Finance Exec Finds Recipe for Happiness
By Tricia Nelson
A classroom kitchen with sweeping views of Laguna Beach, Calif., is a world apart from the corporate hubbub of KPMG. But for Nancy Milby, who spent most of her career rising to the Fortune 1000 consulting firm's upper echelons, the classroom is the place she'd much rather log marathon workdays.
Milby, 43, opened Laguna Culinary Arts, a hands-on cooking school, in July 2001 after first taking some professional baby steps towards entrepreneurship. Following a 16-year stint at KPMG, where she was a partner, the San Francisco native served as chief financial officer at two health-care-related start-ups before finally acting on a business idea that had been germinating for years.
The seed was planted when Milby's husband, Steve Nahm, celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary with the gift of a three-day retreat at a Napa Valley cooking school. Milby, a cooking enthusiast, noted what she liked and would change about the program, thought about how she could create a better classroom experience, and soon realized that she had found her niche.
"Things like the Food Network have created a demand for people wanting to cook," she said. Unfortunately for aspiring home chefs, too many outlets offering cooking instruction don't actually let them touch food. So, to fulfill that need, Milby said, "I wanted (to start) something focused on learning to cook where people could have fun."
With the enthusiasm and moral support of her husband, Milby completed a business plan while transitioning out of her last CFO position. When her number-crunching yielded promising results, the couple used their savings to finance the venture.
"We have a small house and no kids," Milby said. "We can take risks that other people don't feel comfortable taking."
A mere three months after the lease was signed on the school's second-floor oceanfront space, Laguna Culinary Arts was open for business. It offers a variety of courses, ranging from hourlong lunchtime demonstrations to daytime and evening classes for kids and adults to three-day "culinary adventures."
The interesting cross-section of students ("We get everything from serious 13-year-old boys to 70-year-olds," Milby said) explores topics as diverse as fancy fish (sushi and sashimi), holistic gourmet lunches and classic Italian eats. And, this fall, the school inaugurates a six-month professional-chef program — which is already fully subscribed — under the direction of certified chef instructor Sevan Abdessian.
In addition to Milby, Laguna Culinary Arts employs two full-time staffers, as well as part-time instructors, guest chefs and dishwashers. Despite the school's growing popularity, Milby says she now can cut back on her 10-12-hour days. But make no mistake, it's still no cakewalk. "I haven't worked this hard since I was a staffer at KPMG 20 years ago," she added.
The cooking school is thriving thanks to word-of-mouth and media exposure, including a repeat gig as a rendezvous spot for the television dating show Blind Date. Expansion appears to be in the cards, but at the moment Milby is reluctant to commit to any definite next steps.
For now, she is relishing the challenges and growth — both personal and professional — that come with her new career.
"I don't feel like I'm wasting my time," Milby said.
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