This Wasn't My Plan… #CareerJourney #LifePivot #RestaurantOwner

7 Oct 2025 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:46

A first-person YouTube interview where a speaker recounts an unexpected career pivot: originally aiming to be a doctor (graduated with dual majors in biology and psychology and a business minor), the speaker graduated shortly after 9/11 when the economy collapsed, leading to increased competition for professional schools. They moved to Chicago with their husband, leaned on their business minor, and spent over ten years consulting at a Fortune 100 company before entering the restaurant/cafe industry. The speaker attributes the cafe’s success to applying consulting/transferable skills to behind-the-scenes operations and reflects positively on the unplanned path.

Chapters

What'd you want to do when you're a little girl? So people really don't know this about me, but I actually graduated with a science major because I wanted to be a doctor. Did you really? I did not even know that about you. I'm learning something new about you today. So I graduated with a biology psychology degrees, a dual majors with a minor in business. And then, you know, I, unfortunately life took a turn. I graduated a little after 9, 11. And so the economy was just in shit, to tell you the truth. And so what happens when people don't realize when the economy is down like that there's an over application amount for like med schools, law schools, because people aren't getting the jobs that they thought that they would be getting. And at the time I met my husband in college, we decided to go to Chicago. And to do that I, you know, I ended up, I grad and then I ended up leaning on my business minor. And then I spent over 10 years in consulting for like a Fortune 100 company before even pursuing the restaurant industry. And so I think what people don't also know is that because I was in the consulting world for over 10 years, I took those transferable skill sets and what I can do in the behind the scenes of my cafe. And I think that's another reason why it's had a good turnout, because I used my consulting skills for nearly everything. See, it's not the path I originally imagined, but from where I stand today, I wouldn't change it.