VISIONARY SPOTLIGHT
Photo: Sonya Szabo, sonyaszabo.com
Some people don't just plan for next year, they plan for the woman they'll be at 90. Sonya is one of them.
Sonya was one of my very first 20 guests on the Rain or Shine podcast back in 2018, during a little podcast tour of Prince Edward County, right around the time she'd opened her café. Eight years later, she came back with a whole new chapter to share: selling that café, heading to law school at 40, and building her own vision of what a lawyer can be. So for this Visionary Spotlight, I'm pulling from our conversation to bring you her journey, in her own words.
Tell us about your business and how it started.
About 11 years ago, Sonya was 35, a mom of three, and her oldest was just starting high school. She knew she needed to work, but she wasn't willing to have a boss or work in a corporate structure while she was still such a present, involved parent. "I thought owning my own business would be so much simpler." (We both laughed at that one.)
So in 2015 she opened the Vic Café, and she was clear about her boundaries from day one. The very first page of her employee handbook said it plainly: she's a mom, she won't always be there, and if that didn't work for someone, they were welcome to leave. "And I was actually able to live by that."
She also hired a manager before the doors even opened. "I knew I needed to outsource that and focus on being the owner, making owner-level decisions." She led her team a bit like she parented: "When you notice a child has a particular strength, you lean into it and help them lean into it too."
What were the highs and lows of running a café?
The highs? "It really is like a Hallmark movie. You get to create your dream." Everything from the menu to the staff systems to the customer journey was a chance to be creative.
The realities were harder. Restaurants are open seven days a week, so even when she wasn't on location, the café was always on her mind. And as her kids got older, holidays became the toughest part. "Any holiday that adults take off is usually the busiest day we'd work." That made it easy to feel isolated from friends and family on regular schedules.
“For me, it wasn't too late. It was always the plan.”
-Sonya Szabo
How did you navigate letting go of the café?
The feeling came a couple of years before the decision. Sonya spent about a year almost grieving the business, as she came to terms with the fact that it wasn't going to fit the future she wanted. Then COVID hit, and she put it on the market. After eight years, from 2015 to 2023, she found a buyer, and the Vic is still running today under new ownership.
"I'm really glad I had an asset that was sellable, that there was a system there that appealed to someone else and they took it on."
Photo: Sonya Szabo, sonyaszabo.com
What led you to law school at 40?
By 2020, Sonya had built the café to the point where she was completely out of the day-to-day. When the restaurant switched to a two-person takeout operation, she suddenly had nothing to do. So she went to law school. "A law degree is very versatile. I figured it would just be great for my future to learn how to think like a lawyer, in whatever I ended up doing."
It was always part of the plan. She married and had kids young, and made a conscious choice in her twenties to do "the kid thing first and the career thing second." When she told her husband she was going to law school, his answer was simply, "Yeah, I know."
That doesn't mean it was easy. "I had the worst case of imposter syndrome for four years straight," she admits, surrounded by 24-year-olds and often hiding in the back corner. Her advice anyway? Go back. "Four years flew by, and nobody can ever take that degree away from you."
How did you navigate a major setback in your business?
In 2025, Sonya panicked and quit for about a week. She was asking herself whether any of it mattered. Practicing law is expensive and heavily regulated, and she wasn't sure anyone even wanted her as their lawyer. She didn't want to be the cold, unapproachable corporate lawyer people picture.
So for a week, she started calling herself a business strategist instead. But every time the word "law" came up, people lit up. "They'd say, 'You're a lawyer? I need you.'" She realized the problem wasn't being a lawyer. It was the image of what lawyers are. "My entire backstory, the family, the café, the years in the entrepreneurial trenches, is actually what's missing from the field of law."
So she dove back in headfirst, determined to create her own version of a lawyer. "You could see the relief on their faces, like, finally, a lawyer who doesn't make me feel belittled."
How do you cast a long-term vision?
Sonya thinks about her 90-year-old self, a lot. "I filter everything through her. What would she care about?" When she imagines that version of herself as healthy, balanced, creative, socially active, and close with her family, decisions become much easier. "And it has a lot less to do with my business than you might think."
The vision itself doesn't have to play out exactly as planned. Its real value is as a decision-making tool. "I want to say yes to everything. But when I hold a decision up against my vision and ask, 'Will this bring me closer to where I want to go?' the answer tells me whether to say yes or no."
What's working to grow your client base?
Showing up in person. Sonya has found that face-to-face, human-to-human connection is the single most effective way she gets clients. "Just going out there and being like, 'Hello, I'm a human, and I'm a lawyer.'"
It's also been a huge relief, because it means she doesn't have to become a social media manager on top of practicing law.
What’s something you always do?
Walk, every single day. Now that she's an empty nester, she has the freedom to make it a priority, and it checks a lot of boxes at once: vitamin D, nature, and some peace and quiet. Lately, she's been listening to Voxer messages from friends and sending replies along the way, so she stays connected too.
What's the most unusual job you've ever had?
She spent two years as a paid outreach worker in South Africa, running after-school clubs, music programs, and a feeding program for an entire neighbourhood, alongside her husband and kids.
How do you wind down after a busy week?
By cooking. "A really good recipe, a podcast in my headphones, and lots of vegetables. That means I'm relaxed." For Sonya, it's a luxury, and a teacher too. "There are so many life lessons you can extract from it."
Advice for other entrepreneurs having a rough day?
If you're in your own "quit week," listen to the panic, but don't assume quitting is the answer. "That panic is probably telling you something, that something isn't working."
Instead, take everything you know about your business, "put it in a little box, set it on the shelf, and go back to your values exercise." That's what she did with her law practice, and she came out with something quite different from what she'd first imagined.
“I go to parties, I go to social events, and that is my marketing.”
-Sonya Szabo
A resource that’s added value to her journey?
An old-school classic that has shaped Sonya's life. "I taught those principles to my kids. I use them in my business, I use them in everything."
Sonya's full story, including how to book a strategy session or work with her law firm, can be found on her website and Instagram.
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