Woman Quits 9-5 Job to Be a Waitress. Now, She Works Fewer Days and Makes Nearly Triple (Exclusive)

They say “work smarter, not harder,” a productivity mantra used to approach tasks with efficiency and strategy rather than sheer effort or long hours. It doesn’t have to mean a person isn’t working hard, it just allows them to concentrate their effort — and perhaps, improve their work-life balance.

In this case, that’s exactly what Janiah John set out to do when she quit her corporate 9-5 job as a leasing consultant to be a full-time waitress at Outback Steakhouse in North Carolina.

The zinger? She’s now working three to four days a week and making “double, almost triple” of what she made during her 40-hour work week. And the best part is, she has more “freedom” and a “personal life” to do what she desires.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, John — a Delaware native who relocated out of state solo at age 18, two weeks after graduating high school —  opens up about her decision to leave her corporate job for a waitressing gig full time, a “leap of faith” that made her “100 percent” happy today.

John, now 20 years old and confident in her savvy saving skills, was a thrifty thinker since she was young. She picked up serving shifts throughout her junior and senior years of high school, which allowed her to relocate independently so soon after graduation.

Upon her move to North Carolina, John waitressed for one year before realizing that she was “struggling to pay the bills,” so she snagged a job as a leasing consultant. She was initially attracted to the gig because she got 50 percent off rent, however; that perk alone didn’t cut it.

“I was paying half of rent and it saved me a lot of money,” she recalls, though admits the pay and discount still left her “pinching pennies.” Between the 9-5 during the weekdays and serving on the weekends, she was physically and mentally exhausted.

“I was draining myself. I was working probably 60 hour weeks,” John shares. “But I noticed I’m coming and serving on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and making double, almost triple of what I just made for the week in 40 hours!”

A lightbulb turned on for John, who realized that it wasn’t necessarily the serving job alone that left her pinching pennies on top of her corporate job — rather, it was the establishment itself.

“It ended up just being the restaurant that I was at. It just wasn’t very populated,” she explains of her place of employment prior to her current career at the Outback Steakhouse (where she proudly touts the work environment, her coworkers, the tips — and yes, the “blooming onion”).

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John, who picks up three to four shifts per week and reveals she can make upwards $1,400 within that span in tips alone, makes an enticing case for those who have five-day, eight-hour work weeks with similar yearly salaries. (Her regular shifts span four-to-six hours and doubles span eight to 10 hours.)

However, she recognizes that her gig has its pros and cons.

“I don’t have the health benefits, I have to pay out of pocket for that,” John shares. “I don’t have retirement funds, but I set aside money for that. I put it in a Roth IRA. I do it on my own — so there are two perspectives to it.”

“I enjoy being able to work four days a week, five-hour shifts,” she continues. “And it’s not so much, ‘I love what I do.’ I do. I don’t mind it, but it’s how much freedom it gives me in my personal life and getting to do what I want.”

Still, John minds her money, a skillset she takes pride in — and has built a massive social media following around it, posting lifestyle and budgeting advice to her TikTok with the intent to positively influence others who are going through similar experiences.

“Ways I lower my cost of living,” John titles one video, where she rattles off a variety of ways to effortlessly save money, like “switching to energy-efficient appliances” (like LED lights instead of overhead) and “buying in bulk” (at places like Costco Wholesale or BJ’s Wholesale Club).

In addition to budgeting advice, John details her day-to-day experiences as a waitress, including how many tips she made in a night and her secrets to making more.

“Things I purchase as a server to increase my tips,” reads the title of one of her most viral TikTok videos, which racked up nearly 2M views to date. “As a server, you need to stand out,” she says in the clip, before taking viewers along on her shopping spree.

She snags “really cute” hair bows and new makeup products like highlighter and mascara, stresses “smelling good” as she strolls by the perfume and having a fresh manicure as she passes the press-on nails, picks up lipgloss to “stay juicy” on the job — and lastly, picks up a variety of jewelry to accessorize.

John credits her “amazing” parents for helping her become so savvy — yet admits “struggling,” too.

“My mom’s a realtor and my stepdad is a mortgage broker. They always preach to me financial literacy,” she shares. “My parents are very financially smart — but I was 18 and I was like, ‘I want to do it on my own.'”

“I’m an open book,” she continues of her situation. “My rent is about $1,500 and then I have my car note, which is about $250. I have credit card bills. My total monthly bills probably end up being around $2,000, $2,100 a month. I have a dog, so they’re expensive.”

She adds, “They let me learn the hard way, which I appreciate because I wouldn’t be so humble and I wouldn’t know what to do without that.”

That’s what she hopes her TikTok followers take away from her experiences that she recounts transparently on her page. If you’re not vibing with your current job, “try everything,” John says.

“Don’t stick to one thing. Don’t bound yourself to one job. The goal of life is to figure it out,” she shares. “That’s your 20s and it’s okay to struggle. It’s okay to not be perfect. You don’t have to have everything figured out. You don’t have to live on your own. You don’t have to. It’s a part of life.”

While John is hesitant to quickly advise others to follow her exact career path due to a number of factors, including city population and tip inconsistency, she can say making the switch from leasing consultant to full-time server was the right move for her — and one that serves her, too.

Credit: dotdashmeredith.com