Meet Michael Duke | Marketer & Real Estateur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Duke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think taking risk is a requirement of success, but managing it is critical. You would be hard pressed to find a person who accomplished anything of meaningful substance without a risk, but the graveyard is littered with failed risks that don’t get talked about. I wouldn’t be where I am today without making moves that seemed bizarre or downright idiotic to my family or former colleagues, and I know I won’t be getting to where I want to be without continuing to take risks.

Before I was an entrepreneur, I made two career changes in 5 years to acquire skills for when I did eventually jump into my own thing full-time. The most pivotal risk I ever took in the midst of all that was dropping everything and moving to Texas on a whim, hoping to find the opportunity that so many others had found here. I sold most of my stuff and drove all the way from Boise, Idaho, my hometown. I had never been to Texas before, but had a feeling that opportunity would find me here, and it has.

Taking risks in business often comes down to how much cash and time it will take, and then quantifying the opportunity cost of that investment versus other initiatives. The number one rule is to not run out of money, and as long as the risks being taken abide by that rule, they are worth exploring more. However, just spending recklessly to reinvest profits in anything that comes to mind is not prudent risk management, I would say. You can’t always quantify risk, but the better you can, the more risks you can feel comfortable taking.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Solkri Design is a full service marketing agency that serves small businesses across the country. Let’s be honest, there are lots of agencies out there, but what sets ours apart is that we focus on the very underserved market of scrappy owners with constrained marketing budgets. We also recently launched a new concept I’m really excited about called Local Mavens that exclusively serves home service businesses with a systematic approach to local SEO and targeted PPC advertising.

We got to where we are today by continuing to bolt on services that our current customers needed at the time, instead of just handing them over to other agencies. Of course it wasn’t easy and we still have a long way to go, but I’m extremely proud of our evolution over time from a boutique website design shop to a full-stack marketing agency. Despite how far we’ve come, it really does feel like we are just getting started.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is that you can’t let the day-to-day monotony of running your operations bog you down and keep you from “skating where the puck is going”. You have to anticipate the direction of the industries you serve, as well as your own, to constantly improve your service offering instead of just performing the service as it stands today. In addition to that, I’ve learned that our primary job as business owners isn’t to be a really good “player”, but instead to be a great GM/coach that constructs the right roster of talent and systems, then puts those pieces in position to win.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take them to the Stockyards of course, but a really underrated place in Fort Worth that I love is the Kimbell Art Museum, so would definitely need to stop there. Also, Heim Barbeque and Panther City BBQ are must-haves, so hopefully my friend is a BBQ fan (I can’t see it working out if they aren’t). Assuming that the weather is nice, a stop by the Trinity Trail is also nice for a brisk morning or afternoon walk.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My wife and business partner Britney Duke is who I would like to dedicate my shoutout to. She’s the reason that I got into the marketing industry in the first place and so much of our success thus far is attributable to her efforts. She is someone who definitely has a default approach to life of embracing ideas and taking action, and I think we can all learn from her in that way.

Website: https://www.solkridesign.com & https://www.localmavensmarketing.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldukeid/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-duke-533b9a132/

Image Credits
AJ Long