We had the good fortune of connecting with Tomas Keenan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tomas, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
Growing up on Long Island, NY, in a middle-class family with a single mother profoundly impacted who I am today. My mother’s dedication to her career instilled in me a strong work ethic, and my summers spent working alongside my uncles taught me the values of perseverance and determination. Overall, my upbringing shaped me into a hard-working individual with strong family values. I am grateful for the opportunities that were given to me and the lessons I learned through my childhood experiences.

Several of my family members were small business owners when I was growing up. This had a positive impact on me and showed me that school and working for the man weren’t the options out there.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My current business is Step It Up Academy. Seeing our clients’ companies succeed is what drives us. We offer 1:1 coaching, onsite audits, fractional COO work, onsite team training, live events, and a mastermind – so you can achieve more than you ever thought possible. With our help, your business will reach new heights.

Most business owners are Visionaries and need the help of an Integrator, you see the vision, and the Integrator organizes it and puts together a plan of execution. The ratio is 4:1 Visionaries to Integrators. I’ve been blessed with natural abilities that fall more on the Integrator side. This allows Step It Up Academy to give our clients a unique perspective on what’s actually required to bring their vision to life.

I’m most excited about of first live event being held at Top Golf – The Colony on November 1st and 2nd. This has been in the works for nearly two years and is finally coming to life. In those two years, we have helped our clients plan, create, and host world-class events in the self-development space. It’s nice to finally host one ourselves!

My business journey started when I was 21 years old. I was a custom car audio installer and thought that I knew more than my boss. After a few choice words and $300 cash to my name, I quit and went to work for me. I was a great technician but knew nothing about business. As previously mentioned, my first company lasted five years before I threw in the towel. I went back to work at another automotive shop for three years before getting the itch to go back into business for myself. This time I had a business partner. We specialized in installing GPS Tracking and Dash Camera systems in commercial fleet vehicles.

Five years into the second business is when I started taking things seriously. I saw the industry had enormous potential I also realized that my business partner and I didn’t have the skillset needed to grow and scale the company. This was when we went looking for a company to help us overcome the growth hurdles we were facing as a company just passing its $1m mark in gross sales for the year.

In total, I spent eleven years with my second company before exiting in November 2020.

For me, doing the work of the installer always came naturally. It was the work of being a true business owner that was always challenging. But in this challenge, I discovered a new passion for helping others succeed in business. It wasn’t long after we started seeing success from the coaches and consultants we hired that other industry professionals began seeking my help in growing their companies.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For starters, I’d pick them up at DFW Airport. On the way back towards my home, we’d stop at the Legacy Mi Cocina for lunch and a Mambo Taxi (or two.) The next day we’d head into Dallas and go see the Perot Museum. While in Dallas, we’d head over to Deep Ellum for some BBQ at Terry Black’s.

What’s a trip to North Dallas without at least one visit to The Star? We’d head over to the Cowboys Club for dinner and then continue the night of fun at Concrete Cowboy.

The next day we’d head over to Scheels and ride the Ferris wheel with the kids before touring Nebraska Furniture Mart. If the kids were good, we’d head over to Andretti’s for some racing!

That’s an action-packed couple of days. I’m not sure I could do it five days in a row. Haha.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
To be honest, this isn’t an easy question for me to answer as there were so many influences along the way. My biggest supporter has always been my wife, Jennifer. She’s been next to me, rooting me on since the day we met. This November marks 21 years! Soon after we met, I started my first business, which ultimately failed because of me. Jennifer was there offering help and support in any way that she could. I even remember borrowing money from her (my girlfriend at the time) to pay bills to keep the doors open. That first business lasted five years before I threw the towel in and closed the doors.

Three years later, I would give business ownership another try, and once again, Jennifer was there in support. Five years into business number two is when I decided to get serious about life and business when I found out that Jennifer was pregnant with our first daughter.

Finding out that I was about to become a parent was the true catalyst that lit a fire under my rear. I now realized that I had much more responsibility and needed to get better at business if I was going to take care of a family.

That’s when I went out and pursued self-development. I consumed it in any form I could. Reading, audiobooks, conferences, events, trade shows, masterminds, etc.

Website: https://www.tomaskeenan.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theintegratorcoach/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomas-keenan/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TkeenanTom

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tom.keenan.988

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgWCsjIjS1VOU-kqNayZQ_w

Other: https://www.stepitupacademy.com/ – Will be live within 1 week.

Image Credits
Madi May – 7 Seconds Media

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.