Vanessa Romano, a 39-year-old mother of two, generated over $9,000 in booked revenue for her event-rental venture, Little Party Co., starting with just a $500 investment in four outdoor party games. The profile, published by PEOPLE on October 12, 2026, details how Romano launched the business while maintaining her full-time role in corporate communications. Her strategy relied on minimal initial capital to test market demand before committing further resources.
The numbers shifted quickly. Five bookings in the first month brought in more than $800, recovering the initial inventory cost. By the second month, 17 bookings added another $1,800. Instead of treating this surplus as personal income, Romano reinvested the funds. Her total investment eventually reached approximately $4,500, but the booked revenue climbed past $9,000. This approach allowed her to expand only when customer demand justified the purchase of new equipment.
Running a solo rental business alongside a corporate career is physically demanding. Romano handles bookings, cleaning, and transportation, managing between two and eight clients per week. About 75% of customers collect their rentals; the rest require delivery. The workload is unpredictable. She once fractured a toe after dropping a cornhole board on her foot and still completed deliveries that day. Time, not capital, has become her primary constraint, often competing with family responsibilities and rest.
Romano remains committed to her corporate job, citing the security of a stable salary. Her husband has taken on additional household duties to support the arrangement. The business offers financial flexibility without the risk of quitting a stable career. Her experience highlights the viability of rental-based models, where assets generate repeated revenue rather than single sales. For now, she is growing both careers in parallel, leaving the option to scale further open but not pressing the issue of leaving her day job.