Reading only what you have written on face value here.
I think you are on the right track.
The wrong track, for someone with your experience and background, is to go into being an espresso machine operator (some call that a "barista") and nothing more. Sure, that would suffice in the short term for someone wanting a total break, but it is not a career path (professional barista....) and is not really suited to "older" (you did say 36

) people. People that have reached that age being espresso machine operators, have usually srarted to understand there is no career path except if they are going to open something of their own. They want more.....However, being a good barista does not make a good business owner or manager in cafe industry or otherwise.... And unfortunately (for them), I have seen enough "aged" baristas that wanted something more, leave their barista jobs only to drift back a few months later.
If you want more than that in life, dont go there in the first place (at your age and level of experience).
Back to the beginning, I think you are on the right track (but you will kind of still be in the "corporate" world).
Oh yeah one more thing, there is a hurdle.....in my experience cafe owners do not spend money on this kind of thing easily. They are happy for others to do the excercise for them, at the others expense. Ask any professional roaster...these days, pro roasting means offering your services (for free) to your cafe clients to grow their businesses, so you can grow yours (or just to keep their custom) ...artwork,. marketing, advertising, etc etc etc. all for free. Its a very costly association getting kilos out of cafe owners, when the market is so fragmented with an ever growing legion of "commercial" coffee roaster/suppliers to "the trade", and the aggressive competition this breeds. When people want to know why (they think) a kilo of coffee costs so much, its because that kilo props up an entire service network that services cafe clients.
By the way, this is one of the most interesting topics for a while.