From Loan Officer To Lounge Singer: How Fred Sanford Turned A Passion Into A Job

Fred Sanford was 57 years old when he realized that he needed to come up with a Plan B -- and fast. Working as an Orlando-based financial adviser for Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. in 2007 and 2008, he was writing the second chapter of a business career that was highlighted by his work selling loans for mortgages.

But by 2010, his commissions dried up, and he'd decided that his work was no longer "fun." (While working in the mortgage business for 18 years, Sanford says that he never budged from his stance of only selling realistic loans to people who had enough money in the bank. He had always felt selling subprime mortgages "was taking advantage of people who couldn't afford it," he said.)