Today is Wednesday.
Normally... I would be processing payroll right now. Running the numbers. Making sure everything went out correctly. The same routine I performed for years at a major health organization. Stable work. Good pay. Predictable.
Instead... I'm sitting here working on the structure of a junk removal company. A business my husband started. And strangely enough... it feels like the most aligned thing I've done in a long time.
My nerves are still a little bad, honestly. I put my two weeks' notice in almost two weeks ago. The last few months at work became increasingly tense. Difficult interactions with older colleagues. And more than anything... this draining feeling of being a small cog inside a very large engine that I was no longer interested in helping run.
My heart and mind felt buried underneath the weight of day to day work. I spent a lot of time staring away from my desk... daydreaming.
It started to feel like my creative and genuine spirit was being slowly stifled by the simple reality of working on someone else's dream. And eventually I had to ask myself something very simple:
What about my own?
But here is what I have learned since asking that question. The answer was never about a single dream. It was about becoming someone who had room for all of it.
The Partnership
My husband asked for my help growing the business... and I said yes. I think what excites me the most is that this is the first time it feels like we've truly respected each other's individual strengths enough to trust that the other person is doing a damn good job.
He handles the work itself and relationship building. I handle strategy.
In two days... he leaves for Kenya for about ten days. He's also a serious student... at an HBCU we love... so his plate is full. While he's gone, my goal is simple:
I want him to come back to more business than he can handle.
Not literally... he needs time to study. But enough that we know we're building something real. Enough that we're forced to hire someone soon.
The Reality Check
Right now... there is still so much to do. My biggest focus is getting this business in front of as many people as possible and converting curious visitors into actual bookings.
So far... I have flyers. I went to the local Staples and printed about 50 pages. Cost me $44... which honestly made me realize I might just order in bulk from Vistaprint next time.
During the day... I may drive Uber or take odd jobs just to maintain income while the majority of my effort goes toward growing this business.
At the same time? I'm still a counseling psychology student at an HBCU we love. I play women's tackle football. I am also a mother of two and a wife to my best friend. None of this happens without them... and none of it matters more than them.
What I Didn't Expect
Walking into this season of life... I didn't expect how much would come back to me.
My involvement in football and my time in the counseling psychology program have reconnected me to parts of myself I forgot existed. I find myself excited to go swim with my kids now. I plan days for us all to go skating and have fun. Things my children did not get to see me enjoy before.
They experienced a version of me that was hidden. Buried underneath constant thinking about how to respond to this accountant... how to meet that deadline... whether I was good enough... whether I had what it takes.
The program especially has softened me. It has brought me to tears remembering my own childhood. My own beginning as a daughter of a Baltimore mother... just trying to find her way.
Going to work and sitting inside small dramas that did not matter? I no longer have space for that.
I have accomplished a self-love that I never thought imaginable. It is not up for question. It is not up for debate. It is simply my happiness to share with those who only want happiness with me.
I would rather take a chance on this flower... myself... than to rely on this job or another job ever again.
I have my ten-year Monopoly partner on this quest with me. And we both know... through lived experience... that damn it... it is time.
The Work Ahead
The website is live. It's bookable. And over the next ten days... this is how we grow.
This is what needs to be done:
First... we strengthen our Google presence. A business that can't be found doesn't exist. So we're claiming that ground.
Second... new flyers. The old ones didn't have the website. That changes now. We're printing fresh ones and targeting 15 specific neighborhoods... areas close to larger homes... higher disposable income... more waste. The kind of places where people need junk gone yesterday and are willing to pay for quality service.
Third... we fine-tune the website itself. Every page gets stronger SEO. The quote sections get updated. The About Us and Contact pages get refreshed. We test every single purchase flow until it's seamless.
This is the blueprint. This is how you take something from "cute idea" to "actual business."
I believe we are at the beginning of something that could grow into an empire... not in the flashy sense... but in the sense that it creates community for a large group of people. Our shared goal has always been freedom.
Freedom over our time. Freedom over our work. Freedom to build something that belongs to us.
But before any of that happens... we have to start where every real business starts:
Quality service. A trustworthy company. A website that actually works.
And slowly building trust with every person who becomes part of this new ecosystem we're creating.
Here's Where You Come In
My name is Ajee Anderson. Of all the things I will become in life... I consider myself an activist. Right now... that activism looks like building something that creates opportunity instead of just occupying space.
If you're in Baltimore and you've got junk... old furniture... construction debris... yard waste... whatever... book with us. If you're not in Baltimore... maybe you know someone who is. Share this post. Pass it along.
Most people probably won't know much about what we're building for another couple of years. But that's okay. When you're truly walking in alignment... there's a certain kind of foresight that comes with it.
For now... we just focus on the work. We focus on showing up. We focus on being the kind of company that makes people say... "Yeah... I'm glad I supported them early."
By the time my husband lands back in the country... I want him opening his phone to more booking notifications than he can swipe away.
Support the expansion. Support the growth. Support a company that is genuinely for the people.
You will see. Time will tell.