"You need to partner with people who have skills that you do not" with Leslie Polizzotto
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Leslie Polizzotto is the co-founder and owner of The Doughnut Project, a hand-crafted doughnut shop in New York City that takes inspiration from food and cocktails for their doughnut flavors. She is a former litigation attorney who took the leap from practicing law to become a small business owner. She manages the daily operations and also the business side for The Doughnut Project. www.thedoughnutproject.com
What inspired you to start your business?
I was actually reluctant to start my own business. I had always worked in a structured office environment and understood what was expected of me and what I needed to accomplish each day. When my former business partner told me that he wanted to open a doughnut shop, I pulled out my phone and showed him all of the doughnut pictures I would take when doughnuts would be brought into the law firm where I worked and how happy doughnuts made me feel. A business opportunity had presented itself and it was my husband who saw that I was not very happy working as a litigation attorney and suggested that I get involved and make the doughnut shop a reality. He thought I would be good at running my own business. I was fortunate to have my husband’s support and encouragement, or I would likely still be an attorney.
Where is your business based?
The Doughnut Project is located in the West Village of Manhattan, New York. We also have a licensee location in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
The first step we took were to write a business plan in order to approach investors. That process took a long time because we were having to research and figure out what the retail space and build-out expenses would be, the cost of goods expenses and estimate sales numbers. The plan was very extensive. Once we had the business plan complete, we started to raise friends and family capital. We also put in our own money, but definitely needed to raise a lot more to open the shop. In addition to courting investors and looking for a retail space, I had to figure out what the city of New York required to open a food service establishment, and what permits and licenses we would need. There was definitely a long checklist leading up to opening the shop. The time from starting the business plan to opening the shop in October 2015 was almost 2 years.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
Social media is extremely important to our business. We would not likely still be in business if it wasn’t for Instagram. Four months after we opened, we had an influencer visit our shop to taste a new doughnut we were releasing called “The Everything Doughnut.” The influencer posted a picture of it on his Instagram feed FoodbabyNY. Later that day a reporter from Gothamist called our shop and my business partner and I did a 15-minute interview on the phone discussing “The Everything Doughnut.” The reporter had seen the post from FoodbabyNY and wanted to get the details on the new doughnut flavor. Within an hour she had written a story and posted it on their website Gothamist.com. https://gothamist.com/food/goodbye-everything-bagel-hello-everything-doughnut
We were so excited and couldn’t believe that we were actually getting our name out in the press. The next day we were at the shop contemplating whether “The Everything Doughnut” was too “out there” for people to want and the phone started ringing off the hook. It was ABC News, NBC News, the Wall Street Journal…everyone wanted to know the details about “The Everything Doughnut.” For the next month, that doughnut appeared on every day-time television show and had hundreds of articles from all over the world written about the doughnut. (just Google The Everything Doughnut!!!) It literally changed our life overnight. Since then, we have been fortunate enough to have received a lot of press and to be featured on many other television shows and videos which brought us additional national and international followers.
We communicate daily to our customers through Instagram, including what new seasonal flavors are being released, information about our collaborations and what the Weekend Special will be. I generate the content and personally handle social media for our brand. We currently have 136k organic followers. I have never purchased followers.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
Operating a food business in NYC is extremely challenging and that is why around 80% of them fail. First, the rents are so expensive in NYC. Second, the food business is extremely labor intensive. Minimum wage is $15 per hour and we pay well above that. Those two expenses make it very difficult to make a profit. Third, I personally was always used to being in control of my own success and found it hard to depend on other people to keep the shop running smoothly. Early on we struggled to get dependable people who were committed to helping us grow our brand and were let down A LOT!
The COVID-19 Pandemic actually changed our business model. Pre-COVID, my former business partner and I had stepped away from daily operations to focus on growing the brand. We had two locations open 7 days a week and 25 employees. I was miserable! It was so stressful trying to keep two locations running smoothly. In late March, when NYC was shut down due to the pandemic, we had to lay off all but 1 employee. We closed our second location. My former business partner and I, along with our head pastry chef Maddie Chunka, kept the original location up and running 5 days a week with limited hours. We became extremely busy, specifically on the weekends. People were looking for some form of normalcy during this challenging time and would drive from all over (Connecticut, New Jersey, Long Island) to get our doughnuts. We kept creating new and exciting weekend specials and posting on Instagram which would bring customers back each weekend to get the latest doughnut. We realized many efficiencies with such a small team and made many improvements to how we operate. I realized that I was so much happier back in the daily operations of the business.
