Building any brand is challenging, but in the age where social media is king, building a media-based brand is extremely difficult. At any given moment, someone can start following your business strategy or stealing your ideas and call it their own. “There are days where I’ve questioned if I should bother continuing, but then there are moments like this interview where I take a step back and remember why I started and why it’s important to continue my journey.”
The journey is a long one and Holder believes that receiving your education and working hard are extremely important. But he also believes that balance is key. “Make sure your social life flourishes,” says Holder. “Not only for your sanity, but also because you’d be surprised at how many career-advancing connections you can make from just having a great time and meeting new people on your down time.”
Building a brand that inspires, Holder is breaking a stereotype by sharing our stories and pictures of us in every crevice of the world, from Moscow, to Nairobi, to Florence, to Bangkok, to Sydney, to Sao Paulo and everywhere in between. “When I curate events and people leave saying that they had a great time connecting with like-minded, positive, black professionals, I feel like I’m doing the right thing. This is exactly why I started, to impact the community.” Holder’s next goal is to start a new type of event experience that immerses you in the culture of a foreign country right in the US. “For example, “The Taste of South Africa – Brooklyn Braai”, will give you the authentic food, dancing, music, fashion of South Africa right in Brooklyn, NY,” Holder explains. “I plan to also do “Taste of the Caribbean,” “Taste of Italy” and so on, to continue to inspire the world cultural exchange.”
Some of the most transformative leaders, inventors and world travelers in our history have been black and even today this continues to be the case. Holder believes “A BE Modern Man is particular about his passions, adamant about success, progressive in his strategy, and always has his heart in the right place. A piece of our culture can be seen in every part of the world as we continue to pursue our passion.”
The BE Modern Man team salutes Rondel Holder for building a brand that brings our travel experiences throughout the world to the forefront through Soul Society 101. Continue to share your food and travel experiences to inspire us all to explore the world.
It’s our normal to be extraordinary. Follow @blackenterprise and join the BE Modern Man conversation using #BEModernMan.