Meet Jamal Titilayo | Georgia Tech Student & Mobile Detailer

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

Hi Jamal, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Work-life balance is definitely something that is a constant tug-of-war battle in my life. While starting my business, I was a senior in college at Kennesaw State University studying Industrial Engineering. Wanted to start a business while balancing the life of a student was no easy task. There were countless nights spent working on schoolwork, then finding the time to work on my business. Though it is draining having the internal drive and motivation to build something of my own made the process enjoyable. After finishing the first semester of my senior year I had a summer internship planned working full-time. My schedule became working a 9-5 at my internship followed by a 5-9 going to clients’ houses and developing the backend of my business. I knew the initial investment of time at the start of my business was crucial in getting things off the ground. Now, I am a master’s student at Ga tech studying business management. In terms of backend work on my business, that has certainly slowed down due to the hours I put in during the start but I am still managing a schedule where I go to school and drive to a clients house between my 4 hour break then back to school to only go back to another client’s house after my evening class. Although, this can be very exhausting I enjoy the balance of a busy schedule. I am not the type of person who likes to sit around and do nothing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The biggest thing that excites me is being able to work for a business that I can call my own. While working internships I constantly felt I was always worried about the end date of the internship and the stress of having a financial gap. This was one of the reasons that pushed me to invest in myself. I also believe the biggest hurdle is just “starting”. Many people want to start their own business and have great ideas but dont know where to start. One of the most important things I learned is you won’t know everything and you just need to make an effort towards your goal and over time that vision will slowly start to look more attainable. Going back before I started university one thing I would constantly hear is if you decide to study engineering, you will have no free time to do anything but school. Personally I ended up finding out this is far from the truth. I am able to go to school full time work an internship, create am auto detailing business all while still making time for family, friends, and soccer. One word that sticks with me that I learned in my engineering classes is the Japanese word “Kaizen”, meaning continuous improvement and the philosophy of putting in effort day by day to get a little bit better. Over time this compounds, and you will look back at the big impact it has made.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Being Polish and Nigerian, I constantly find my family hosting different family and friends from abroad. A few of my personal favorite activities include, the Georgia Aquarium, the Battery escape rooms, rafting on the ocoee river, and ending the day with an Atlanta United Game. As far as places to eat, for breakfast I would drive down to buttermilk kitchen to have their chicken and waffles, for lunch I would take them to my dad’s house for any Nigerian cuisine since he is the best cook I know and for dinner and dessert I would go for the fancy option St Cecilia’s followed by Jeni’s ice cream. If we wanted to go play some sports or socialize, I would take them to Silverbacks Park to play soccer and hang out, or close by to ITA for a session of Padel.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would definitely like to shout out my friends and family for all the unconditional support. Kevin, Suha, and Soraya have been crucial, from helping design my logos and website, to even passing out business cards to random Atlanta car owners that they thought would be great customers for my business. I would also like to give a special shout-out to my mom and Mrs.Bogna for being my first customers, who have continued to give advice and support me throughout my journey. Lastly, a thank you to all my clients since they are the ones that keep my business going. Without all of you, I would definitely not be where I am today!

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Image Credits
Soraya Faiz