Today we’d like to introduce you to James Johnson (known as J.Odell ).
James, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My name is James Johnson, but everyone refers to me as J.Odell or Odell. My story began in Louisa, Virginia where I was born, fast forward to moving to Norfolk, VA to attend Old Dominion University, where I earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. The school was a complete misdirection as I thought I would figure things out along the way. I haven’t used my degree, but the social skills and networking opportunities that I developed was, fortunately, an irreplaceable experience that follows me on my journey.
After graduation, I begin working for a company called CMA CGM, where I worked for three years. There isn’t much to say about that, but what’s important in this story is that I began to dream big within this process to the point where I had to start deploying certain aspects of my dream to free some space in my mind. One of those dreams was to own a food truck, but due to my financial capital, I couldn’t afford it. So I purchased a BBQ smoker, created recipes, and threw small tasting parties in the meantime to craft my skills until I was in a position to own my truck.
I was approached by one of my colleagues at the time to open an outdoor style restaurant with the food that I had perfected to sell to her clients at their paintball facility. So I partnered with my mother Michelle Thompson to bring my dream to a reality. Our first grand opening was four years ago, fast forwarding to three years later to now owning a food truck in Miami, where I always dreamed of living. Hence the palm trees in the logo to make a long, long story short. My food truck is called Odell’s Barbecue Luau, which can be found @Odells_bbq on Instagram.
My journey in Miami is a completely different story. The job that I was working for CMA CGM, which has been my only professional job, promoted me to Miami. Being number 1 on my list, I immediately accepted my new position and journey. Well, after living here for a year, I loved Miami just as I thought I would, but I absolutely hated my job. Every single day, I felt like I was going to be fired from my job. I was miserable. Some days I would feel depressed and some days were better than others. At the time, I was just so afraid to move on or really be my own boss. I didn’t have the food truck yet, nor any other skill or focus to rely on.
God and the universe have a mysterious way of pushing you through if you listen. God told me to stop allowing my friends to come and motivate me to spend money every single weekend, so I listened. I started to save money. Then he said to get serious about a hobby or something that I can be passionate about, so I purchased a camera to start food photography. Then I had the biggest break down of my entire life, which I have never experienced. The weight of life and depression was just so overbearing that I called my Grandmother and just cried. After our phone call, I felt free and ready to take on any challenge that God had prepared me for. The next day I went to work, and I was fired from the job that I had given well over 50 hours of my time every week for over four years with no warning nor remorse or plan to help me stay on my feet.
Due to God’s warning, I was prepared. I was finally free. The same day I was fired. I went straight to the beach to start my official career in photography. At that point, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life, and that photo can be found on my Instagram as one of the first. Now you can find my work everywhere. I have worked with amazing celebrities, artists, and corporations.
After my experience, so many doors have opened for me. Every day is a new challenge and I’ve met so many amazing individuals in my life. Shortly after me losing my job, I was presented an opportunity to finally open my own food truck. Something I had been dreaming about since I was in elementary school. So here I am, in Miami working every day towards a better tomorrow.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As far as the experience and journey go, there are always struggles along the way. What matters to me is did I learn from the mistakes I was making to smoothen out that road when I have to deal with similar situations.
Please tell us about your business.
I own two businesses, J.Odell Production and Odell’s Barbecue Luau.
Odell’s Barbecue: We specialize in BBQ with an island twist. Its not a traditional barbecue truck, it’s more of culinary experience. We take a 12 hour smoked brisket and add it to a taco topped with fresh pineapple or mango salsa finished with our Odell’s special sauce. Everything on the menu is phenomenal, so please come check us out and enjoy some of the best barbecues in the world.
J.Odell Production: My production company is on the coming up phases where we are experimenting with different markets to see where we fit best. At this time, we cover all markets from real estate, engagements, weddings, headshots, lifestyle, short films, music video shoots, products, and much much more. Looking for more team members that specialize in videography, photography, graphic design, and editing content.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Never giving up no matter how hard it goes or how unclear the road may be. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Stay vigilant, stay true to yourself, and just live life every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: jodellphotography.com
- Phone: 7577496104
- Email: info@jodellproduction.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.odell_
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/odells-barbecue-luau-opa-locka?utm_medium=reroute&utm_source=apple_maps
Image Credit:
J.Odell
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