29-year-old Jesse Singh grew up watching his immigrant family juggle multiple jobs while creating a new life in the US.
He grew up working at his father’s convenience store, who also worked as a full-time nurse. The experience taught Singh to appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit early on.
“I’ve seen a lot of struggle,” Singh said. “My dad and his brother were living two whole families in a two-bedroom unit.”
When Singh graduated from high school, he compromised on his parent’s wishes for him to become a doctor and agreed to become a nurse. He also decided to start a side hustle in real estate development — and convinced his father and uncle to join in.
A few years later, that side hustle turned into a luxury real estate company called Bespoke Developers.
70+ hour workweeks
Singh worked two separate nursing jobs out of college to help fund his real estate ventures.
In his busiest year, he made over $200,000 before taxes combined from both nursing jobs. He said almost all of the money went toward paying off the mortgages for the properties he purchased with his dad and uncle. Singh’s employment history and real estate transactions were verified by Business Insider.
Some days, Singh said he would arrive at the hospital at 7 p.m. to work a 12-hour shift. Then, he would go home and sleep for five or six hours before arriving at his 3 p.m. shift at the second hospital the following day.
“I used to like, ping pong from one job to the next,” Singh said.
In between shifts, Singh said he worked on developing his real estate projects with his dad and uncle.
After a couple of purchases, one of which turned into a part-time rental and another which sold as a flip, Singh started a construction project that involved knocking down a property and building a new one. It ended up selling for around $2.2 million in May 2023, producing $1 million in revenue, which was divided between him and his partners.
Singh said the milestone of hitting $1 million in revenue finally made it feel like a real business.
It came with a lot of sacrifice
Singh said the last few years were worth it, but he wouldn’t recommend the lifestyle to others.
Up until a few months ago when he got married, Singh lived at home with his family to save money. He also spent his 20s sacrificing his social life and other important moments like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“I sacrificed relationships. I sacrificed my own health,” Singh said. “I got sick pretty badly during these years just because I was not paying attention to anything other than my goals.”
Adjusting to a new lifestyle
After selling the $2.2 million home, Singh cut down his nursing hours to about one shift per week. He said it’s enough to keep him on the payroll, although he doesn’t qualify for benefits.
Singh went from working around 75 hours a week to 35 hours during a busy week with real estate — and he admits the transition made him feel a little “lost.”
In addition to working on a new real estate project, Singh started using LinkedIn to talk about his experiences. He also said he’s considering starting an AI venture.
Instead of using the money to buy new things though, Singh said he plans to reinvest his earnings into real estate. But his first and foremost concern is providing for his future family with his wife.
“My first goal right now is to secure the future for the family that I will create,” Singh said. “So that’s number one priority.”
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