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.
Reflection: looking back on this interview it goes to show how much I have learned and grown throughout this class. The questions I asked gave me insight on how I might succeed, but what I have learned is experience is necessary and you sometimes just have learn from mistakes and be in the moment. I enjoyed rereading the responses and going over the interview.
Interview:
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 2:
Interviews do not seem to get easier for me as each are different and tackle different concepts. But I do see that I have a better idea on what to ask and better ways to explain how my concept. My entrepreneur did mention that she liked my concept and thought out my idea was. But she reminded me that in life nothing goes as planned so be prepared to think on your toes.
I thought your interview was very entertaining. This woman seems like a great person to interview but an even better boss. I loved how she talked about hiring people that eventually became her family. I would love for that to always be the environment at a place I run. She and her husband probably had a great run at being entrepreneurs. Glad you could learn from her! Here is a link to my blog post: http://katieaustintx.blogspot.com/2016/04/very-short-interview-part-2.html
ReplyDeleteWOW this secret recipe for the chili seems like something I NEED to try! Where exactly is this restaurant because I would love to go to it! This lady seems like an extremely nice woman! it also seems like you learned a lot through this interview which is what this whole assignment was about. I liked how she said she loved her culinary classes but wishes she did business classes too that is really valuable info! I also learned a lot from my interview as well and you can check that out here if you have some free time! http://jhoreckyblog.blogspot.com/2016/04/very-short-interview-part-2.html
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