In August 2023, I was on maternity leave with my second child and dreading returning to my software engineering job at a large tech company. I knew other people were burning out, too, but it still surprised me when it happened to me.
I had spent years building my career, yet I couldn’t ignore the burnout. I wanted a different rhythm to my days, and a path that didn’t put a ceiling on my earnings.
My parents flew in from Nigeria to help with the baby. That gift of time gave me enough mental bandwidth to explore plan B.
My husband and I owned short-, mid-, and long-term rentals, but the post-COVID-19 interest rate environment had squeezed our cash flow. I needed a business with healthier margins, fast turns, and room to scale.
I was targeting a replacement for my $120,000 W-2 income, not a cute little side hustle.
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