She was a cancer nurse, now she fixes cars: This 39-year-old YouTube trained mechanic's income will leave you stunned

Economic Times

2 days ago

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Desiree Hill used to save lives for a living. As an oncology nurse in Duluth, Georgia, her days were spent navigating the emotional weight of a high-stress hospital unit. Add to that a three-hour daily commute and the overwhelming demands of single motherhood, and life had become more exhausting than fulfilling.'I rarely saw my children,' Hill reflected while talking to CNBC Make It. 'Everything started to feel like it was slipping away—from my personal happiness to my health and peace of mind.'Her career was stable, sure. But was it enough? That's the question that nudged her toward a decision most would call irrational—until they heard what happened next.With zero experience under the hood, Hill began watching YouTube tutorials on car repairs out of sheer curiosity. What started as a late-night distraction soon became a hands-on hustle. She bought an old truck for around $1,200, fixed it with just $60 in parts, and flipped it for more than triple the price within two days.'It was electric—the feeling of making something work with my hands and actually turning a profit,' she says. She wasn't just fixing cars. She was rewiring her entire life.As the side hustle grew, so did her ambition. Within a year, Hill left nursing behind and started flipping cars full-time. It wasn't long before she was waking up at 6 a.m., working till 3 a.m., and involving her kids in the business. Even her 10-year-old daughter built a motor.She expanded into mobile repairs, took on customer jobs, and documented her progress on TikTok, where she now has a follower base larger than most small towns. Then came the real pivot: opening her own 9,000-square-foot auto shop, Crown's Corner Mechanic, just minutes from home.It began as a leap of faith. What it became was something much bigger.At first glance, becoming a mechanic may not sound like the most lucrative midlife switch. But beneath the surface of oil changes and engine overhauls, a financial transformation was brewing. The tiny side gig that once brought in a few thousand dollars here and there has grown into a six-figure operation.Hill's business is now pulling in monthly numbers that would make most white-collar professionals raise an eyebrow. Let's just say she's not missing her hospital paychecks anymore. While she keeps her precise profit margins guarded, documents reviewed by CNBC confirm what the figures suggest: she's now earning more in a month than she once did in a year.Desiree Hill has built a business most would only dream of—one that now earns nearly $440,000 a year.It's not just the business of cars that Hill is navigating—it's the business of perception. Standing at 4-foot-11, she often stuns customers who assume she's the receptionist or assistant. But when she dissects their vehicle's issue before they've finished explaining, the assumptions quickly fall apart.'I have to prove myself every time I open my mouth,' she admits. 'But I love it. I love showing them what I know.'Her shop is now a hub of collaboration, with space rented out to welders, tow truck operators, and other mechanics. The rent is steep, but the returns—financial, emotional, and reputational—are richer.As her clientele grows, so does her vision. She dreams of owning the space she currently rents, expanding her team, and maybe even earning a mechanical engineering degree. She's already repaid a generous loan from a customer-turned-angel-investor and is now setting her sights on crossing a milestone few small businesses ever reach.So just how much is she making now?Let's put it this way: her first year flipping cars brought in six figures. Her auto shop's revenue has nearly doubled since last year. And projections suggest she's barreling toward $1 million in annual revenue—a far cry from her nursing days.Desiree Hill didn't just switch careers. She rewrote her story, replacing burnout with empowerment and stagnation with momentum. Her journey is a masterclass in self-belief, grit, and the courage to chase unfamiliar dreams.'If you don't know about us yet,' she says, 'you're going to know about us real soon.'And with the kind of numbers she's pulling in? That's a promise worth betting on.