Meet Mike Halmon

We recently connected with Mike Halmon and have shared our conversation below.

Mike, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?

This for me started in life as a child. I’ve been looked at differently, spoken to differently and even treated differently because of the way I look. Which is crazy considering God created us all equally. However, I don’t make the rules but play the game. I began using that to feed my drive and hunger for success at a young age. I used to get upset and enraged when I’d have to deal with blatant racism. Then I decided to start using that rage and anger as motivation. You want to treat me differently because you think I can’t afford a purse or piece of jewelry for my mama, or because of how I’m dressed and look you assume I can’t afford to buy a specific car. Instead of getting upset and coming out of character I do like Jesus and turn the other cheek. I’ll find another associate or even establishment to make my purchase. Once I’ve made my purchase, I’ll go back to the other associate or establishment and show the commission they missed out on because they wanted to judge and make assumptions about me based off my looks.

Professionally, I have been fortunate to have a father that is often times the only one in the room that looks like me. I have been blessed with watching him over the years and have learned from his mentorship. I now enter those rooms with the confidence that I belong there. In fact, I now feel the way I look in those moments is a superpower. I have learned to use that superpower as I see there is great respect for me when the others in the room recognize there is substance to what I have to say.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I have been driven to be successful virtually since my youth. In high school instead of working at a grocery store or fast-food restaurant, I worked in a beauty salon as a shampoo boy. I did this because I knew I could make great tips from the clients, and I did. As I evolved in my early years, I made the decision that I wanted to work for myself. I worked in my family business throughout high school and always having a passion for music began to develop a plan to have my own record label.

As I am now about to have a milestone birthday, I believe I have achieved the first phase of my entrepreneurial journey. I have grown RnR Records and RnR Studios with my partner Chris from out of the garage to opening up in our Land O Lakes location in 2023. I convinced my wife to embark on opening up her own beauty salon in 2019 after more than 15 years working for another stylist. Most importantly, in 2020 I assumed the role of Executive Director of our family business where I am now responsible for the operations of this 55-employee company with 2 locations and a third slated to open in Bradenton in 2025.

This really excites me as I’ve always had a passion to help people that needed and wanted help in any capacity, I was able to do so. Now that I am operating and looking to grow four different businesses that assist and help individuals is an awesome feeling. I thank God daily for blessing me with the entrepreneur mindset from an early age. It’s amazing seeing and witnessing dreams and prayers turned into reality.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

My hunger for success, passion for what I do, and willingness to do whatever it takes are the key qualities that have been the most impactful for me on this journey. So, to anyone that has a desire to build something for themselves, I say that they must be hungry for achieving the success and have PASSION for whatever it is they are desiring to do. Finally, they must be willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Joyce Meyers says, “there is no such thing as a drive through breakthrough” and I have learned that to be TRUE. I suggest everyone seeking success recognize it will take time.

My advice for anyone early in your journey is to first and foremost trust and thank God daily for blessing you with the capabilities to do whatever “it” is he has blessed you to do. You have to be willing to sacrifice, live uncomfortably and potentially be broke for a period of time. If being a successful entrepreneur was easy everyone would be doing it but it’s not easy. Everyone is not cut out to be an entrepreneur. If you aren’t willing to sacrifice a few things, stick with punching a clock and collecting a check every two weeks because you are wasting your time and money if you think success happens overnight. I’ve been at this for 20 plus years and still haven’t reaped all the fruits of my labor.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

We live in an age where anxiety and depression are at all-time highs. I have found over the years that stress can be debilitating. So, what I work very hard at doing is to walk away from “it”. Whatever “it” is that is causing me stress. It is important to take some “me” time and reflect on where I’m at in life. When there is a problem, learn not to react, but to “respond”. It is one of the important things we can do. Someone said, “it’s not what happens to you that matters, but how you respond to it”.

Most importantly when feeling overwhelmed or stressed I lean on God. I trust in him to help me deal with whatever “it” is to the best of my ability. Reason being he will never give us more than we can endure. I just pray to Him to give me the wisdom needed to weather whatever storm I’m encountering at the time.

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