Very Short Interview No. 1

Donna Belanger first opened up her restaurant, All American Hero, with her husband in 1984. Always having a passion for cooking and people, Donna decided to open her own restaurant. She enjoyed coming up with new recipes and ways of bringing in new costumers. Her bestselling dish was chili, a secret recipe of hers. Donna shares that her entrepreneurship journey had its ups and downs; but was an experience like no other.

Interviewer: What was your greatest struggle and why?

Entrepreneur Donna: “Trying to make sure every dish came out perfect was difficult feat. Although my greatest struggle would be coming out of my shell and being more outgoing. When I started I was very shy, but by the time I closed my restaurant I was more outgoing.”

Interviewer: What does it feel like to be an entrepreneur?

Entrepreneur Donna: “My husband was a large part of the restaurant’s success as he understood the business part. But being an entrepreneur was very rewarding. I was able to hire people that eventually became my friends and some I even considered family.”

Interviewer: Where there any classes that helped you succeed as entrepreneur or classes that you wish you would’ve taken?

Entrepreneur Donna:  “I feel culinary class had a large impact on me as I was able to experiment on my recipes. Although I wish I would have taken businesses courses to have a better understanding of the finances and how to set up a company.”

Reflection: I was excited to interview an entrepreneur outside of my family and get a larger perspective on the process. Donna is a friend of my grandmother’s and I cannot wait to meet her when I visit New York in the summer. She seems like she had a great time being a business owner and truly enjoyed not only the highs of being an entrepreneur, but saw the rewards to failing here and there. Donna’s piece of advice to me was make sure to love what you are doing and if you don’t let go of it. This hits home because as a freshman I am looking into different paths I can take in life and seeing someone who successively chased their dreams was really inspirational. I look forward to trying her chili and talking to her towards the end of this class and seeing where this journey takes me.