About Mike Holt

Mike Holt is an author, businessman, educator, speaker, publisher and National Electrical Code® expert. He has written hundreds of electrical training books and articles, founded three successful businesses, and has taught thousands of electrical code seminars across the US and internationally.

His company, Mike Holt Enterprises, has been serving the electrical industry for over 40 years, creating and publishing books, DVDs, online training and curriculum support for electrical trainers, students, organizations, and electrical professionals.

"I have achieved a lot of success, but I want you to know where I came from - I came from nothing..."

Mike Holt

Watch this video of my story. I built my business with hard work and I took huge risks. Along the way, I developed skills and created methods and systems to help me succeed. But I started with ZERO. Hopefully, if you watch this video you can come away knowing that, no matter what your circumstances, if you set your mind to it, and want it badly enough, you too can succeed.

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From Electrician to Publisher

Mike's career spanned all aspects of the electrical trade, from being an apprentice, to becoming a contractor and inspector. His training career started in 1974 when he became an exam preparation instructor at a local community school. His students encouraged him to open his own training school, which he did in 1975 while still continuing to run his contracting business. In 1980 Mike decided to devote his time exclusively to electrical training at a national level. Mike draws on his previous experience as an electrician, inspector, contractor and instructor to guide him in designing powerful training solutions that electricians can understand and enjoy. His extensive use of graphics in all his products helps students apply the content in context and relate the material to the work they are doing in the field. His ability to take the intimidation out of learning is reflected in the success of his students. His extensive electrical background, coupled with the lessons he learned at the University of Miami's MBA program, have helped him build one of the largest electrical training and publishing companies in the United States, helping electrical professionals take their careers to the next level.

NEC Expert

Mike devoted his career to studying and understanding the National Electrical Code and finding the easiest, most direct way to share that knowledge with others. He has taught over 1,000 classes on over 40 different electrical-related subjects to tens of thousands of students. His knowledge of the subject matter, coupled with his dynamic and animated teaching style, has made him one of the premier speakers and Code experts in the United States. He is sought after from companies like Generac, IAEI, IBEW, ICBO, NECA, and Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Boeing, Motorola, and AT&T. He is a contributing Editor for Electrical Construction and Maintenance Magazine (EC&M) and formerly Construction Editor to Electrical Design and Installation Magazine (EDI). His articles have been seen in CEE News, Electrical Contractor (EC) International Association of Electrical Inspectors (IAEI News), The Electrical Distributor (TED) and Power Quality Magazine (PQ).

Family Man

Mike and his wife Linda reside in Central Florida and are the parents of seven children. Mike has many outside interests and activities. His commitment to God has helped him develop a lifestyle that places God first, then family, career, and then self. I would like to give a special thanks to my beautiful wife Linda, my best friend. Sweet heart it's nice knowing that we'll always be together until the Lord calls us.

Barefoot Water Skier

Mike's an eight-time National Barefoot Water-ski Champion (1988, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012), has set many national records, competed in four World Championships (2006, 2008, and 2012) and continues to train and work out year-round.

Mike skied at the World Championships in the Senior Men's Division in 2006 - in USA, 2008 - New Zealand, 2010 - Germany; he again qualified and skied at Waco, Texas in late August 2012. To qualify to ski at the World Championship level in the Senior Division, one has to be ranked in the top 20 in the world for those 35 years of age and older. In addition, Mike qualified to ski in the 'Open' division at the 2012 World Championships; which is limited to only the top 20 skiers in the world at any age. Crazy, but Mike accomplished this at the tender age of 61 - the oldest male skier to have ever accomplished this feat.

Below are four videos from a ‘typical’ barefoot tournament. The first video contains Mike’s ‘Signature’ start (flying back-tumble deep to one) something that has rarely been performed in a barefoot tournament (notice that all on the shore is watching Mike), as well as tricks. In twenty five years of tournaments, both local, regional, national, and international, Mike has NEVER failed to make the start. The second video is the return trick pass, Mike preforms the second most difficult start in the world (back-deep-to-one), then completes his trick pass. The third video is Mike’s first pass in the forward Salome event, and the last video is Mike’s return Salome pass. Note, all of these videos were National Records!

Downhill Mountain Biker

In 2015 (at the age of 65) Mike started cross-country mountain biking at the urging of Brian House (see photo) and competed in his first MTB Nationals in 2019. At the tender age of 69, while living in Santa Fe, Mike took up the aggressive sport of “Down Hill” mountain biking, and he loves it!

Mike continues to find ways to motivate himself mentally and physically.



Message From Mike

We want to help you succeed. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to explore the many electrical resources available here.

