We recently connected with Jamiah Mitchell and have shared our conversation below.

Jamiah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

I believe that the educational system has lost its way as time passed. There are so many things that are different and so many things that should have remained. My focus is on the real world. From my personal experience, the school system did a poor job in preparing me for the real world. As most can relate, students are not taught to strive for what they’re passionate about. We are taught to get good grades, go to college, and land a good-paying position in whatever it is we get a degree in, which in most cases, never happen. Money has been wasted in college because most either drop out due to high expenses, change their major many times, or do graduate and are unfortunate in finding a job for which they earned a degree. I support school education for sure. I do believe it serves a purpose, but what I would do differently is incorporate the real world. I would encourage students to strive for what they are passionate about, to strive for what they desire to do with their lives because doing what you love for a living takes a lot of stress off your life. 80% of people who have jobs are unhappy because it is not what they want to do. Most people focus on money, which is important because it helps sustain survival, but money shouldn’t be the only thing that drives you. I would rather a student be happy doing what they love rather than making money doing what they hate. Stress is a silent killer and can cause early death. That’s a fact! Students would also be informed about the truth of going to college. You can go but some may not be able to afford it which will lead them back home in debt and some may graduate with a degree but may not be able to use it at all. There are many people with PhDs working at fast-food restaurants. Students should be encouraged to seek community college first if they know they can’t afford to go to a University. It’ll save them a lot of money and wasted time. Students need to know that they don’t have to go to college to be successful. I went to college and dropped out and now I own my own cleaning business. Success takes time and it happens in different ways. I encourage school but I also encourage different paths. Students need to know that there are other options in this updated world. Many feel like failures because they didn’t finish school when truthfully, many millionaires did the same thing. After graduating high school, what’s next is making money to survive in the world. How then is teaching about Greek Mythology prepping students for what’s to come next?

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In March of 2018, I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma. I was devastated and thought my life was over. After enduring a period of depression, I had the idea to start a modeling career, which turned out to be a success. It built my self-confidence and made me see the real me for the first time. I walked in many runway shows, did many fashion shoots for fashion designers and magazines, as well as advertisement companies. My modeling career was fun and a learning experience about myself, amongst other things. But later, I felt something else was missing in my life. I needed and wanted more. I didn’t want to retire from modeling. Though I was a walking business, I didn’t feel as secure in my life. I wanted financial freedom and wanted to own something of my own. One thing most people may not know about me is that I am passionate about cleaning. For most people, cleaning is a Debbie downer, which I can understand. But when you’re great or talented at something, you tend to view it differently. I’ve cleaned for family and friends for years and I am amazing at it. I enjoyed seeing their surprised and happy faces after I transformed their homes. I began to realize that cleaning made me feel calm, that it was therapeutic for me. It wasn’t until 2022 that I decided to make it an actual business, hence the birth of EXOCLUTTER LLC. I offer professional cleaning services to clients. I focus on decluttering homes/spaces and detailed cleaning. EXOCLUTTER LLC is not a maid service. Cleaning is on a monthly basis term only. I have teamed up with KRCH Realty, where I am their main point of contact for maintaining the upkeep of their properties. One thing that sets my company apart from other cleaning companies is that I take my time with each project. Most companies rush a job which causes details to be overlooked or missed. I’ve never been called back to fix a mistake. Not many people can say that. I take pride in my career and am actually passionate about each client. It’s hard to find someone whom you can trust today and I am happy to say that all of my clients trust in me fully. I am proud to be a business owner and I am proud to say that I love every minute of what I do. I never thought I would be living out one of my passions but I am! All glory and thanks definitely go to God. He answered my prayers and provided me with an opportunity that I could not refuse. This just comes to show you that you should never give up on yourself and always strive for what it is that you desire. Some things take time but it is always worth it in the end.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

My side hustle, which was providing cleaning services, has led to a full-time business. I started with cleaning houses for family and later, by word of mouth, I started cleaning for friends of the family. More and more people started recommending me for cleaning services and the more work I gained, the more I wanted to make it into an actual business. My siblings encouraged me to go for it and motivated me to work for myself. That led me to create my own website and file for an LLC. After paying the required fees, I received the official paperwork, stating that my business was official and in full operation. After some time, my oldest sister recommended me to her Realty company and they hired me as a private contractor for the up-keep of their many properties. They made an offer that I could not refuse and because of them, my company is growing. The saying is it’s about who you know. I now truly believe that. My sister has definitely helped my company boost due to her recommendation and I am excited about my company’s future.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Believe it or not, one lesson that I had to unlearn is that if I do not finish college, then I would be a failure. A lot of people believe that till this very day, which is odd because we see many people becoming rich just from having a large social media audience, and these are people who did not finish college. To me, success is dependent upon the person. Success for many people can be defined in many different ways. Success isn’t always about money. Money doesn’t necessarily make you successful. There are many rich people who suffer from depression. There are many rich people who are spiritually dead on the inside. Money can’t truly buy you happiness. True happiness is fulfilled in Jesus Christ!

I had to unlearn this lesson because it caused a heavy burden for me. I was stressed with the decision of going back to school and having to go for something I wasn’t passionate about. I wanted to make money but I didn’t care about having a lot of money per se. I just truly wanted to be happy in what I wanted to do and what I wanted to do did not require many years of schooling. I had to learn how to work around having to do something that only would’ve delayed my success and my time. Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos aren’t college graduates but yet, are billionaires. I knew if they could do it, then so could I. Research is essential in going into business for yourself. I had to read a lot and research many different things and terms to understand the business language. I would go through life unfulfilled and stressed because I knew what I wanted to do was just at my fingertips but I was constantly told that I need to be in school. I would always ask myself, why is a piece of paper the only way of showing that I am capable? You really have to believe in yourself and go for what you want.

With all that being said, true happiness is only fulfilled in Jesus, but that’s only if you believe that. I am a Christian and I strive for God each day that He blesses me with life. I try my best to incorporate Him in everything I do. I truly believe that if you seek God each and every day, then more will be added to you and sometimes, without you even having to ask for it. Again, success can be defined in many different ways, dependent on the person. Success for me is finding God and putting Him first. Once you have a strong relationship with Him, then the secrets of life will be revealed to you and what you desire most, will be given to you for His purposes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.exoclutter.life/

Image Credits
Kimberly Bloom Images Agency – Clyde