED BY WINESTORE
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Winestore's top sellers of 2024 are all on sale through Friday at midnight
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Ted’s Reds! Winestore is locally owned by Matt Hartley and Matt Snyder
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Power rankings: Winestore must hate margin because these prices are ridiculous. I call these Ted’s Reds…
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2022 T. Solomon Pinot Noir ($24.99)
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2022 Palace Thief Cabernet ($34.99)
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2021 Cape Charles Cabernet ($24.99)
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Don’t forget: Go buy Winestore’s "12 Nights of Wine" Holiday Box for $99.99 — 9 golden tickets hidden inside for a chance to win $1,000!
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SIDE HUSTLE DIARIES
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38 year old diversifies 8 long term rental property portfolio with $925K mountain Airbnb
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“S’More to Love” 4 bedroom NC mountain cabin
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Are you part of the 45% of working Americans with a side hustle? Submit a side hustle money diary.
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Mortgage executive Ryan Clay has slowly purchased a portfolio of 8 long term rental properties in Charlotte — his latest investment is a 4-bedroom cabin in Seven Devils named S’More to Love.
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Capital gains deferment: Ryan purchased a University area condo in 2009 at 23 years old for $88,000 and sold it this past summer for $225,000. The next day, he closed on this mountain house, taking advantage of the 1031 exchange rule.
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What’s next: Ryan and his wife plan on buying 2 more short term rental properties in the next 5 years, a high-end 1 bedroom focused on a romantic couples retreat and a 5+ bedroom to host large family vacations.
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Advice: "Avoid 3 bedroom homes – saturated supply."
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Full diary: Insights, photos, and complete financial breakdown on Ryan’s mountain Airbnb investment
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MONEY TALKS
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51 year old couple making $450K experience “South Charlotte bubble” with teenagers
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Lang Van, this couples go-to restaurant
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Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate.
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Jobs: "I’m in technology sales and my wife is a consultant. For me, it’s eat what you kill. My salary ranges from $100K to over $250K. My wife is a hard worker and has a base of $190K with 25% annual bonus."
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High school kids: "It’s hard when their friends have unlimited DoorDash and Lulu mail order accounts that seem to grow on trees."
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Budgeting: “My wife equates a budget to like being on a diet, too restrictive.”
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Net worth: “About $7M. Slow and steady wins the race. Interest is the 8th wonder of the world. The first $100K is pretty hard to save, but it gets going really fast after that.”
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What's 'rich' in Charlotte: "$10M. Not much you couldn’t do with this amount. You could tee it up almost anywhere, almost."
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Best money decision: “Seeing Jeff Bezos introduce this little handheld device called a Kindle on the Oprah Winfrey show in the 90’s and thinking to myself, ‘this is going to change the book industry,’ I think I’ll buy some stock in it!”
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Full story: 51 year old couple hates debt, switching gears to "spending mode"
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MONEY SNACKS
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5 other financial headlines I’m snacking on
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Instagram handle @fortheloveofoldhouses with 812K followers featured Myers Park cottage asking $1.3M. 1,512 DMs later, it's now under contract.
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Developer Brett Krueger posted $66M financing request on LinkedIn for Sunset Cove, his condo and hotel project on Lake Norman.
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American Girl Doll closing at SouthPark Mall on February 10th. I was shocked to learn that people get their doll’s ears pierced for $16.
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Charlotte Invitational tennis match featuring Alcaraz vs Tiafoe takes place tomorrow night at the Spectrum Center. Bad tickets are $40 and good tickets are $300.
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Castle-inspired estate inside Elk River Club sets new N.C. sales record at $16M. It went under contract in just 12 days.
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HOUSEKEEPING
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Eddie’s Place sells 120 cups on their famous she-crab soup on busy, cold days like today
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She-crab soup, not very photogenic, but so damn tasty
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Fun fact: Haitian native Alberto Toussaint (66) has made the she-crab soup at Eddie’s Place every day for the past 27 years!
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Ted's Mount Rushmore of Charlotte soups:
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300 East – Baked French Onion Soup
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Bricktops – Lobster Bisque (Maine chunks on top!!)
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Moosehead – New England Clam Chowdah (sleeper pick)
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Eddie's Place – She-Crab Soup
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Happy Thursday! I’m looking to track my sleep and fitness in 2025 and struggling between an Apple Watch or Whoop bracelet for my Christmas list. Reply with advice (and soup recs)!
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– Ted
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MONEY POLL
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How much will you spend on holiday gifts this year?
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Last week’s poll results: Are local influencers now more powerful than legacy media? (5,859 subscribers)
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