Season 2 Now Streaming!
March 2, 2023

Saying Goodbye To Banking: Gourmet Coffee House Owner Leila Karlsen's Dream Gig

Saying Goodbye To Banking: Gourmet Coffee House Owner Leila Karlsen's Dream Gig

Leila explains how she proved naysayers wrong, thriving as an entrepreneur in an entirely new business landscape, despite lacking experience in restaurant/hospitality.

After rising in the ranks of banking management in New Jersey for over 20 years, Leila Karlsen made her career pivot to become an independent gourmet coffee shop owner.  The idea germinated while taking afternoon breaks from the bank at a local establishment.  Leila loved the atmosphere, community, and of course - the coffee.  She was chatting with the owners one day and that very conversation changed the course of her career path and second act.  In this episode Leila talks to Christa about how she transferred her professional skills to create something of her own, but struggled with the feeling that her career pivot from banking to coffee didn’t make sense.  Listen in for more on how the owner of Barista's Coffee House in Linwood NJ overcame her fear of the unknown and made her dream gig a reality!