Johanna Allio has had several stressful weeks while the luxury apartment building she manages in Los Angeles undergoes a face-lift. During renovations, toilets have overflowed and air-conditioning units have conked out. On one particularly bad day, an electrician rewiring an air conditioner shocked himself so badly he flew off the ladder and lay shaking on the floor in front of two horrified young tenants and their visiting moms. Fortunately the electrician got up and was fine, but "the moms flipped out," recalls Johanna. She managed to defuse the situation with a dose of mother-to-mother empathy, confiding that she, too, is a mom and could understand their concern. "That seemed to take the edge off," Johanna says. "Communication is huge in my job." It also didn't hurt that she subtracted four days from the rent bill. "Tell them you'll take money off the rent and the world becomes a brighter place."It's all in a day's work for the 26-year-old single mother of Isabella, 6. After a bumpy few years, things are settling into place for Johanna. She joined the U.S. Army after graduating from high school and lived in Korea for a year as an executive administrative assistant. When she returned home, she dated a fellow soldier, but they broke up after a few months when he decided to go back to a former girlfriend. With the relationship behind her, Johanna found herself pregnant at 19. "He knew that abortion wasn't an option for me," she says. Throughout her pregnancy, her ex-boyfriend waffled about being involved. Ultimately both decided it would be best if he was not. To this day, he has not met his daughter nor paid Johanna child support, and this is how she prefers it. With her parents' help, she has moved forward. "My mom and dad are amazing people," says Johanna, who grew up with two older brothers and a sister. "They've never walked away from me. I don't know what I'd do without their support."SAFE HAVENWhen things were looking bleak, her parents stepped in. Johanna's father, Alan Allio, a licensed electrician who works as a housing inspector for HUD, fixed up the family basement in Overland Park, KS, as an apartment for his daughter and future granddaughter. Her mother, Mary, a premium services rep for American Airlines' Admirals Club, was with her in the delivery room, coaching her through a 12-hour natural childbirth with a midwife. ("Excruciating back labor," Johanna says, "but I wanted to avoid drugs, for the baby's sake.") Then came the two years of Isabella's sleepless nights due to ear infections, while Johanna—who was often up all night with the baby—attended community college, doing most of her coursework online. When Isabella turned 2, Johanna decided it was time to leave the nest that her nurturing parents had created for her and her daughter. Having won some modeling competitions in high school, she dreamed of pursuing an acting career in Los Angeles. So she left Isabella with her parents for two months while she got settled in L.A. It wasn't easy for her to leave, or for her parents to let her go. Says her mom: "The feeling of loss has been very difficult." Still, both parents are extremely proud of their daughter and her accomplishments. "Johanna has kept putting one foot in front of the other even in the darkest of times," says her dad. "That means getting up in the morning even when she doesn't feel like it and being good to Isabella even when she doesn't feel like it. Sayings like 'Cowgirl, up!' speak of Johanna's determination."Johanna quickly landed a job behind the guest services desk at a large corporate-housing apartment building, where she interacted with celebrities, socialites and aspiring actors like herself. Some were also college students, whom she paid to babysit Isabella while she was working or taking acting classes. LIFE IN L.A.Pursuing the life of an actress in glitzy Los Angeles proved challenging for this young mother. There were parties at the Playboy mansion. There was the agent who said that if she wanted to work, she would have to lose 15 pounds. And there were industry people who intimated that if she wanted to get anywhere as an actress, she would have to take off her clothes. Ultimately, her desire to give her daughter a wholesome life helped her decide that an acting career wasn't for her. As luck would have it, a coworker, Patrick Klein, saw how good Johanna was at her day job and how she was struggling to make ends meet. "I was making $12.50 an hour," she says. "Plenty by Kansas standards but not enough to cut it in L.A." Patrick—who's now her boyfriend—recommended her for a promotion to property management at another complex. From there, she was promoted again. LUXURY LIVINGToday, the 78-unit building that Johanna manages is half a mile from glamorous Rodeo Drive. It has a pool, a Jacuzzi and a fitness center. One of the perks of Johanna's job is a "beautiful and spacious" two-bedroom apartment in the building. "The best part is," she says, "I don't pay rent—part of the property manager gig." Johanna oversees a staff of three and manages the daily activities of the building: renting apartments, coordinating renovations, running credit checks, depositing rent checks and making sure all the utilities for the building are paid on time. BOOKS AND BAKINGAlthough she doesn't make repairs herself, Johanna does understand a lot about maintenance and remodeling, thanks to some on-the-job training. "I can reach down a garbage disposal when I hear a weird noise and pull out whatever is causing the problem," she says.For the immediate future, managing real estate is a good, stable career that has taught her the importance of being organized and paying bills on time. "Johanna works hard to provide and save for her daughter's future," says Patrick. Someday, though, Johanna would love to have more children and a career with a flexible schedule. She dreams of writing books or baking and selling gourmet birthday cakes. Currently, her weekdays begin at 6:45 a.m., when she wakes Isabella and puts on cartoons for her. They have breakfast and leave for school by 7:40. Johanna is back at the building working by 8:30. Isabella attends an afterschool program where she completes her homework and is learning to play several musical instruments. On the way home from aftercare at 5:30 p.m., Johanna often stops at the grocery store to buy ingredients for their simple, healthy dinners, like turkey burgers and frozen vegetables. She always makes enough for lunch leftovers the next day, which is one way she stays solvent and maintains good health, while also teaching her daughter, by example, how to take care of herself.QUICK TO FORGIVEGood health has not been a given for Johanna, who has struggled with painful endometriosis and uterine fibroids that were misdiagnosed and required two surgeries. Recently, she has felt the uterine pain returning. On days when the pain keeps her in bed, she says, Isabella seems to take it in stride: "She's just so strong. I'm so impressed with her." Even Johanna's occasional "bad mom moments" that involve yelling don't seem to undo Isabella, who is quick to forgive—a quality Johanna says she admires enormously. "Some people struggle alone," she says. "I am lucky to have my daughter in my life every day."