Where Coffee Gets Spilled

Getting where Lexi Bonilla has been takes a certain kind of scrappiness.

Hear her boot camp survival story and how she built her way from there in this clip from her episode of Where Coffee Gets Spilled with Erich George and Lindsay Mayer.

Things may not always go as you planned.

Hear Lexi Bonilla talk about that in this short clip from her episode of Where Coffee Gets Spilled with Erich George and Lindsay Mayer.

Lexi Bonilla has always found a way.

When tuition got real in college, she joined the Navy Reserves and figured it out. Three years into community social work, she recognized burnout before she even had language for it and chose a different path. When group practice felt like a setup to repeat the same cycle, she built her own. She's always tried to find a way first, and when she couldn't, she wasn't too proud to ask for help.

Her advice for anyone navigating their own path? Have a delusional level of belief in yourself.

Pour a cup and listen to Lexi spill her story in this week's episode of Where Coffee Gets Spilled with Erich George and Lindsay Mayer.

There is no better teacher than just jumping in.

Hear Chad Keller share what that means in this clip from Where Coffee Gets Spilled with Erich George and Lindsay Mayer.

Careers don't always come with a playbook. Sometimes you have to write your own.

Chad Keller has spent over 20 years in finance and accounting at some of the most recognizable names in entertainment, from the Walt Disney Company to Saban, the creators of the Power Rangers. He got there by getting fired early, hanging up on the Disney recruiter twice, and once moving a Bobcat he was not certified to drive with a parade bearing down at full speed.

Because he never had a playbook, jumping in became second nature. Now Chad brings that same instinct to early-stage entrepreneurs, helping them see the parts of their business that passion alone can't cover. He describes it like deflecting an asteroid: you don't need a dramatic course correction, just a small push in the right direction, early enough to matter.

Pour a cup and listen to Chad spill his story in this week's episode of Where Coffee Gets Spilled with Erich George and Lindsay Mayer.

She always dreamed of owning a business. Turns out the answer was in the kitchen the whole time.

Mabel San came to Chicago from Myanmar, chose accounting as her path to independence, and built a career as a CPA. The discipline, the precision and the problem-solving all came naturally. But she kept asking herself one question: would young Mabel be happy seeing this version of me?

That question led her to the kitchen. She started small, tested her ideas while still working full-time. She quickly learned that doing one thing exceptionally well matters more than doing many things at once.

Even though Mabel starts baking her handcrafted brioche donuts at 1 am while the world is still sleeping, something lights up in her every time someone loves what she made.

Pour a cup and listen to Mabel spill her story in this week's episode of Where Coffee Gets Spilled with Erich George and Lindsay Mayer.

DescriptioWhen you hit a wall, it may not be there to stop you. It may be a signal to pause and reassess.

Hear Laurice McGinnis Lincoln speak about overcoming barriers in this clip from Where Coffee Gets Spilled with Erich George and Lindsay Mayer.n

Emotions can cloud what you’re seeing right in front of you.

Watch Laurice McGinnis Lincoln share methods for creating change in this clip from Where Coffee Gets Spilled with Erich George and Lindsay Mayer.

The first difficult conversation is always the hardest. But it's the one that makes everything else possible.

Laurice McGinnis Lincoln has spent over 20 years helping organizations do the work most teams avoid. And what she'll tell you is that real change doesn't start with a new initiative or a fresh strategy. It starts with a difficult conversation, and the courage to separate what actually happened from the story we've been telling about it.

She has a name for what keeps most teams stuck: the Museum of the Past. Familiar pain is safe, she says, because at least you understand it. The unknown is what we fear. And that's exactly where growth lives.

Today, as Enterprise Equity and Inclusion Director for the State of Wisconsin, her message is simple: when your vision hits a wall, that wall isn't telling you to stop.

Pour a cup and listen to Laurice spill her story in this week's episode of Where Coffee Gets Spilled with Erich George and Lindsay Mayer.

There are many versions of spiciness when it comes to neurodiversity.

Hear Malynnda Stewart explain what this means in this clip from Where Coffee Gets Spilled with Erich George and Lindsay Mayer.