Stephannie Chiu - Photo by Alexander Tat (Tictattoe.com)
Stephannie Chiu Alexander Tat Tictattoe.com

Stephannie Chiu never set out to be an entrepreneur. In fact, the founder of Lux Property Lab in San Francisco was content with her 9-to-5 corporate life, until she wasn't. Her business journey was not driven by ambition or rebellion but by fear, specifically, the fear of losing her job.

"In the tech and corporate world, layoffs are common. You hear about the layoffs all the time, even from some of the biggest companies in the world," Chiu shares. "That anxiety started building. I was not in tech originally, but I felt it all around me."

Her response was not to panic, but to plan. At the time, she was working in the real estate industry. By 2019, she pivoted into tech, landing a job as a lease administrator managing real estate portfolios for one of the Bay Area's largest tech firms. "I wasn't looking to leave my appraiser career, but I saw a job listing and applied just for fun. I wanted to see what else was out there."

That decision gave her a window into the corporate tech world and confirmed her desire to create a safety net. In her spare time, she began researching how to build a business, diving into the complexities of forming an LLC, understanding local regulations, and analyzing rental markets.

"It didn't happen overnight. It was stressful working full-time and trying to build something after hours," she says. "But I started to see where my knowledge gaps were, and I looked for people who could help fill them."

Chiu built her team intentionally: attorneys to help with legalities, advisors to guide her business structure, and a mentor, Calvin Tran, who played a part in teaching her the ins and outs of setting up short-term rentals. She now has a rental portfolio of seven properties across California, Nevada, and Tennessee, many of which cater to a niche market: traveling professionals in need of quiet, flexible, furnished housing.

By late 2023, the layoff she had anticipated finally came. But unlike most, Chiu wasn't worried. Her real estate business was already thriving; she had five properties generating income, and she used her severance to buy another. One rental alone began producing more monthly revenue than her corporate job salary.

Still, after more than a year of running her business full-time, she found herself itching for something else. "I had too much free time. I missed working with a team, and that sense of camaraderie. Then my old company reached out, and I decided to return, on my terms," she shares.

She's now back in corporate part-time, not out of necessity, but for the joy of it. Chiu states, "It's different when you don't need the job. You are not working from a place of stress or survival. You're just showing up to contribute."

Her story upends the traditional narrative. While many dream of escaping the corporate grind, Chiu found a way to make both worlds work for her. She's a business owner with financial freedom and an employee by choice, something she believes is possible for others, too.

Her advice?: "If you have fears, do something. Make a plan. Figure out your strengths and weaknesses, and then find people to help with the rest. You don't have to do it all alone."

That philosophy extends to everything she does. A self-proclaimed terrible bookkeeper, she hired someone to manage that side of her business. She also monetized a second unexpected venture, her cat's Instagram account, which now attracts brand sponsorships. "That was totally unplanned," she says. "But it's working."

At the heart of it all is her core belief: success is not about working harder. It's about working smarter. "If you can find a way to solve a real problem for people, and build a system around that, you'll be surprised at what you can achieve," she says. "You don't need to be perfect, you just need to be resourceful."

Stephannie Chiu's story is proof that fear doesn't have to be paralyzing. It can be a powerful motivator if you let it. And when paired with curiosity, research, and the right people, it can lead to something far greater than stability; it can lead to freedom.