39-year-old quit nursing to become a mechanic—now her business brings in $440,000 a year

Six years ago, Desiree Hill spent her days diagnosing patients. Now, she diagnoses cars.

As an oncology nurse at Northside Hospital Duluth, in Duluth, Georgia, Hill made around $40,000 per year. “I wasn’t happy in my career at that time. I wasn’t happy in my personal life,” says Hill, 39. “It was three hours of commuting in Atlanta traffic every day. And [as a single mom at the time] I never saw my children. So it really was taking a toll.”

Today, Hill is the owner of Crown’s Corner Mechanic — an auto repair shop in Conyers, Georgia, just a 15-minute drive from her home in Covington. Her company brought in nearly $440,000 in net revenue last year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

This year, Crown’s Corner Mechanic has brought in about $70,000 in monthly revenue — roughly double last year’s monthly average — and is profitable, says Hill.

Hill started fixing cars in 2019 with no prior mechanic or entrepreneurship experience, teaching herself through YouTube videos and involving her family. Her 10-year-old daughter recently built a motor, and her son is a mechanic in the U.S. Army.

“We learned together,” says Hill, adding, “I not only have a family at home, I have a family here [with my employees] and I have a family with my customers.”

‘Everybody needs transportation’

Hill got a Registered Medical Assistant diploma from Florida Metropolitan University, a now-defunct for-profit school, in 2011, she says. (By the time she graduated, the school was known as Everest University.)

Over roughly a decade of nursing, she worked her way up to a high-demand, high-stress oncology unit at Northside Hospital Duluth. But she was unhappy, she says: long hours and commutes for a unit where patients often succumbed to their illnesses.

In 2019, Hill sought to increase her income by starting a side hustle. She began buying and renovating run-down vehicles to sell for profit, despite not knowing how to change her own car’s oil, she says.

“Everybody needs transportation. That’s never going to stop no matter what. And I knew it was something that I could spend a very small amount on and maybe potentially make a lot of profit,” says Hill. “It was the fastest way to make money.”

Hill watched tutorials on YouTube about how to fix or change certain car parts, or diagnose various vehicle problems. Her first purchase was a truck, for about $1,200. After spending $60 and putting in only an hour of work to fix it, she sold the truck for around $4,000 two days later.

“I bought three more cars the next day,” says Hill. “It was almost like a high. I swear, it was beautiful.”

‘I just knew I was going somewhere’

Hill stayed up until 3 a.m. nightly fixing cars, waking up at 6 a.m. to get back to the hospital. After 15 months of minimal sleep and time with her kids, she quit nursing around January 2020. Over the next year, she bought, fixed and sold 38 cars, which made her around $100,000 she says.

In June 2021, Hill decided to additionally work on other people’s vehicles as a mobile mechanic, traveling to customers to fix their vehicles. She spent a “couple thousand dollars” on her business license, auto tools, website, advertising and billing software, she says.

Hill brought in about $13,000 as a mechanic in six months, she says. She documented her repair jobs on TikTok, which brought a wave of new clients her way. In Spring 2022, she stopped flipping cars and rented a garage at a local repair shop to keep up with demand, and quickly outgrew that space, too.

A four-month RV repair job led to a stroke of luck: The RV owner saw her struggle, and offered her a $10,000 loan — without interest — to pay for her own auto body shop. Hill insisted on paying 10% interest, she says, and the pair drew up a three-year contract.

In September 2023, Hill began renting Crown’s Corner Mechanic’s 9,000-square-foot space, initially receiving two months prorated before paying $6,375 monthly. She brought on a mechanic, a welder and a towing professional, each renting space in her shop, covering about half of the now $6,566 monthly rent. “It was the smartest thing I could have ever done.”

Hill paid back the RV owner’s loan in 18 months, documents show.

I constantly ‘have to prove myself’

Many of Hill’s customers find her through her TikTok account, where she has over 120,000 followers. Others walk into the shop, see a 4-foot-11-inch woman, and do a double take, she says.

