I would love to tell you I had some well organized career plan and path that I devised long ago and have carefully executed. I cannot. Hi, my name is Holly Bot and I am the owner of Bot Consulting. I did have a well organized career plan and path. It was carefully executed. But I did not devise it.
Let me tell you the amazing things that God has done. If you are impressed by status and reputation you’ll be disappointed. That’s what I would have created for myself. (I doubt I would have succeeded). God had much better plans.
I grew up with a dad who loves technology and gadgets. He instilled this love in us. My brother watched the cartoon Inspector Gadget every Saturday morning. My introduction to computer programming was when Dad bought us Basic programming books in the 1980’s.
In 1999 my dad introduced me to Ebay selling. I was a stay at home mom and interested in earning opportunities. To increase profits and reduce costs, I delved more deeply into coding. I learned website development and new programming languages.
In 2005 we lived in a small town. A talk radio station mentioned a young local soldier had been injured in Iraq and was recovering at the VA hospital. His family was encouraging everyone to come and visit. All were welcome.
I am an introvert. I am a patriot. I absolutely wanted to go. I took it on faith that this was a true invitation. The next day, out of the blue, my husband came home from work early. I relayed the news from the radio and asked his thoughts. He said he’d watch the kids and encouraged me to go. I drove an hour into the city and visited.
The soldiers in the neighboring rooms were from other states altogether. Many families could not afford to visit at all.
More of that story can be read in my book, From Here to There. The immediate result is that while visiting I learned this soldier was receiving many visitors. Not just because of the radio invitation. He was from the area. The soldiers in the neighboring rooms were from other states altogether. Many families could not afford to visit at all. I stayed a long time that day and visited every soldier. I decided to return as often as I could.
I was surprised how easy it was to help. My thought was that if people knew how easy it was, they would do it too. So I bought a website, installed a blog and started writing. My book From Here to There is actually a compilation of popular posts from that blog. The blog became nominated for awards like the Bloggies, and won an award for the best U.S. Civilian MILblog (Military Blog).
In my search for resources I found the wonderful nonprofit Soldiers’ Angels, and I signed up as a volunteer. Soldiers’ Angels was founded by Patti Patton-Bader and was very grass roots.
I began to learn about the information technology needs of a nonprofit – web development, marketing, team communication, volunteer, donor & client management, database and data security, training, and more. Within a year of my joining Soldiers’ Angels they had many thousands of volunteers on an international level and they hired me as a full-time IT management contractor.
This is the exciting and fun part in my story. Since God was making it happen I will continue to share it. I was invited to travel to Washington D.C. to visit soldiers at Walter Reed hospital. I was a citizen journalist as a blogger and reported on military blog panels. I traveled other places as well for Soldiers’ Angels and met many fine volunteers, military families and soldiers.
Every believer is indwelt with the Holy Spirit, but not every believer has fully committed to making Jesus their Lord.
In 2010 I destroyed my life. I destroyed my family. I committed a felony. I was arrested and sent to prison. You will find the beginnings of that book on my personal website here – hollybot.me.
There’s one thing I want to impress upon you today. While I was saved at a young age and I know that every believer is indwelt with the Holy Spirit, not every believer has fully committed to making Jesus their Lord. I went into prison a believer, but Jesus was not my Lord.
During my incarceration Jesus used that time to make me aware of my need for Him as my Lord. I needed a Boss. I could tell you some amazing stories of God’s love, provision and healing during that time, and I am telling those stories elsewhere. For now we’ll concede this story has taken an odd turn.
This was especially challenging in early 2020 during the covid pandemic… Suddenly my skills were essential.
Released from prison in 2018, I left prison all in for Jesus, fully committed, and God provided me new opportunities. I thought I would to do something simple like iron shirts at a dry cleaner. I was quickly promoted to General Manager of 2 dry cleaning locations and put in charge of their IT needs.
This was especially challenging in early 2020 during the covid pandemic. Dry cleaners were deemed an essential business, but business was extremely slow. Customers who used these services weren’t going to the office, so they didn’t need their suits cleaned! This problem required creative marketing strategies with a new focus, and digital delivery was crucial! Suddenly my skills in digital marketing, social media, mass marketing, and online delivery were essential. Many dry cleaners closed during that time. Not ours.
During my three years at MN Towing, we saw a 46.7% increase in our conversion rate and a 26.63% increase in revenue overall.
In 2020 I was hired by MN Towing & Sell a Junker, which is now Minnesota’s largest auto recycler. Initially hired as a sales person, I became their Sales Manager, General Manager, and IT Manager. I worked closely with the owner to increase efficiency and reduce costs. We worked to identify areas that could be improved and strengthen processes. During my three years at MN Towing, we saw a 46.7% increase in our conversion rate and a 26.63% increase in revenue overall. We grew mightily!
In November, 2023 I opened my own firm, Bot Consulting LLC, focusing on faith-based organizations such as churches, missions and nonprofits as clients. This is the first job I’ve intentionally had in the tech industry, here at my own firm.
God has equipped me with the skills He desires me to have for His purposes. He’s provided me the education, certifications, and experiences needed to do what He has planned. He is very thorough in provision.
“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Hebrews 13:20-21 NIV
I am excited to have my career directed specifically in this work.
How can we help you?
BE A SUPERCHARGED FUNDRAISER!