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From Cold Calls to Company Owner: MSD Grad Builds a Business Empire at Just 23 3

Sean McHenry

Just chatting on the phone with Sean McHenry is like sitting in an audience, following word-for-word a speech by a highly skilled, well-polished motivational speaker. Confidence and enthusiasm exude from his voice.

What’s even more impressive is that McHenry, a 2022 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School graduate, is only 23 years old.

McHenry is a self-made entrepreneur. Born in Tamarac, his family moved to Coral Springs when he was seven. Around his 10th birthday, they moved to Parkland. Even before he finished high school, at 18, he did something that many of his peers probably never even dreamt of: he obtained his real estate license.

He scooped up the ball and quickly hit the ground running. The ambitious McHenry learned the ropes of the trade by making hundreds of cold calls daily and knocking on doors to find listings. He enjoyed considerable success

That’s when he realized he had an acumen for business. He started his own company, LuvPainting, in 2023, and in his first year, he did $500,000 in business. Since then, his painting company evolved into Sean McHenry Consulting LLC., a general contracting company. “It was rebranded into a consulting business,” he said, adding they do everything construction from windows to roofing and sidewalks.

However, he admits his first love remains painting. “Eighty percent of my job is painting. LuvPainting is still my bread and butter.”

Using both his real estate and construction company earnings, he bought his first home in North Lauderdale at age 22. McHenry keeps his fingers in other business pies as well. He started a successful podcast, Money Matters, at age 19. “It’s a way to help younger kids to become financially literate,” he said. He has had government officials and business leaders on the show.

Life’s lessons were the catalysts that pushed McHenry to achieve success on his own merit. “Everything I had to do I had to work for,” he said. He looked around at his own family and peers. “Everyone was always struggling for money. I knew I had to come up with a plan to set myself and my friends up. That’s why I started my own business.”

A close childhood friend of McHenry is Sinan Kassim. They first met in seventh grade. “We’ve always been helping each other out,” McHenry said. “He helped me to become a better man. He calls me every day. We push each other to keep going.”

Kassim says about his lifelong friend, “Sean started a very successful general contracting company at a very young age, landing major clients, and is active in inspiring other young people to pursue their passions.”

According to McHenry, his life has had its share of adversity as well as successes. When he was a young boy, he failed third grade, which led him to see himself as a poor student. “I thought I was bad at school,” he said, “and when I fell behind, I developed a speech impediment. My sentences were super choppy.”

He was also diagnosed with dyslexia and was overweight. All these things made him a target for bullying up until middle school.

However, in the eighth grade, he learned to take his health more seriously. Over the years, his self-confidence improved, and his public speaking has gotten a lot better. “I rewired my brain,” he said. “I realized I was smart and had enough knowledge. I started believing in myself.”

To a casual observer, McHenry talks with complete confidence, with perfect speech and articulation.

Kassim said he was aware of the adversities his friend faced as an adolescent and noted how McHenry worked hard through them in pursuit of his dreams.

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Martin Lenkowsky

Martin Lenkowsky moved to Coral Springs from NYC in 1982. He has a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College. He has been both writer and editor for a number of South Florida publications since 1983. He considers features writing his specialty.