A millennial father-of-six turned homelessness into a six-figure trades business-and it's a blueprint for America's reskilling revolution | Fortune

""Breathe," he said. "Slow down. You're gonna get everything that you need to get done. You're not in a rush.""

""We as a country have done a poor job equipping our children for life," he said. "We used to have [wood]shop in schools.""

""We expect children at the age of 18 to graduate high school and make a permanent decision in our lives by going to college," he said. "An 18-year-old does not have the mental capacity to make a permanent decision for the rest of their lives.""

""It was a really, really, really rough year ... keeping my family together and smiling through that entire process was a lot," Sturgis said."

Arkeem Sturgis, 33, is a father of six and founder of a Jacksonville handyman and HVAC business. He rebuilt his life over five years from pandemic-era homelessness to his first $100,000 year. Faith, mentorship, and a belief that skilled trades can provide freedom drove the recovery. He identifies cultural barriers and a lack of hands-on training in public education as obstacles for many young people. He criticizes the expectation that 18-year-olds must choose college as a permanent life decision. A 2020 layoff as a TMJ fabricator at Zimmer-Biomet precipitated homelessness and instability for his family.

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