05/22/2021
Pregnant at 14😱😡
I was a baby with a baby! Yes, at 14 years old I was in the 8th grade, already diagnosed with a learning disability, and pregnant. I had no idea how I was going to get through life.
But I had already become used to adjusting. At 8 years old I was diagnosed with a learning disability that made it difficult for me to retain information, so I struggled in typical academic settings. Insistent on finding a way to help me learn, my father began to teach me everything verbally. He taught me to use landmarks to get around the city of Chicago and he taught me the bible by reading the stories to me repeatedly until I was able to remember them. My older sister also helped me. She would have me listen to music and sing songs back with her- helping me retain even more information. However, even with their help I continued to struggle.
Despite being in eighth grade when I had my son, I was only reading and writing at a second-grade level. I felt lost, scared, ashamed and confused. My sophomore year of high school I got pregnant again. I dropped out of school that year, determined to take care of my two small children. In order to provide for them, I knew I needed a job; but because of my disability I couldn't read the job application. So when I went to Popeye's Chicken, I got two applications instead of one. I brought them home and asked my mother to help me. She completed the first application, and I copied the information on the second application and took it back to the restaurant. I was not only offered a job interview, but I was also offered the job! However, over the next 15 years I would come to have 5 more children, and with no high school diploma, I was only being offered jobs that paid minimum wage. I would never earn enough money to take care of my children working these jobs.
In July 2011 my father died suddenly. As my mother and sister planned his funeral service, they looked for companies to hire for the repast services, but there were no companies providing this service. I truly loved serving people, so I decided in that difficult moment, that I would start a business doing just that. At this point, I felt I had done nothing to make my parents proud of me. Although my father had passed away, I was determined to make my mother proud. I wanted to change my narrative and I still had time.
In 2013, I signed up for an entrepreneur’s class at Sunshine Gospel Ministries and won my first pitch competition! By 2016, I had graduated from three entrepreneurs’ classes, but I couldn’t celebrate my accomplishments. I was still struggling with low self-esteem, feelings of abandonment and self-loathing.
On June 24,2017 my life changed forever. I met my first mentor and 20 other business owners. Finally, I’d found a safe place to heal and learn. The program was spiritual and educational, and I could finally see myself growing and evolving. In July of 2017, my mom became sick. I took a leave of absence from work to care for her.
In that time away, God began to give me the vision for my cleaning company. For 6 months I argued with God about starting this cleaning business. While I loved serving, I hated to clean. I couldn’t figure out why God would want me to stick my hand in someone's toilet.
However, I decided to trust God more than trusting myself and on December 4th, 2017 I officially quit my job and started that business. In the first year, I made $18,000. This was more money than I had ever made on a job. In the second year I made $48,000. My revenue increased by more than double in one year’s time, and I only work part-time.
Yes, the 14-year-old pregnant girl with the learning disability has not only surpassed everyone’s expectations, I am teaching others how to do it too!
My goal is to help my clients accelerate through the learning curve by providing clarity about business structures, pricing and target markets. Mastery in these three areas can result in the creation of a six-figure cleaning business within the first year.
Contact me:www.jilliankindredconsulting.com
Phone number:773-556-9381
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