“There’s people that walk in here that don’t know [I’m the owner] … and they’re just baffled. Just because of how I look,” says Hill. “And then, when they tell me what the issue is, I take them 20 steps further and break it down for them before they can even get to the next question. I have to wow them with my knowledge. Every time, I have to prove myself. Every time I open my mouth.”

Hill projects that Crown’s Corner Mechanic will bring in $1 million in revenue this year — roughly double last year’s figure, though still less than the national average, according to a 2023 report from auto parts supplier PartsTech. Hill’s shop has eight bays, and the average gross revenue per bay for auto shops in the U.S. is $203,000, the report says.

She hopes to soon switch from renting to owning a space, she says, but she’d need about $4 million to buy her current building — which has her exploring mortgage loan options. Owning would help her put more money back into both the business and her five workers’ pockets, she adds.

In the meantime, she plans to keep growing her clientele through social media — if TikTok disappeared overnight, it’d be “devastating to my business,” she says — and one day get a mechanical engineering degree, preferably through a flexible, online program.

“We don’t stop,” says Hill, adding: “If you don’t know about us yet, you’re going to know about us real soon.”

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The No. 1 skill to teach your kid ‘as early as possible,’ says psychology expert—even Steve Jobs agreed

As a leadership consultant who studies workplace psychology, I’ve spent 30 years working with high performers across all industries. Again and again, one truth keeps proving itself: Being artistic in some way can transform you.

Even Steve Jobs agreed when he was interviewed for the PBS documentary “Triumph of the Nerds” in 1995: “I think part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians and poets and artists and zoologists and historians, who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world.”

Of all the artistic fields, I’ve found that mastering a musical instrument is the most powerful for rewiring the brain for greatness. Playing an instrument — whether it’s the piano, trumpet or guitar — activates nearly every part of your brain: motor control, pattern recognition, emotional regulation, creativity and stamina.

That’s why I believe parents should encourage their kids to learn an instrument as early as possible. Studies have consistently found that children who learn music are more likely to have increased IQ scores and better language development.

Plus, it encourages their brain to operate at full capacity, building the neural foundation for mastery in pretty much everything. Here’s why:

1. You make visualizing success second nature

Musicians don’t just practice, they fantasize. They see the stage, hear the notes and feel the outcome long before it happens. Hence, musicians build skill while just visualizing playing. That ability to rehearse and mentally simulate outcomes is a superpower: You learn not just react to reality, but to create it.

2. You develop a sacred relationship with time

When you practice an instrument, time stops being abstract. You feel in real-time the cost of distraction and the miracle of being fully focused.

Over time, you become fiercely time-conscious — not in a stressed way, but in a sacred one. You don’t want to rush, you want to make it count. This discipline shapes everything, from how you run meetings to how you build relationships.

3. You stop running from discomfort

Every musician has to face the parts of the music they hate and struggle with. There’s no shortcut. You can’t outsource it, nor avoid it. You have to lean in until the failure becomes fluency.

While most people avoid uncomfortable moments in life, playing an instrument teaches you to seek those moments. You no longer panic at pain; you see it as a sign of growth.

4. You learn that emotions are designable

Music isn’t just output. It’s a way of regulating your inner world by changing your emotional state with sound, breath, rhythm and in how you prepare.

It becomes an invaluable skill you carry into everything, like before a stressful conversation or during a conflict. You don’t just express emotions anymore — you direct them.

5. You realize boredom is just feedback

Musicians don’t just play scales mindlessly. They know what they’re aiming to improve: precision, control, phrasing. Without that goal, their attention drifts, and practice becomes boring.

We often think stuff we do is boring, but boredom is feedback. It’s your brain telling you: “Show me what this is building toward.” The insight that boredom is the absence of a goal changes everything. Instead of labeling tasks as boring or dull, you ask, “What’s my goal here?”

This makes you sharper, more engaged and harder to distract in any setting.

6. You turn being stuck into invention

Sometimes you can’t play it right. Your hand won’t stretch. Your fingers trip. So, you try it a different way. You improvise, rearrange, compose. Suddenly, the failure becomes fuel. This teaches you a profound lesson: When you can’t follow the map, draw a new one. Innovation isn’t a gift; it’s a response to friction.

