We recently connected with Darlene Ortega and have shared our conversation below.

Darlene, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I believe what it takes to be successful is to be dedicated to your business. You should be motivated and go day by day and grow your business. If it is something you love doing and you want to see it grow the best way is to put effort into your hard work you have built. At time it is never easy to keep that focus, but as long as you know what your end goal will be or how you want to be then you will succeed. There is always a reason you started your business and what motivated you to take that leap. When i first started with my DonutNV trailer it was something very new to me, I never knew it takes a lot of hard work to run a business. You have to keep putting in that effort everyday, especially if you want to see it grow. I am very happy that i did get to take that leap and now all I want to do is see it grow and expand to more communities.

Darlene, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was born and raised in New Jersey, and moved to Florida a couple years ago after graduating from Seton Hall University in 2019. I graduated with a Bachelors in Marketing and came to search for my corporate job in Tampa. I worked selling car insurance and it was not something I loved doing. I went to a franchise expo one day and got to learn about the DonutNV brand. It was something I fell in love with instantly. The CEO’s of the DonutNV brand were amazing on telling you how the brand works and how the trailer operated. It was the only brand in that whole expo with color and very eye catching. I started my DonutNV journey in 2021, and since then have been very successful. The trailer itself is an interactive food trailer that serves hot fresh mini donuts, that you can watch from the window being freshly made to order and lots of topping options to pick from. We also serve fresh squeezed lemonade and we have 7 fruit flavors that you can choose from. What sets us apart from others is that our mini donuts are made fresh to order every single time. We have a window that you can look straight into the trailer and see the donuts as well as the lemons being squeezed for the lemonade. I am super proud of where it is now, and we have been able to interact with the community here in Tampa and Riverview. We do parties, corporate events, weddings, and so much more. We currently have a trailer located at the Tampa Premium Outlets and getting second trailer by the end of this year 2022. We are ready to bring our mini donuts to more communities and events!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Since I was 16 when i started working i have always worked for someone else. Whether it was an Ice cream shop, a smoothie shop, or even grocery stores, I always tried to succeed for them. When i started working in the corporate world after college I would always say “here goes to the next 40 years” of work. I would never have imagined that in this lifetime i will be able to run my own business at 24 years old. I was already accepting the fact that for the rest of my life until i retire. i will be sitting in an office room every day working. I decided to do whats best for me and my happiness. I wanted to work and succeed for my self and that is exactly what I did. The DonutNV franchise has helped me learn so much, and they continue to support me with everything that I need help with. I never felt alone in that pivot in my career, and i had my family to help support me. Its been such a huge success and i can finally say i work for myself.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social Media is the key to your business. Whether it is Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, everyone is on social media. It is the best way to promote your business and to show your customers and viewers what you have to offer. You can make daily posts, videos, or even talk about your brand. For someone starting out their social media presence I always say follow those trends. While following those trends it helps you stay relevant to your customers, or gain new followers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.donutnv.com/tampa
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donutnvtampafl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonutNVTampaRiverview
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/darlene-ortega-6362a5138

Image Credits
Valerie Luna Luis Villamar Darlene Ortega