We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melissa Rudd. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melissa below.

Alright, Melissa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?

We opened our first DaVinci’s Donuts in Alpharetta in 2014. We really had no idea what we were getting into and needed help. We are a family owned and operated business. I have 2 sons who have worked in the business from the time they were 14 and 10. We have had our brother and sister in law help with marketing and branding. Even our parents have worked in the shop and any family that comes to visit will help. Family is everything to me and, being Italian, food and family nourishes the soul. I would like DaVinci’s Donuts to be a place where you and your family can come and take a break from our hectic lives and just connect for a few moments. My favorite stories come from customers and they tell me that they bring their out of town family in every time they are in town. It becomes a tradition. To me, it’s not just a donut, it’s connection.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

It’s all about the donuts. These are so much more than words—they are a way of life. Being a self-taught cook, I have fond memories of making donuts with my mom and have carried on that tradition with my own boys. Combining my creative side with my Italian heritage and absolute LOVE of donuts, my husband and I have created Da Vinci’s Donuts. Da Vinci’s is a unique and creative take on donuts and the typical donut cafe. You can choose from our inspired flavors, like tiramisu, maple bacon, or salted caramel or use your creativity to customize your own masterpiece! With our modest size donut yet abundant toppings, you can enjoy your treat with higher satisfaction and less guilt than traditional donuts. Pairing it with a locally roasted cup of coffee, or a gourmet cup of tea completes your experience.
We strive to provide a unique, artistic environment that gets you in touch with your creative side. Our donuts are perfect to enjoy anytime with family, friends or with co-workers. We can also accommodate large orders for your office and our unique treats will make your next special occasion extra special.

Any advice for managing a team?

Managing a team has been a great learning experience for me. We started with one employee at one location and have grown to 3 locations and over 15 employees. I had to go from doing everything myself, to delegating which was not my strong suit. I needed help. First of all, I needed to gain the trust of my employees. It really is true, take care of your employees and they will take care of your customers. I learned to show them what to do instead of just telling them. I have a strong philosophy of never asking them to do a job I have not or would not do myself. Yes, I clean bathrooms and mop floors and take out trash. Such is the glamorous life of a small business owner. Then I empower them to make decisions on their own. They may not always make the same decision I would, but it allows for a calm learning experience and gives them confidence. In this economy and with so many job openings, an employee has to want to work for you. With our industry, they don’t stay forever, but my hope is that they like to work for us and learn a little something to get them ahead for something bigger down the road.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

With our product, we decided to focus on one thing and do it well. We do donuts and coffee. That’s it. And only cake donuts. That’s it. No glazed, no vegan, no bagels, no muffins. We are laser focused. You cannot be all things to all people. You have to solve one problem for one segment of the population that no one else is doing. Our delicious smaller sized and lighter cake donut is what did it for us and we were first to market in the Atlanta area. We also get involved in our local community as much as possible. We rely on word of mouth marketing and donating to the local charities to get our donuts in as many hands as possible because once you try our donuts, you’ll know why were are different. I am truly grateful for every person who decides to take time out of their busy schedule to stop by our shops and for every employee who chooses to spend their time with us and help us grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.davincisdonuts.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davincisdonuts/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davincisdonuts/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/davinci’s-donuts
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=davincisdonuts.
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/da-vincis-donuts-sandy-springs