Kaminskiy Care and Repair founder Sergei Kaminskiy shares his journey from a young entrepreneur to a thriving franchisor.
As a young teenager growing up in a new country, Sergei Kaminskiy knew he was destined for entrepreneurship.
“There was a part of me that knew, deep down inside, that I was going to be uber-successful one day, even when I was in seventh grade,” Kaminskiy says, recalling an experience in middle school when a teacher chastised him for being too talkative and energetic during class, warning that his boisterous personality might affect his potential for success later in life.
“(My teacher) goes, ‘Sergei, if you act the way you're acting, you're never going to go to college. You're going to be digging ditches all your life.’ And I looked him dead in the eye and I said, ‘Mr. Roche, I'm not going to go to college. I'm going to have my own business,’” Kaminskiy says.
Today, as the founder of four successful businesses including Kaminskiy Care and Repair, a thriving handyman franchise system with 21 locations coast-to-coast, Kaminskiy has lived up to that promise – and surpassed his teacher’s expectations. As an immigrant whose family came to the United States seeking better opportunities when he was young, Kaminskiy’s entrepreneurial success has also proven that the American Dream is still achievable – it just requires the right amount of talent, hard work, and determination to bring it to life.
From humble beginnings to entrepreneurship
Despite his eventual success as an American entrepreneur, Kaminskiy’s path wasn’t always easy – and even as a child, he was no stranger to challenges.
After arriving in the U.S. from Siberia with his family in 1993 at the age of seven, only a couple of years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kaminskiy says he grew up in poverty while watching his father struggle to start over in a new country far from home.
“My dad was doing well back in Russia, and he has a PhD in geology. He ran a whole organization there, and he made a huge sacrifice coming to this country. I mean, the sacrifice was that he had to start from scratch,” Kaminskiy recalls.
Still, seeing his father learn a new language and embrace entrepreneurship on a smaller scale ultimately became a point of inspiration for Kaminskiy, who credits his father’s example as one of the reasons for his desire to pursue business ownership as an adult alongside his two sisters, who are also entrepreneurs.
“(My father) didn't know the language. He had to (go) from being a very respectable person there to coming here and restarting – and giving us the opportunity that we currently have to take it to the next level,” Kaminskiy says.
It wasn’t until after Kaminskiy graduated from high school, though, that his dreams of entrepreneurship would become not only a reality but a necessity. Struggling to support himself and his now wife, Elena Kaminskiy, on the wages from his job at a general contractor framing company, Kaminskiy launched a business called SDC Handyman Service Plus, offering handyman services to local clientele.
“I was just 19 years old and couldn't pay the bills. I had to make ends meet, so I went and started out by passing out flyers door-to-door. I would wake up with Elena at three, four in the morning, and we’d hit the streets and pass out flyers,” Kaminskiy says.
Excited about the possibilities the new business venture offered for the future, Kaminskiy showed one of the flyers to the superintendent at the contracting company he worked for, who had taken a liking to Kaminskiy and supported his efforts.
“I came into his office and said, ‘Jim, I'm going to start my handyman business.’ I showed him my flyer. He goes, ‘Sergei, good for you. … Work will come, but good help is hard to find,’” Kaminskiy recalls.
Blazing a trail in the business world
For Kaminskiy, the superintendent’s advice would become invaluable as a steady stream of work flowed in and the business slowly matured.
“To build something truly successful and remarkable, you have to have the right people around you – the right people that you can delegate to, that you can trust,” Kaminskiy says.
That wisdom paid off. Within three years, alongside a team of solid employees and partners, Kaminskiy’s handyman service evolved into a kitchen and bath remodeling business with patrons spanning the San Diego, California, area.
“We're a household name, and we've mastered the home improvement space in our area,” Kaminskiy says.
In the years that followed, Kaminskiy’s business ventures grew to include Kaminskiy Design and Remodeling, a nationally renowned residential design and remodeling firm, and Kaminskiy Commercial Construction, which serves construction clients in industries ranging from retail and hospitality to medical, distribution, manufacturing and more. Over the last two decades, Kaminskiy’s portfolio expanded to include commercial real estate and numerous angel investments.
Still, by 2022, Kaminskiy was ready to take on new challenges – like becoming a franchisor.
“In 2022, a friend of mine approached me, a childhood friend, and he saw my success in the (home improvement) space and he said, ‘Sergei, I want to get into your space.’ He owned a successful car dealership in the Bay Area. He said, ‘Man, I want to get into your space. Can you teach me how to get into it and give me some advice?’” Kaminskiy recalls.
Rather than consulting, Kaminskiy suggested something else: working with his friend to open a second Kaminskiy Care and Repair location in the East Bay.
Bringing the American Dream to life
Despite not knowing much about franchising at the time, Kaminskiy had confidence that his handyman business would thrive as a franchise due to its previous financial success and replicable model.
“I'm like, man, I'm onto something. I have some very valuable knowledge where I can scale this thing and I can help so many entrepreneurs,” Kaminskiy says.
To bring those dreams to life, Kaminskiy brought on a managing partner he’d previously worked with to purchase and scale a multi-location dental business – a venture that had ended with a successful exit. In addition to developing a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) with strong Item 19 financial performance representations, Kaminskiy and his partner spent the last two years redesigning the company’s business model and developing specialized systems and processes optimized for scalability.
“Going through this franchise journey has opened my eyes on so many levels, and I became such a huge believer in the franchise business model. Because when you look at statistics, you see how many businesses fail within the first 10 years when they don't have a proven system and model that they follow,” Kamiskiy says.
For Kaminskiy, part of the appeal of franchising is connecting aspiring entrepreneurs with a proven business model, built-in mentorship and access to resources and support to grow their business.
“It fast-tracks you to success. You don't have to take all the bumps and bruises and, you know, really have these colossal mistakes that could put you under, because you have a proven system and model that you're following,” Kaminskiy says, adding that having the ability to pivot and adopting the right mindset is the key to success in any business.
As an emerging franchisor with a growing brand taking shape across the nation, Kaminskiy’s own success story – one of self-transformation from a young dreamer into a thriving business owner and franchisor – is a testament to the opportunities available to aspiring entrepreneurs in the U.S.
“I feel a great sense of gratitude and appreciation for this amazing country. I'm living proof that the American Dream is alive and well – that a 19-year-old kid can start a business and be successful,” Kaminskiy says.
Learn about franchise opportunities with Kaminskiy Care and Repair at https://careandrepair.com/kaminskiy-care-and-repair-franchise.
