BBW MEMBER INTERVIEW: Leah Goldman: Life Coach, Owner & Operator of Fika and Friends

Leah Goldman, Life Coach, Owner & Operator of Fika and Friends

Less than a year

@legoldman

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-goldman-437ba888/

Yes! I was born and raised in Milton and have lived in The North End for 13 years.

Fika and Friends offers Therapeutic Coaching Services with Animal Integration and Interactions for Children, Teens, and Adults. At Fika and Friends I partner with clients to help them reach their maximum personal and professional potential resulting in a more well balanced, healthy, joyful, and fulfilling life. In 2014 I was blindsided when I was let go from a job I had been excelling at. I was told I didn't have the skill set to lead ``Parent PR.`` Confused and crushed I questioned everything about my career and my confidence as a counselor was shattered. I went to work at my families business, Weymouth Club, which is a multi purpose health club and began to learn an entirely different skill set in business and marketing. In that time I met someone who I thought I would be with for the long haul. After three years, that relationship came to a traumatic end and yet again I was left completely blindsided. It was a very long road of grieving and healing. During both of those incidents I had one constant, my dog, and I credit a tremendous amount of the healing I was able to do because I had her by my side. It was also serendipitous that 2 weeks prior to finding out my boyfriend was living a double life I had decided to lease a horse for the summer. Not only was it therapeutic for me to be in that space, it was instrumental in the beginning stages of me moving forward. I am a firm believer that things happen to you for a reason. So here I am, combining my counseling skills with the marketing and business skills I've learned over the last 5 years. My business, Fika and Friends (Fika, pronounced fee-kah, is a nod to my Swedish heritage) offers life coaching with animal assisted therapy and activities. From bad experiences comes growth and opportunity and I know with my full heart that this is what I am meant to be doing.

My clients would say that I empower them to become more self aware, open, and honest, to be able to make decisions confidently, and that I am empathetic, compassionate, and kind.

To listen to and follow your gut instincts. To take risks and to remove any negative sources of energy from your life and surround yourself with positivity, support, and joy.

Where the Red Fern Grows

Once I set my mind to something that I am passionate about I go full steam ahead. I've never been one to procrastinate, live as much of a healthy and balanced life as I can, and schedule my time appropriately. And I get 7-9 hours of sleep every night!

I just launched my business and received so many kind words of encouragement and support. After working on it for 7 months it was so exciting to announce it and get it off the ground.

To follow your intuition and listen to your gut. To not let other people's opinions drive my motivations and actions and to be more confident.

I love spending my free time with my dog. We love going for walks around Boston Harbor or will drive out of the city to walk on some trails. I am hoping to buy a property soon where I will have one or two horses as well.

Most people don't know that when I was 27 I was fired from my job. It left me with a lot of guilt and shame that I didn't live up to my potential. In hindsight, that was one of the best things that could have happened to me because it led to the creation of my own business!