Lisa Carrels of For the House, “The Barstool Shop”

CW: How do you find your passion?

“I always wanted to be a business owner, as I had worked retail (store management/advisory positions) most of my life, but just didn’t know what type of business I wanted to own. I came into the shop looking for a table — it was the existing shop with a little different product mix than currently — and was talking with the owner of the shop when she told me the shop was for sale. After talking, researching and imagining the future, 10 months later, I purchased the shop.”

CW: Tell us about how you grew up and what or who shaped you into the woman you are today.

“I grew up in the Midwest in a family with five kids. My parents both worked and were very attentive. I went to parochial grade school and high school. My mother insisted we participate in after-school sports and clubs and work part-time when it was feasible. This helped build relationships and instilled loyalty and commitment, and I developed a strong work ethic as I learned to balance schoolwork with sports and a job.”

CW: Who influences you in your life currently?

“Influences in my life currently are my spiritual self and my nieces and nephews who have grown into adults watching me work and grow a business. I always want to set an example to them.”

CW: If you could have dinner with anyone (alive or passed away), who would it be and why?

“Dinner with my Dad. He died more than 25 years ago, and I really have so many things I want to ask him that I never had a chance to. I also would love to hear his opinions relative to the changes in the world in the last 20 years.”

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