A remote worker loves the lifestyle so much she's locking it in by starting her own business so she can work from home forever

• Dawn-Michelle Lewis loves remote work, but not her remote job.
• She started her own business hoping to secure a permanent work-from-home job on her own terms.
• With WFH-job postings tapering off, some workers are clinging to their remote roles.

If everything goes according to plan, Dawn-Michelle Lewis will be her own boss by the time she turns 31 this October. 

The Pennsylvania-based project manager works remotely for a company that creates podcasts for marketing purposes. While she loves the flexibility of working remotely, she told Insider that she had a "wake-up call" on a trip with friends earlier this year when she realized she wasn't earning enough to justify all her work. She makes $15 an hour, according to a paystub viewed by Insider. 

In January, she began looking for a fully remote higher-paying job in the same field that aligned more with her interests. But she said the job search hasn't been successful so far, and while she plans to continue applying, she has a backup plan. 

"I have decided to use my free time to build my own remote-work company where I can do what I love and only have myself to report to," she said. In March, she officially launched the media-production company Salutations Media Co. While it's still in the "pre-revenue" phase, she said she's optimistic and has put together a "team of experts."

If her job search doesn't pan out, Lewis is hopeful her business will provide her a path to finding the best of both worlds — a remote job that she enjoys. 

Lewis' story reflects the questions many Americans who work remotely are wrestling with: How much do I value my job itself, and how much do I value the flexibility my job provides me? 

Many researchers have found a correlation between remote work and happier employees. Nearly half of surveyed US remote workers even said they'd be willing to take up to a 5% pay cut to continue working remotely at least part-time, according to the State of Remote Work survey that Owl Labs and Global Workplace Analytics conducted last September.

But with the number of remote-job postings declining, workers like Lewis may have to decide whether it's worth staying at a job they don't love — or at one where the pay is lackluster —  to retain the benefits of remote work.

As of March, roughly 13% of job postings were remote, according to the staffing firm ManpowerGroup, down from 17% in March 2022, but up from the pre-pandemic level of 4%. The share of remote postings could fall to 10% by the end of 2023, Nick Bloom, a leading work-from-home researcher and Stanford economist, previously told Insider. 

And with some companies calling employees back to the office, starting a remote business might be the only way for workers like Lewis to guarantee they can work from home forever. 

Lewis not only loves remote work's flexibility, but she said retaining a remote position is necessary for her and her husband — who also works remotely — to maintain their lifestyle, which has consisted of taking short trips about once a month over the past year. Having a remote job, she said, is what will make it possible for them to visit her husband's family in India for six weeks later this year and still have some vacation days left when they return. 

Remote work also saves them money on transportation — they sold one of their two vehicles — and allows them to live almost wherever they want. 

"The ultimate goal is to work for myself," she said. "The beauty of the company I am building is that I have the opportunity to work with people all over the world. I want to give people the same opportunity of remote work I have been fortunate enough to have."

Are you a remote worker who's struggling to decide whether to leave your job and willing to share your story? If so, reach out to this reporter at jzinkula@insider.com.