MILWAUKEE — By 6 a.m., Jomarion Swiams can already be in a Milwaukee backyard working for a client.
By 7 p.m., he may be clocking in for another shift at a movie theater — sometimes, not getting home until after 1 a.m.
In between, the 16-year-old is a junior at Bradley Tech High School.
It is a demanding schedule, but for Swiams, staying busy has become part of building a different future for himself.
"I'm only 16 trying to do right," he said while working in a client's yard.
That short sentence carries more weight after hearing where Swiams says he was just one school year ago.
"I'm gonna be honest, I had 10 suspensions last year. After that 10th one, I knew that's not what I wanted to do in one school year — that wasn't it," Swiams said. "It was putting me in a category that I ain't wanna be in."
He decided he needed something else to occupy his time.
"That's when I started my business. It's something that kept my mind going, kept me focused and kept me not being distracted," he said. "I think the main thing that had me messing up was I ain't have nothing to put my time into."
From a chore to a business
Swiams got his first car in March. By April, he had launched BarkClean.
His father, Jonathan Swiams, suggested pet-waste removal as a possible business. Jomarion Swiams started small, cleaning yards for family members before buying flyers and promoting his services on Facebook.
Then one post took off.
Jomarion Swiams said the attention helped bring in new customers and opened doors he never expected.
"I never thought my business was gonna do this," he said.
What started primarily as pet-waste removal soon expanded. Jomarion Swiams began posting videos and pictures showing other skills he had learned, including lawn work, cleaning, TV mounting, basic car work and construction-related jobs.
"I've been doing really anything somebody needs," he said.
His description of the growing operation is even shorter: "One Stop Shop."
On a busy day, Jomarion Swiams says he may visit around 15 properties.
Skills passed from one generation to another
Jonathan Swiams says his son did not learn to work with his hands overnight.
Jonathan Swiams has spent nearly two decades working on his own as a contractor. He said many of his skills came from his father — lessons he now tries to pass down to his son.
"Just want him to be the best that he can be but also giving him the skills where he'll have legitimate ways to make money," Jonathan Swiams said.
For Jonathan Swiams, watching his son redirect his energy carries meaning beyond the money Jomarion is earning.
As a father, Jonathan Swiams said there were times he worried about where his son might end up.
"Stay on them. Like I said, I'm committed. I'm not going anywhere," Jonathan Swiams said. "We all make mistakes, you know, just trying to get them to learn sooner than later."
He wants his son to understand that his choices can change the direction of his life.
"Just trying to get him to learn and appreciate and value life and recognize that he's the author of his own book," Jonathan Swiams said. "But I'm very proud of him."
The work people don't see
Business may be picking up, but Jomarion Swiams says people do not always see what happens behind the social media posts, clients and attention.
"I feel like people don't see that, the hard work I'm actually putting in every day," he said.
Some mornings, he says, he starts with a client around 6 a.m. On days he also works at the movie theater, his night may not end until 1 a.m.
Then he may do it again the next morning.
Jomarion Swiams’ work also caught the attention of Milwaukee County leaders. In June, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors notified his family that he had been selected to receive a formal recognition citation for his contributions to the community. The letter said Jomarion Swiams had “identified a need in the community and took the initiative to meet that need through entrepreneurship,” recognizing him as an example of young leadership.
"I think people see the hard work, but they don't know how it really is for a 16-year-old to be doing it," Jomarion Swiams said. "Don't get me wrong, I love the life I'm building, but it'd be hard sometimes. I get overwhelmed too."
But he says having something to work toward has made a difference.
"I think that put me in a better place, having something to focus on and look forward to," he said.
His next goal: Helping other teens
Jomarion Swiams' plans now extend beyond building BarkClean.
He says he has been exploring the possibility of eventually getting a location with space where other young entrepreneurs could work and grow their own businesses.
His idea is to create opportunities for teens interested in everything from hairstyling and barbering to pet grooming and other businesses — particularly young people who have the drive but may not have the resources or space to get started.
"I just wanna be able to have a location, help them get off the streets, push their business, skyrocket," Jomarion Swiams said.
It is a goal rooted in his own experience.
Last year, he says people at school knew him as a student getting into trouble.
This year feels different.
"Everybody's been proud of me. They look up to me," Jomarion Swiams said. "I have everybody, everybody at school coming up to me telling me they're proud of me."
For Jomarion Swiams, the change is proof that one bad stretch does not have to determine what comes next.
"Don't, don't, don't ever think about what just happened yesterday might stop the rest of your life for nothing," he said. "You could always bounce back from a mistake."
How to support
People interested in supporting Jomarion Swiams can hire BarkClean for pet-waste removal and other yard services. The business takes appointments online and promotes its work through social media and it's website here heygoldie.com.
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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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