"Time is filled with swift transition," is the opening line of a very familiar hymn of the church. The past two years have definitely been filled with multiple transitions to include relocation, employment changes and more!
I moved from Arkansas to Tampa, FL in May of 2017 after excepting an employment opportunity as a full-time ministry director at Allen Temple, a well-established AME church in located in the historic Ybor City district of Tampa. After working in Arkansas as a historically black college administrator, church pastor and business owner, I felt it was a good time to move forward. I think people often get comfortable with their situation rather than taking a leap toward the next level. I had been there working hard for five years and I felt there were stronger opportunities for my personal journey in Tampa, FL.
Prior to moving to Arkansas in 2012, I operated my design company full-time while living in Raleigh, NC. My company and brand, KreativeKoncepts, has been established since I graduated college in 2002! At the time, I had a design office in the Business and Technology Center in bustling downtown Raleigh, and was soaring! I received a call from a client offering me an opportunity to help revive a two-year historically black college. I took a leap of faith and relocated to Little Rock, Arkansas to serve as the Director of Institutional Advancement, Planning and Technology at Shorter College. I loved the purpose and mission-mindedness of higher education administration. I've actually loved all of the employment opportunities that I've had throughout life...and I've done a plenty in a plethora of industries. I've been a foster care case manager, professional firefighter/EMT, a staff music studio engineer/producer, a college admissions counselor, a MLM executive, a musician, pastor, police officer, and some other stuff that I've forgotten about! But my passion for innovation and creativity have always been a driving force in my life. As an entrepreneur, I have the freedom to grow as deep and wide as I can manage...without limitations!
I love the freedom of entrepreneurship, having grown up in a home of entrepreneurs. My father, the late Bishop LL Stevenson (yep, I'm a preacher's kid), had a vision to open a Christian bible and book store back in the early 80's. So, this year, The Christian Supply Store celebrates 36 years of operation. My mother has poured her life into that business. Having watched her grind over the years, I understand the power of entrepreneurship and the have watched first-hand the drive and tenacity it takes to be successful. It takes strong faith and understanding your own value and self-worth to wake up everyday and thrive without the certainty of that salary check! I'm believe that with a balance of God's grace and a strong grind, anything but success is impossible!
So I've decided to re-establish my company as a full-service creative suite! I've pulled together a team of creatives that are winning in their areas of specialization and I'm confident in their individual skillsets and abilities! So KreativeKoncepts (Production and Design), KreativeLenz (Photography and Video), KreativeLux (Luxury Interiors) and Kreativiteez (Custom Apparel) are now all under one house that I've called, "The Kreative Suite". In the 2 years since I've been here in Tampa, I've had the opportunity to work alongside some powerhouses in various industries to produce some amazing events and community service initiatives. I've had my hands in a lot of behind the scenes stuff helping with multimedia production, graphic design, event management and logistics in the Tampa Bay community. Now it's time for me to take my companies and brands to another level by giving it my full attention. It's a great thing to put your vision on a pause for a while to assist someone else, but eventually, you've got to give attention to your own passions. I read a quote one day that said, "if you don't work diligently to accomplish your goals, someone else will eventually pay you to develop theirs!" Moreover, most of the time, they won't pay you what you're worth!
Visit www.thekreativesuite.com to explore some of my entrepreneurial ventures. If you're interested in learning more, you can contact me directly at kreativekoncepts@gmail.com! I'm excited and looking forward to launching out into the deep in this next season of my life! If people are going to watch, I may as well give them something great to look at! Wait until you see what's next!
To the future!
RJ Stevenson
#rjstevenson #thekreativesuite #kreativekoncepts #kreativelux #kreativelenz #kreativiteez #thekreativedirector
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