Starting a business does not always require a large investment or a decision to leave a stable job.
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Starting → start → job
For Vanessa Romano, a 39-year-old mother of two, a modest $500 investment in four outdoor party games became the foundation of a growing event-rental business.
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investment → become → business
According to PEOPLE, which profiled Romano on October 12, 2026, her venture, Little Party Co., secured 65 bookings and generated more than $9,000 in booked revenue within its first few months.
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venture → accord → months
Romano, who works full-time in corporate communications, launched the business after noticing how party-rental ventures were gaining traction on social media.
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ventures → work → media
The idea appealed to her because she could start small, test whether customers were interested and retain the games for her family’s own celebrations if the business did not work out.
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business → appeal → celebrations
Rather than investing heavily in equipment or renting commercial premises, she began with four yard games.
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she → invest → games
The relatively low initial cost allowed her to experiment with the business while keeping her regular income intact.
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her → allow → income
From a small experiment to a growing business
The response was encouraging from the outset.
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response → grow → outset
Little Party Co. received five bookings in its first month, generating more than $800 in revenue, enough to recover the initial inventory investment.
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Co. → receive → investment
The following month, 17 bookings brought in more than $1,800.
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bookings → bring → 1,800
As enquiries increased, Romano began reinvesting the earnings into the business instead of treating the money as additional personal income.
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Romano → increase → income
Her total investment eventually reached approximately $4,500, while booked revenue climbed to more than $9,000.
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revenue → reach → 9,000
The growth reflects a practical approach to building a small business: begin with a limited range of products, assess demand and expand only when there is evidence that customers want more.
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customers → reflect → more
Romano has also learned to be selective about new purchases.
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Romano → learn → purchases
Rather than continuously adding equipment to make the rental collection look more impressive, she tracks bookings, considers seasonal demand and prioritises items that customers are actively seeking.
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customers → add → that
This approach helps her manage costs while making decisions about which products could generate enough bookings to justify their purchase.
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products → help → purchase
Managing a business alongside a full-time job
Running Little Party Co. has brought a different set of challenges beyond attracting customers.
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Running → manage → customers
Romano manages bookings, prepares equipment, cleans and transports the games, and coordinates collections and deliveries around her corporate responsibilities and family commitments.
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Romano → manage → responsibilities
According to her account in PEOPLE, around three-quarters of customers collect their rentals themselves, while the remaining quarter opt for delivery.
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quarter → accord → delivery
Depending on the week, she handles between two and eight clients.
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she → depend → clients
Romano has described fracturing a toe after dropping a cornhole board on her foot, yet still having to complete deliveries that day.
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Romano → describe → deliveries
The experience illustrates a common difficulty for solo entrepreneurs: when the owner is also responsible for operations, taking time off can be complicated.
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taking → illustrate → time
Time, rather than the initial investment, has become one of her biggest constraints.
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Time → become → constraints
Growing the business requires work outside her regular office hours, often competing with family time and the need to rest.
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Growing → grow → time
Why she is not leaving her corporate career
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she → leave → career
Despite the early success, Romano does not see Little Party Co. as a replacement for her full-time job.
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Romano → see → job
She has said she enjoys her corporate career and wants to continue building the rental business alongside it.
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she → say → it
Her husband has also played an important role in making the arrangement possible, taking on additional household responsibilities while she establishes the venture.
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she → play → venture
For Romano, the business offers a way to pursue her entrepreneurial interests while creating greater financial flexibility for her family.
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business → offer → family
Her experience also reflects a broader appeal of rental-based businesses: equipment can be used repeatedly to generate bookings rather than being sold just once.
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equipment → reflect → bookings
However, revenue alone does not establish profitability, as expenses such as maintenance, transportation, storage, replacement equipment and taxes must also be considered.
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expenses → establish → maintenance
Romano's story is a reminder that entrepreneurship does not always have to begin with an all-or-nothing decision.
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entrepreneurship → begin → decision
Starting with a small inventory, reinvesting earnings and responding to customer demand allowed her to test a business idea without giving up the security of a regular salary.
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her → start → salary
For now, she is choosing to grow both careers rather than abandon one for the other.
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she → choose → other
The Aporia
