Name: Rondel Holder
Profession: CEO of Soul Society 101
Age: 30
One Word That Describes You: Authentic
Business and pleasure have provided Rondel Holder the opportunity to travel frequently both domestically and internationally, often dining out and opting for the “local” approach to travel versus being a tourist. A marketing executive for over 10 years, Holder has worked at notable media companies such as Pandora Radio, ESSENCE Magazine, Complex, VIBE and AllHipHop.com. In 2012 he started sharing his travel and foodie experiences on his blog, Soul Society 101, and continues to travel, try new recipes at home and taste new cuisines and cocktails while dining out.
Always interested in learning about and exploring other cultures, Holder wanted to create a media outlet that highlighted the travel journeys of himself and other African-Americans. “There’s so much beauty in traveling and learning about people around the world – their music, food, clothing, what’s important to them and how they operate on a day to day,” Holder tells BE Modern Man. “When you see people in their environments,
it’s like the pieces of the puzzle of life start to come together. You learn so much about yourself through your differences and gain so much appreciation from the common threads in our spirits as human beings.” Many stereotypes are placed on black people and one that stands out to Holder is that blacks do not travel, or have a well rounded view of the world. “That is absolutely not true,” says Holder. “The Moors, who were black, were the original nomads, and in our current day and age, we are exploring the world so much. This is why I’m so grateful that media like Black Enterprise and the BE Modern Man platform exist.”
Applying all that he’s learned from his education and professional experiences, Holder has successfully launch and developed a brand that is now growing exponentially and touching people in a way that he can see every day. The travel and experience may be beautiful, but it takes a lot of work to continue to grow the business. “Always expect to work hard and be persistent,” says Holder. “No matter how glamorous or easy something looks on the outside, to make a real impact, someone is doing a lot of dirty work to keep things moving on the inside.”
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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-m
inded, 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.