Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Oliveira.
Michael, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The story goes a little something like this…. my mother who had been battling cancer for several years had finally lost her battle to cancer in September of 2016. She had always dreamed of opening a family owned bakery. We spoke about it quite often. In October of that same year my youngest son had been born on Halloween Day, my mother’s favorite holiday. I was blessed enough to be able to be home when he was born and during this time I wanted to do something to pay homage to my mother. I remember as a kid just loved going to the donut shops with my mother and really enjoying good baked goods. We both had a love for food. So, I started making donuts… I wanted them to be something tied to New England and started researching making Potato donuts. I started to make two at a time in my kitchen at the house. I then sold our first 1/2 dozen to a local farm stand across from where we live. I then made another batch and another. I then started selling via Facebook and delivering donuts to their homes. Then I brought them into the farmers market scene and started selling 20 dozen at the market in the first 7 minutes. That’s when I knew this was more than just a hobby! We now have our own shop. The shop ironically opened on my mother’s birthday. We signed the lease on Mother’s Day weekend and got the keys to the business on my Birthday, so I truly believe my mother has been with us on this crazy journey.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There has been a large learning curve for my wife and me. We both have no background in food services. Better yet, I had never made a donut in my life. So, we had to learn how to cook at scale. Meet demand at scale. Ordering product, hiring people and so on. We are still learning every single day with this business.
Donut Love LLC – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We specialize in making handcrafted, homemade donuts. The donuts are made with real mashed potatoes. Since we are a specialty donut shop we get to have a lot of fun while making donuts. We have made peanut butter and jelly donuts, the Elvis Donut, which is a peanut butter frosted donut with bacon and sliced bananas and drizzled in chocolate.
I am very proud of how far we have come in such a short period of time and how both my wife and I both left our respective careers to chase our passions in life. I still can’t believe in a years’ time I had left my job of being a police officer of 15 years and then started making donuts out of our kitchen to having a full-scale store front.
What sets us apart from others is we pride ourselves on trying to provide the best ingredients and just having fun at the shop and providing a loving image to our community. My wife and I try and find the best in everything and focus on the positive.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me has many ways of being shown. I would say there are personal success every day you look for, and then there are ones for the business. I measure mine as such as… was I the best version of me today? I believe self-reflection makes you that much better in the world. I feel very blessed to have a community that believes in me and my family with this business. We have had a lot of success because of this sole reason.
Contact Info:
- Address: 112 Lafayette Road North Hampton NH 03862
- Website: www.donutlove603.com
- Email: donutlove603@gmail.com
- Instagram: donut_love_603
- Facebook: Donut Love 603
Image Credit:
The picture of my hands was done by Maxine Cadman
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