7. Your standards rise and stay high

Once you’ve heard the difference between “okay” and “exceptional,” you can’t unhear it. Once you’ve experienced how moments of excellence feels, mediocrity becomes unbearable. Music teaches you to expect more from yourself and others, not out of perfectionism but out of respect for what’s possible.

8. You learn to create for others, not just yourself

When you’re playing an instrument, you can’t help imagining an audience, maybe to impress but mostly to move someone, to say something without words. That habit reshapes how you approach everything.

Your work becomes an expression of your standards, your values, your imagination. It forces you to ask: Is this good enough to matter to someone else? Will this make them think, feel, grow?

How to start expanding your brain with a musical instrument

Your brain’s plasticity and ability to learn allows you to pick up a new instrument at almost any age, so it’s never too late if you didn’t learn to play music as a kid.

1. Pick the one that sparks emotion. You don’t need logic here. What’s an instrument that moves you? That makes you feel something? Piano, guitar, trumpet — follow the spark.

2. Practice for at least 20 minutes a day. Studies show that 20 to 30 minutes of focused practice can induce measurable brain changes, particularly in areas tied to motor skills and attention.

3. Celebrate improvement, not performance. Don’t worry about being good. Track what you can do today that you couldn’t do yesterday. Mastery is just small progress, compounded with love.

Stefan Falk is an internationally-recognized executive coach, workplace psychology expert, and author of “Intrinsic Motivation: Learn to Love Your Work and Succeed as Never Before.” A McKinsey & Company alumnus, he has trained over 4,000 leaders across more than 60 organizations and helped drive transformations valued in excess of $2 billion. Follow him on LinkedIn.

I’m a neurologist—to keep my ‘brain healthy and memory sharp,’ I avoid 4 things people do all the time

Don’t smoke. Don’t drink alcohol. Don’t do drugs. Exercise frequently. Eat a healthy diet. Get good sleep.

You’ve probably heard all of this before. It’s the standard advice given by doctors and health advocates. And for good reason: This guidance is solid and forms the foundation for long-term health and quality of life.

But there are a few other things many people do all the time that, as a neurologist, I try to avoid to keep my brain healthy and memory sharp.

1. Always relying on GPS for navigation

GPS has made our lives much more convenient. Before its invention, people had to rely on foldout paper maps, spatial reasoning, and environmental cues to navigate. These days, that’s become a lost art.

Over time, relying too much on GPS can weaken your spatial memory. One study showed that the hippocampi — the memory centers of the brain — are larger in taxi drivers because they need to memorize complex street layouts.

Another recent study found that taxi and ambulance drivers were less likely to die from Alzheimer’s disease than people in other professions. One possible explanation is that these jobs require frequent, real-time use of spatial and navigational skills, which may help maintain or even improve hippocampal health.

This isn’t to say people shouldn’t use GPS for traffic updates, but there are ways to actively engage your spatial memory without it. For example, try planning a route to a new café or exploring a different way home from work.

2. Drinking too many energy drinks

Many of us work long days and feel like we never have enough energy to get through them. But relying on energy drinks isn’t the solution. These beverages often contain high levels of caffeine, taurine, and B vitamins. Consuming large amounts can lead to cardiovascular issues like high blood pressure, palpitations, and even arrhythmias.

Neurologically, excessive energy drink consumption can cause insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, and, in more severe cases, seizures.

A lesser-known risk is long-term buildup of B vitamins in the body. Normally, excess B vitamins are flushed out naturally since they’re water-soluble. However, a notable exception is vitamin B6, often consumed in sports and energy drinks. Excess B6 can accumulate over time, leading to toxicity and potentially causing peripheral neuropathy.

3. Overusing over-the-counter medications

Just because something is available over the counter (OTC) doesn’t mean it’s harmless. Always follow your doctor’s instructions and the medication label, and don’t exceed the recommended dosage.