I would like you to know that when you participate in any program with Mike Holt Enterprises, you will receive the highest quality education available in the electrical industry. Not only do you participate in a nationally recognized educational program, but you'll also receive personal career guidance every step of the way. We have been educating electricians, contractors, inspectors, instructors and engineers across the country since 1973. Many of our former students have become today's leaders.

You can expect positive results from our products. You can reach me at Mike@MikeHolt.com

Our programs (books, online training, videos and seminars) include but, are not limited to:

  • Apprenticeship training
  • Business management
  • Continuing Education
  • Estimating
  • Exam preparation
  • NEC related programs.

Educational Philosophy

We feel a responsibility to our students and to the electrical industry to provide education beyond the scope of just passing an exam.

Journeyman, Master, and Contractor Licenses are Certificates of Competency. When a person has a license, they are expected to have achieved a certain level of knowledgeability. With this license comes responsibility.

Our industry deals with electricity. Electricity has the potential to kill people. A job that isn't done correctly can either electrocute someone, or start a fire. Because of this potential for endangering lives and property, people who deal with electricity need to know what they are doing.

We do not want to teach you how to just pass an exam. We want to teach you how to be a "Competent" license holder. A good example of this is how we teach the NEC. We don't want you to "memorize questions" asked on previous exams. We want you to learn how to find information in the Code. Using the Code is important in the field, when designing or laying out a job, or for exam purposes.

As an Electrician, your job is to make your employer money by doing a safe job as fast and efficiently as possible. This is done by (1) being educated, (2) being professional, and (3) having a good attitude. The better you are at these three factors, the better your paycheck.

As a Master/Contractor, you want to make money, stay in business, and not get sued. This is done by (1) being educated, which includes understanding business and finance, (2) being professional, and (3) having a good attitude.

I have earned respectability in the electrical industry because of my attitude toward education and my hard work to improve the industry. If you have ever taken any of my classes, you know I talk about work ethics and responsibility as well as the subject matter being covered. I talk about the importance of being educated and I try to motivate my students to be the best they can be.

Many of my students have gone on to be successful contractors, inspectors. Some are even on Electrical Boards around the country that help set the standards for the industry.

At Mike Holt Enterprises, we strive to incorporate my "philosophy of education" into all of our products, whether it's exam preparation, business and financial, Code, Theory, Estimating, Apprenticeship, Continuing Education, and Leadership Development, or any of our other educational products.

Sincerely Yours,

Mike Holt

[Written 1992]

Our Goal with Our Customers (Mike's Message to His Staff)

As we move forward as a company into our next growth phase, it is important for us to clarify what some of our values are. Here is the first of those values that you can use when deciding how to approach a project or a customer issue.

Our goal as a company is to ALWAYS make our customers look like heroes.

  • We want them to look like "heroes" in front of their bosses and companies because investing in Mike Holt products takes their business to the next level and we are solving their problems. They should look like a genius because they fought to get our products into their company/school.
  • We want them to look like "heroes" in front of their employees because the material they are bringing in is so clear and helpful that their employees feel like this technical material finally makes sense. Their employees will feel that the boss really cares enough to get them the "best of the best."
  • We want them to look like "heroes" in front of their families because our material works, and it was a GREAT investment of their family's money. We want their wives to always be saying "that was money well-spent."

We want them to ALWAYS feel that associating with Mike Holt Enterprises is the best decision they could have made. We are never the ones creating a problem, and we are making them look good in every single way and always solving their problems.

If we can consistently do this as a company in every single one of our customer interactions we will not only grow, but in the process we will keep building our reputation in the industry as a company who cares deeply about the industry and the professionals that make it up and are 100% committed to them.

Thanks, for continuing to carry out our company's values in each and every customer experience.

Mike’s Favorite Books—Business and Personal Development

Changes in technology result in changes to every career field, and a continuing commitment to learn and implement new ideas is vital.

Failure to keep up with current business, social and technological changes is directly linked to failure. The better-educated individual is the one who’ll stand the best chance of achieving success in his or her career.

If we never read a book on personal development, where could we expect to be years from now? How would we expect to grow? Reading is knowledge.; it affects the way you think, it motivates you, and sometimes it just confirms what you’re already doing well.

There are a lot of books that have made an impact on me and my growth, both in my personal and my business life. The authors and books on this list are as varied as the topics, but they all do one thing—they show what can be achieved when you put your mind to it.

Click here to view or download a PDF of Mike's Recommended Reading List.

Click here to view the Resources listed in Mike's Life Skill Book.

Mike's Favorite Motivational Videos

Along your journey there will be times when you feel motivated to pursue your goals, and then there will be periods when you get off track and need a “push.” When that happens, you’ll need to make a conscious effort to find what works for you personally, so you can reset yourself and feel re-inspired. Don’t get down on yourself—it’s a cycle. Inspirational videos

Click here to watch some of Mike's picks for inspirational messages that can change the way you live your life.