How should I clone my drive for new architecture/system format?

So, I’m not exactly sure how I should be asking this. I’m getting a 2018 Mac Mini, and I’m wanting to clone my SSD from my 2013 iMac, but the old SATA SSD has OS Sierra installed. The iMac’s display has recently broken so it’s just sitting wide open. What route should I take to clone the drive to my new Mac Mini?

I’m under the impression that Mojave will be installed on the Mini, and that my old SSD would thus have to match it. I was planning on taking the old SSD out of the iMac, putting it in an external dock to hook up to my office computer, Option Key boot it and install Mojave to the SSD. Then when the Mac Mini arrives Clone the SSD to the Mini. For reference I’m taking the SSD out of the iMac and replacing it with a slower one before I replace the display and sell the unit.

Is this the correct way to do it and will it work given the vastly different architecture of the Mini as well as the file system? Because the old drive has Sierra, it’s the older format system and not APFS, so will the SSD be able to properly clone and the Mini be bootable as my old setup. I’m very concerned about this as I don’t want to have to reinstall a bunch of software. It’s being used for music production, and there’s hundreds of plugin effects and instruments for Logic Pro X so I don’t want to have to reinstall again if at all possible, cause it would take days to do.

What’s the correct path to take if what I’m suggesting won’t work?