For instance, common side effects of overusing aspirin, ibuprofen, and other NSAIDs (or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) include peptic ulcers, GI bleeding, acute kidney injury, and even chronic kidney disease. Tylenol (acetaminophen) is often seen as safer for the stomach and kidneys, but acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S.

Some lesser-known OTC products can cause surprising side effects. I’ve seen bismuth toxicity from excessive Pepto-Bismol use lead to dementia-like symptoms. I’ve also seen patients who, after following advice from online wellness influencers, consumed too much zinc, resulting in spinal cord injuries.

4. Enjoying nature without protecting yourself

I love hiking and spending time outdoors. But when I venture into nature, I always:

Know my environment and surroundings
Use bug spray and wear long sleeves when appropriate
Check for ticks afterward

Each year, especially during the summer, I see previously healthy people come into the hospital with fever, confusion, and sometimes seizures or coma, due to mosquito-borne or tick-borne illnesses. Some of these infections, like Lyme disease, are treatable if caught early. Others can leave lasting damage to the brain and nervous system.

Taking small preventive steps to avoid bug bites can potentially save you from life-altering infections.

Baibing Chen is a double-boarded certified neurologist and epileptologist practicing at the University of Michigan. Find him on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

How much you should have saved by age 50, financial experts say—and 3 steps to take if you’re behind

Many Americans are anxious about their savings, especially as they approach retirement age.

Over half of Gen Xers, those aged 45 to 60, say they have no more than three times their current annual income saved for retirement, according to a study commissioned by life insurance and financial planning provider Northwestern Mutual.

This is significantly less than a benchmark set by Fidelity, one of the largest retirement plan providers in the U.S., which advises accumulating six times your current annual income by age 50 if you anticipate retiring at 67.

Other experts take a different view. There’s no magic number when it comes to saving for retirement, says Nathan Sebesta, a certified financial planner and owner of Artesia, New Mexico-based financial services firm Access Wealth Strategies.

How much you anticipate spending every year of retirement and when you decide to retire can greatly affect how much you should have saved, Sebesta says. For example, those who plan on retiring later, as well as downsizing and living more frugally, may need less than Fidelity’s benchmark, the report said.

Additionally, the baseline amount you need can vary by as much as $1.49 million depending on what state you decide to retire in, according to an analysis by GOBankingRates earlier this year.

To figure out how much you need, Sebesta recommends working backward. Start by deciding how much annual income you’ll want in retirement and estimate how long you’ll need that yearly income for. After taking that total and adjusting for inflation, you can determine how much you need to save each year and how your investments need to grow to hit that goal.

If you’re still feeling behind, Sebesta says there are a few other strategies you can consider to catch up and retire comfortably.

“Don’t panic,” Sebesta says. “Start where you are and as soon as you can.”

Consider claiming Social Security later

While you can start claiming Social Security benefits as early as age 62, doing so means you’ll receive a permanently reduced benefit. Alternatively, if you delay claiming benefits beyond full retirement age — 67 for Americans born after 1960 — your monthly payments could increase significantly, Sebesta says.

For every year you wait up to age 70, your benefit grows by about 8%. That means someone born after 1960 who waits until 70 could receive up to 24% more than they would at 67.

Use catch-up contributions

Once you turn 50, the Internal Revenue Service allows you to contribute more to various retirement plans in catch-up contributions. If you have a workplace retirement plan like a 401(k) or 403(b), you can contribute an extra $7,500 beyond the standard limit of $23,500, for a total of $31,000 in 2025.

For those with an individual retirement account, the 2025 contribution limit is $7,000, plus an extra $1,000 in catch-up contributions for those 50 and older.

These extra contributions not only help boost retirement savings but can also reduce your taxable income, which is especially valuable during high earning years in your 50s and 60s, Sebesta adds.

Catch-up contributions are “definitely a neat benefit for people looking for more savings,” Sebesta says, but they won’t work for everyone: “You’ve got to be willing to put the money into the plan as well.” If you haven’t consistently contributed over the years or are struggling to keep enough cash on hand, finding the extra money to take advantage of these higher limits may be difficult.

