It Started with Furniture from the Street: How a US Couple Left Their Jobs to Build a $1M Home-Flipping Venture

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Tyler Dobson and Lindsey Dobson began refinishing furniture they found on the street for their home in Florida. The couple soon ran out of space in their house and decided to continue upcycling furniture as a side hustle.

They started flipping up to two pieces of furniture each week, earning around $500 (£371) a month. The Dobsons would take discarded items such as chairs and dressers, refinishing them to sell. As they dedicated more time to this side project, their profits increased to approximately $1,000 (£742) a month. Over time, they also began generating income from brand deals and social media payouts as their online presence grew.

Eventually, the couple transitioned from upcycling furniture to making renovations and additions to their own home, which Lindsey describes as a 'natural progression'. In 2021, they sold their house for $352,500 (£261,799), more than doubling what they paid in 2018 when they first bought it.

Leaving Their Full-Time Jobs

In 2021, the couple purchased and moved into another property in St. Petersburg, which they sold in 2025 after completing another live-in renovation. The combined profit from these two home sales was $559,702 (£415,687).

Between 2020 and 2024, they renovated and sold four other homes in Florida, making a total profit of $577,000 (£428,535). Overall, they earned more than $1.1 million (£816,964) before taxes from their house-flipping activities.

Lindsey explains, 'Every time we finish a house, especially one we live in, I don't know what's wrong with us ... once there's no projects left, we just get the itch to do it again.'

Lindsey left her marketing role in July 2021, followed by Tyler, who exited his finance job the following year. Although they have not yet fully replaced their previous annual income, the couple felt confident enough to take the 'leap of faith' and rely on income from social media and house flips.

They see their approach as a lifestyle choice: living in the homes they renovate and selling them for profit. This strategy allows them to retain more earnings, particularly as married couples can benefit from a tax exemption of up to £500,000 (£371,347) in capital gains on the sale of their primary residence, provided they meet certain criteria.

'Renovating homes has simply become a way to design a life with more flexibility, creativity, and freedom from conventional full-time jobs,' Lindsey adds. 'Fixing them up, living in them, furnishing them with all of our free and secondhand pieces, and then eventually moving on have been our most financially rewarding, as well as personally meaningful, projects.'

The couple bought their current home in Springfield, Missouri, in March 2025. While they may sell it in the future, they prefer to take their time with renovations rather than rushing.

A Glimpse Into Their Earnings

The Dobsons earn up to $8,000 (£5,927) a month from social media, although income varies depending on internet traffic and brand deals.

'We primarily are just working on our own home, renovating it, and filming our projects on social media to fund it. We're luckily able to still live on all of our reserves from the proceeds of our [previous] home sale,' Lindsey explains.

They also own a property in Florida, which they rent out for $2,500 (£1,856) a month, as they continue searching for other investment opportunities. Their total income in 2024 was nearly $95,000 (£70,556), combining earnings from social media, brand deals, and profits from a home sale.

Meanwhile, the Dobsons keep their expenses low, living mortgage-free. Moving to Missouri reduced their property taxes and home insurance costs, enabling them to reinvest more into their projects.

'We're both very frugal, so I think any way we can try to stick to a budget, we do that,' Lindsey says. 'We definitely do our due diligence before purchasing a property and make sure that it's going to be a safe investment for our family.'