Today we’d like to introduce you to A. T. Holt.
A. T., please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Present-day, I am Founder/CEO of KESHANDE Technology and Chairman of the Board for RED Worldwide. My history in this space spans over 20 years with proven success and growth added to many entities from small businesses to large corporations, some of which include Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce, Radio One, Inc., The Potter’s House, Caltech/MIT, Walton Isaacson and The Carter Agency. Through strategic partnerships and alliances over the years, I’ve positioned KESHANDE Technology as a single-source solutions provider with national coverage and field operating entities in Texas, Missouri, Michigan, Georgia, California, New York and a U.S. neighboring entity in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Information Technology is not my only strong suit. My history and journey through life cultivated me into a naturally creative and innovative thinker. I was the kid who was okay playing by himself because I had a vivid imagination. Many would say I was an explorer and tinkerer. Yes, I had a knack for figuring things out and trying new things or engaging in new adventures. For as long as I can remember, I always found ways to integrate the things I like, along with my desires, into my life as normal routine processes. It’s the reason why I wake up with a smile every day.
If you ask me how I got into the business, I will tell you, “by accident, doing the things I naturally love to do.” Literally, it happened that way. While on lunch break in my employer’s corporate office, a senior level director noticed me working on a music industry website, questioned me about it and offered me an opportunity to build a risk management website for the corporation. Upon closer look, the director noticed it was my own media company with creative interactivity and animation included. Very impressed, his inquiry led to a conversation about music, media, film and entertainment. Little did I know, a merger and layoff were pending, and the project would get tabled. However, the director had given a spark to the idea of entrepreneurship.
Now, as you can imagine, learning that my days were numbered in Corporate America at that moment time caused a great deal of worry and concern for me, a man who was a devoted husband and a father to six. Despite the challenges I faced, I decided to take the high road approach to life and press on positively, believing there is something better awaiting me.
After the layoff in 1999, I never looked back, landing new contracts at Mary Kay Cosmetics, Frito Lay Corporation, The National Network of Youth Ministries, The Potter’s House, Radio One and MoJamz, the first online NeoSoul radio station (unintentionally) rivaling the two major urban broadcast radio stations in the market. Through innovation, I was able to add value to each entity with a unique case study of being pivotal in helping to take the new 97.9 The Beat KBFB-FM to number one in Arbitron Broadcast Ratings through the use of the internet, thus opening the market up to the power of online viral media. As well, I had the opportunity to team up with a strategic partner, 2empowerU, to develop and expand the online live broadcast/webcast streaming platform for The Potter’s House prior to the layoff, and soon after, work with various celebrities would follow.
Today, I bring my love for technology, exposure in the market, passion for innovation and creativity in media to you! I can honestly say, “I couldn’t have asked God for anything greater than the ability to learn, influence, give and grow through entrepreneurship.” I make this evident in my approach to business, networking, collaboration and overall relationship building.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I am sure many entrepreneurs and business owners will tell you the road to success did not come without bumps, potholes and deep pitfalls. I am the next to mirror the same sentiment. Like any new challenge in life to do great things, there will be obstacles to overcome, and many times, those obstacles come with or lead to unique struggles. My greatest struggle to date has been being seriously under-capitalized in a society that does not value my input and worth as greatly as the next business person who does not look like me. Although I don’t make much of a complaint about it, I will state the fact that my frustration levels at times were at all-time highs, especially when I work 2 to 10 times as hard to be only considered as half as good or capable, or in fiscal terms, half as bankable or investment-worthy. Therefore, my pitches for investment and funding to launch projects would always get rejected with no after no.
I could have let the rejections limit me and stifle my growth, but in turn and to the contrary, they only made me stronger in creating processes to overcome the bootstrap nature of my operation. In simple terms, it was up to me to turn dust into dollars by being more creative in finding ways to generate revenue. This is where I will tell you, there were many Ramen Noodle nights and homemade deli sandwiches as delicacies, treating them as King’s meals as I built my empire.
How did I make it through? I always started my days with gratitude and thankfulness to The Most High while filling my mind with the latest trends in business from the articles I read along with getting my personal development, business development and millionaire success stories in from others who have made it to the level of success I sought out. I still start my days the same way. This draws the energy of success into my space, and that is the space I operate in today.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the KESHANDE Technology story. Tell us more about the business.
KESHANDE Technology consists of a team of professionals who collectively offer the best value for your investment in premium web design, website maintenance, web application development, web marketing, managed web hosting and live webcasting. By combining all available resources through our strategic alliances and partner divisions, we have positioned ourselves as your single-source solution for web services, setting us apart from the typical digital agency by being your all-in-one solution for everything web.
As your premier end-to-end premium website design and development solutions provider, we are uniquely positioned to handle all your maintenance, enhancement, web application programming, continuing development, digital media and technical service needs. We are eager to help your business grow, and we stand proud in being your choice for Premium WEB, Awesome VISUAL and Innovative TECH.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
If I believed in luck as much as the next, I could probably say I am the luckiest man alive! Yes, it’s okay to insert your chuckle here. However, I will not say luck or chance does not exist. There are changes that happen beyond anyone’s control in life, and we all love it when those things produce abundance and increase. We also love it when those things save us from detriment. Yes, that can be considered good luck and great fortune.
Have I had good luck in my life as a businessman? Yes, of course. I would go further to say, by chance, I may have been in the right place at the right time for the best thing to happen. For example, I took a chance and walked into the reception area of a new radio station in town to ask them about being their webmaster, and luckily, I happened to show up at the right time, which was right after station personnel had a discussion about what they were going to do about their presence on the web. One might say the odds of that happening is purely a case of good luck. I’d like to say beyond luck, it was great timing and favor.
As far as bad luck, I don’t really put much energy into it, or rather, I just refer to it as bad timing. This is when it just happened to be my turn to be in a certain place at the wrong time. It’s kind of like investing at the wrong time. You can suffer losses if you are not positioned at the right time to make a solid move, whether it is with the hope for gain or the challenge of mitigating loss. Yes, this so-called “bad luck” can happen, also. However, one must be resilient and think on their feet quickly to adjust so that a bounce-back can happen quickly. I would say bad luck taught me patience and helped me with strategy, while good luck showed me there are things that are positive in nature destined to me. With this good luck, my measure of gratefulness increases and my ability to be inspired causes me to inspire others to operate in greatness.
Pricing:
- 3 Page Starter Website Package | $599 – This is your initial presence on the web.
- 5 Page Informational Website Package | $999 – This is your statement on the web.
- 7 Page Business Website Package | $1499 – This is your business footprint on the web.
- 7 Page Ecommerce Website Package | $2499 – This your professional online storefront on the web.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6160 Warren Pkwy Suite 100
Frisco, Texas 75034 - Website: https://www.KESHANDE.com
- Phone: 972-559-4932
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/KESHANDETechnology
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/KESHANDE
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