The Breakfast Club Eating While Broke: JAMES DUMOULIN - School of Hard Chicks
Nov 29, 2025
James Dumoulin, co-founder of the School of Hard Knocks media channel, shares his inspiring journey from fast food jobs to media mogul. He discusses the resilience learned from early jobs and the importance of mentorship and obsessive focus. Growing up overseas shaped his confidence and communication skills, while his TikTok success skyrocketed his following. He reflects on monetization challenges and emphasizes the value of community and partnerships, offering insights into his daily routine and future projects.
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Early Jobs Shaped Work Ethic
- James worked at Chick-fil-A at $7.25/hr as a sophomore and later did construction in high school.
- Those early jobs taught him customer service resilience and the importance of saving money.
Travel And Mentors Build Confidence
- Living overseas and seeing his father lead taught James professional presence and how to communicate with senior figures.
- He credits travel and exposure to older mentors for shaping his interpersonal skills.
Rapid TikTok Growth Early On
- James started on TikTok in late 2019 and grew a personal account to 800K followers in ~10 months.
- His first viral post was a college decision video that revealed platform reach independent of follower count.