Jamie Inlow — Airbnb has become a prominent platform for people looking to earn some extra cash while pursuing other endeavors.
They are especially prominent within the city as dozens of condo and apartment units are typically put up for rent.
Occasionally, beachside travelers have the opportunity to spend less with houses situated by the shore.
However, no one would have expected that a barn and an apartment would lead to a lucrative opportunity.
Jamie Inlow, the CEO of property management company Be Still Getaways, saw something that others didn’t, paving the way for her success.
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Be Still Getaways
Jamie Inlow and her family moved to Scottsville, Virginia, in June 2019, around 20 miles south of where she worked as a student program director for the University of Virginia.
They were touring around their neighbor’s property, which consisted of an unfurnished apartment, a barn, and 150 merino sheep.
The apartment had been emptied after the previous owner rented it out, giving Inlow an idea.
She later drafted a business plan and made a proposition to furnish the apartment and list it for Airbnb.
In doing so, Jamie Inlow created Be Still Getaways, sharing the profits with her neighbor.
Once the listing started picking up, they sought another, finding another partner for the unit and splitting profits down the middle.
Since then, Be Still Getaways has grown to run 119 vacation rentals in Virginia.
According to Airbnb and rental platform Eviivo, the company generated $2.28 million revenue in 2022.
Growing the venture
Be Still Getaways initially started as a side hustle for Jamie Inlow before dropping her director position to focus on her company full-time down the road.
“If I wouldn’t have kept my two jobs, I could never have scaled my business,” said Inlow.
Prior to her venture, Inlow worked over 30 hours weekly, making $50,000 annually between her consulting work and university job.
Jamie Inlow was eager to either cut down her work or find a remote job to stay at home and spend more time with her son.
However, her plan changed after her neighbor agreed to list the apartment.
Inlow came up with “Be Still Getaways” and had a former student design its logo.
Like most rookie entrepreneurs, Jamie Inlow found everything she needed on Google, using search engine optimization to bring new customers.
She also created an Instagram page and a website, paying a company to help create hashtags and grow her online presence.
With the help of a local influencer, Inlow managed to get the “Stays and Getaways” page promoted, with the apartment booked daily two months after getting listed.
Jamie Inlow later asked her neighbor (now investor) for $110,000 to buy and fix up a tiny home from Craigslist.
After going through their business model, the listing went live in March 2020.
While the pandemic might have created a problem, the unit was regularly rented out,
Jamie Inlow also helped an old classmate, redesigning a unit, running the property, and splitting the profits.
At the end of the year, Be Still Getaways was managing 20 properties.
“I was definitely spending 20 hours per week on research alone,” said Inlow.
“I was probably pushing 30 to 40 hours per week [at Be Still Getaways], on top of my other jobs.”
Expanding an empire
In 2021, Jamie Inlow and Be Still Getaways managed 30 properties.
Due to the massive growth, she sought a team, hiring for the following positions:
- Operations director
- Cleaning
- Staging
- Repairs
While the company’s expansion is something to behold, it also took a chunk off of Inlow’s time and paycheck.
In the fall, Jamie Inlow bought another property management company and co-founded a new venture with a local realtor: Carriage House.
Eventually, she quit her full-time university job in March 2022, and four months later, bumped up her annual salary from scraps to $72,000.
According to Inlow, she and her husband work for Be Still Getaways, earning a combined $150,000 annually.
The company also employs eight full-time workers, including an on-call handyman, and over 60 part-time staff.
Be Still Getaways manages several units that have been featured in online rental platforms, including:
- Short-term rentals
- Mid-term rentals
- Inns
- Motels
For now, Jamie Inlow is learning the ropes of being a CEO, but she has her sights on hiring more people to streamline workflows, allowing everyone to get a break from the hustle.
“My life is not chill, and I’m a workaholic by nature,” Inlow admitted.
“I have to practice strategies to create work-life balance.”
She is currently taking business therapy and tuning her Apple Watch to “do not disturb” mode to give herself more time to play with her son.