My business partner recently left the business to move back to Seattle to be with his family. I now manage every aspect of the business. I have 3 powerhouse female pastry chef employees who hustle as much as I do and care about our brand. I now work the front of house again. We have a line wrapped around the corner on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and the four of us crush it! The pandemic has been devastating to so many businesses, but it actually helped me get my business back to what I loved about it in the first place.
How do you stay focused?
I calendar everything so each day I know what I need to accomplish at a minimum. Because I work the front of house, I have to designate times to respond to emails, etc. Since we are open 5 days a week, I have 2 days off to recharge and do the business side of things (pay bills, run payroll, etc.).
How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
We differentiate our brand from others by offering unique flavors and doing collaborations. We take inspiration from food and cocktails for our flavors and that is what set us apart from the beginning. We also get approached my many national and local brands to do collaborations. We work with many alcohol brands and corporate brands to create custom doughnuts for product launches and events. We also work with food brands, restaurants and media clients to promote their brand or a show premiere by creating custom one-of-a-kind doughnuts.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
Collaborations!!! Many of the brands who approach us are represented by PR firms that have many connections to bring awareness to the collaboration. These PR firms will often get other clients of theirs to work with us too because the collaborations are such a success in terms of traction on social media. I can proudly say we have never paid one penny for marketing, advertising or PR.
We also do a unique doughnut each weekend called “The Weekend Special.” It is only sold Friday through Sunday and then it goes away. This doughnut can be one of our collaboration doughnuts or a flavor that we create if we do not have a collaboration lined up. This has proven to be a successful marketing strategy because our customers want to return every week to get the limited-edition doughnut.
What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
I have three tips that have been crucial to my success as an entrepreneur. First, if someone wants to become an entrepreneur you have to love the concept, idea, product, etc. that your business is about. Starting a business is an everyday endeavor which becomes a part of your life. You do not turn off business thoughts and contemplation just because you are at home making dinner, out with friends, or on a vacation. So, you REALLY need to like what your business is about.
Second, you need to partner with people who have skills that you do not. That makes for a more well-rounded team who can all bring something to the table. My former business partner and I got along very well but more importantly brought different knowledge and experience to the table. Even though I am managing my business by myself now, I could have NEVER done it alone in the beginning. Even a small business (like a doughnut shop), there is simply just too much to learn and do every day for one person to handle.
Third, you need to have the support of your spouse, partner, family or significant other because without their positivity and encouragement, it will only add stress and pressure to a situation already overwhelming. My husband is a sounding board and hears not only about our successes, but also my complaints, fears and worries. He offers his advice as a business owner himself. It is good to have that source of “therapy” to release negative feelings so you can move on to more positive solutions.
What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?
I love my Citi Bike App! You can get all over NYC and there is no need for the subway. This is another positive change for me due to the COVID pandemic. I also love Skimm’d from the Couch podcast and blog. They discuss relevant topics and interview inspirational women.
What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?
My iPhone is my most important business tool! Not only is it my real-time communication tool (texting), but also how I run social media, calendar, and monitor sales throughout the day. I can do anything and everything from my phone which is always by my side!
Who is your business role model? Why?
I am inspired by Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes. In addition to her creativity, she seems to have a lot of business savvy. I am impressed with her new pizza venture. I would love to do television in addition to running my shop, so I admire her ability to transition into television while maintaining her businesses.
How do you balance work and life?
My business is fully integrated into my personal life. I am happy to work on my business no matter what day it is. I do this by choice because I love what I do, and I am motivated to make the business a success. I technically have the 2 days off when our shop is closed, but I also find time to manage social media, answer emails and process business payments after working out. I also ride a Citi Bike to and from my shop each day (around 6 miles total) which gives me additional exercise and time to think of ideas and solutions. I firmly believe my fitness is key to my success and helps me stay sane.
What’s your favorite way to decompress?
My work is physically demanding, and I work out intensely (HIIT, Cardio, Barre). When I want to decompress, I watch TV. I know I should be reading or listening to podcasts, but I love to watch content on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc. It is pure entertainment and I do not think about anything else while watching TV.
What do you have planned for the next six months?
Over the next 6 months I plan to increase doughnut production and the hours at my shop. When tourism is allowed to return and as the city opens up more and more, there are more opportunities to sell doughnuts. I will continue to secure collaboration partners. I also have a large-scale holiday doughnut project with a major alcohol brand that I will be working on for late execution in December.
How can our readers connect with you?
Website: thedoughnutproject.com
Instagram: @thedoughnutproject
Instagram: @lesliepolizzotto
Twitter: @TDP_NYC
YouTube: The Doughnut Project
Facebook: @thedoughnutproject