Lower your income standards

While it’s not the ideal scenario, if you’re significantly behind on retirement savings and working on paying off debt, Sebesta says you may have to consider lowering your expected lifestyle in retirement.

If you have 10 to 15 years left to plan, the focus may need to shift to paying off debt and getting to a point where you can live on less in retirement, Sebesta says. This may look like scaling back on expenses, downsizing your lifestyle or living in a more affordable area.

The last option would be to continue working in retirement. “No one ever dreams of that goal,” Sebesta says. “But if they do delay for so long and are not able to catch up completely, that might be, sadly, one of the realistic opportunities that they would have.”

I’m a Harvard-trained pediatrician: The No. 1 healthy food parents don’t feed their kids enough of

As a pediatrician, I spend a lot of time engaging with families about nutrition. My philosophy is simple: If you empower a child to embrace healthy eating habits early on, they are more likely to carry these positive behaviors into adulthood.

Early intervention can be transformative and help substantially reduce their long-term risk of developing chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and even certain types of cancer.

Many parents already know the importance of feeding kids vegetables and limiting added sugar. We often discuss “eating the rainbow,” emphasizing the need for a diverse range of colorful fruits and vegetables. Parents frequently prioritize dark leafy greens, antioxidant-rich blueberries and healthy-fat-packed avocados.

However, there’s one nutritional powerhouse that often gets overlooked: beans. Here’s why I wish more parents fed this underrated superfood to their kids.

1. They contain protein that is crucial for growth and energy

Beans, in all their varied forms, are an exceptional source of plant-based protein. Many bean varieties contain all the essential amino acids that are vital for supporting a child’s energy, growth and active lifestyle.

Beans are also loaded with both soluble and insoluble fiber, a duo that’s a game-changer for digestive health. Insoluble fiber promotes regular bowel movements, preventing constipation and keeping things moving smoothly. Soluble fiber contributes to that feeling of fullness and satiety after a meal, which can be helpful in managing appetite and preventing overeating.

Soluble fiber also plays a role in lowering LDL, or “bad” cholesterol levels, and helps to stabilize blood sugar fluctuations after meals, preventing those dreaded energy crashes.

2. They are filled with essential nutrients and vitamins

Beans are naturally fortified with an impressive array of essential vitamins and minerals.

They are also a fantastic source of folate, which is vital for cell growth and development, as well as iron, which is crucial for carrying oxygen throughout the body.

Plus, they’re packed with magnesium for nerve and muscle function, and a range of B vitamins that support energy production and brain health.

Soybeans in particular have a good amount of healthy fats in them, like omega 3 and omega 6 fats that support heart and brain health.

3. They are sustainable and affordable

Beyond their nutritional profile, beans offer practical advantages. They are very affordable, making them accessible to families on any budget. Their long shelf life means you can stock up and always have a healthy meal option on hand.

Additionally, incorporating beans into our diets is an environmentally-friendly choice. They have a lower carbon footprint compared to many animal protein sources, contributing to a more sustainable food system.

4. They are versatile and appealing even to the pickiest eaters

Of course, all the nutritional knowledge in the world won’t make a difference if kids refuse to eat what’s offered. This is where the magic of beans truly shines.

I’ve found that many children genuinely enjoy the taste and texture of beans, and they are remarkably easy to prepare in various kid-friendly ways.

For younger children or more picky eaters, start with something simple and approachable, like steaming edamame (young soybeans) or adding black beans to a cheesy quesadilla. I’ve even found success with black bean-based brownies, a surprisingly delicious and nutritious treat.

For more adventurous eaters, consider introducing lentil soups, flavorful bean chili or stews. The versatility of beans makes them easy to incorporate into a wide range of dishes, ensuring there’s a bean recipe out there for everyone.

Dr. Kelly Fradin is the Chair of Pediatrics at the Atria Health and Research Institute and the mother of two children. She is the author of ”Advanced Parenting: Advice for Helping Kids through Diagnoses, Differences and Mental Health Challenges.” To learn more, you can find Dr. Fradin on Instagram @adviceigivemyfriends.