Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Makaylah Rogers, co-founder of Frankie D's Donuts, located in Canmore, AB, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Our business is Frankie D's Donuts, and our Donuts are handcrafted with LOTS of LOVE in small batches. Take your first bite into a Frankie D's Donut, and you'll know this is no ordinary Donut. It's double the size of an average Donut, and it's freshly hand-made from scratch, using only real ingredients.

We make our Donuts with so much love, deep care, and joy so that every Donut is made as original, unique, and loved as the people, dogs & cats that enjoy them. We strive for every Donut Lover to fall in love with our Donuts and feel loved back from every bite.

Our Donuts also give back to the community & important causes that are close to our hearts. We are proud to donate 100% of all the tips we receive on our Donut Days to organizations we support. You can read more about it here: https://www.frankiedsdonuts.com/community.

We love our customers, and our favourite part of our business is Donut Days, where we get to meet our customers, see their smiles and bring some love into their lives. Like us, our customers all care about mental health and being inspired to live a life that they enjoy. As well as loving Donuts of course, that are high quality and made locally with real ingredients from scratch.

Tell us about yourself

Our story begins when two Mom's and their doodle (me! - Frankie D) fell in love with each other and then in love with baking treats to enjoy together. My Moms names are Fia-Lynn (Mom) & Makaylah (Mama). In 2019 Mom started enjoying baking, and the first thing she made was Donuts. They were so good that we ate them all immediately while standing around the kitchen counter. Fast forward into 2020, and Mama had a deliciously life-changing call with a new friend. At the end of that call was jumping up & down with the idea to start a Donut business here in Canmore. We were total amateur bakers, so we spent the next few months making Donuts together at home and taste testing. And then, one day, we fried a batch of fresh Donuts for our friends to taste.

"Absolutely delicious! The freshest donuts I've ever had"
"10 stars out of 5!"
"They are actually the best donuts I think I've ever had."
"Omg!!!! The dough is amazing!!"

We were so excited by this feedback! We had a little family meeting and decided to spread our Donut joy outside our home and with our community.

After a few more months of testing and we finally took a big doggie leap, announcing our first ever Donut Day. It was so much fun, and we've been loving making many Donut memories ever since! We aren't professional bakers and haven't been to any culinary schools. We are definitely not perfect, but we are having fun and learning so much as we continue our Donut journey. We are just two Mom's and a doodle, with a lot of love to give and an intention to spread joy, love, and hope to all our fellow Donut Lovers.

As a goofy labradoodle I believe that we are meant to live our life by following our joy. Life seems really hard sometimes for humans and their four-legged loved ones, and often I see them getting weighed down by the stress and pressures in life. We want to inspire our Donut Lovers to follow their joy and do what makes them happy, to follow where love takes them, and to live a life as unique and beautiful as they are. And that's why we infuse so much love, care, and joy into every single Donut that we hand make from scratch.

Now that I've done the most important job of telling you a bit about how we started, I'll tell you a few things about us. My Mom, Fia-Lynn, is a total introvert and needs a lot of time alone. She's super smart, creative, and has been in business for 17 years (which works out well for me because she stays home with me every day). She is passionate about helping people understand what makes them unique and how to honour that uniqueness in their work and personal life. Of course, she's a nature lover and a dog lover.

My Mama, Makaylah, is also an introvert, but most people wouldn't think that when meeting her. She's like me in this way, we need lots of time alone, but if you take us to the park, we are going to be wagging our tails and giving you a big hello! I might give you a little kiss, but my Mama would rather hug you. My Mama is also super smart creative and has been in business for about seven years. She is passionate about mental health and creating spaces for people to feel safe & inspired to express themselves fully and create a life that their child self would be proud of. She loves listening to podcasts during her 6 am workouts, gives the best cuddles, and says the first time she came to the mountains was the first time she felt home. The second time she felt the home was with Fia-Lynn and then when they found me.

And my name is Frankie, but my friends call me Frankie D! My Moms have way too many names for me, but one of their favourites is a doodle, which is what the D stands for, and I really like it too. I love walks, cuddles, playing with my toys, getting treats for absolutely everything I do, and spending time alone. And my favourite thing in the world is love & seeing hoomans happy. I am obsessed with love and like to give little kisses to all the people I meet, and I love when hoomans laugh, play, and feel free to be themselves fully and follow their own path and not squish themselves. It's the best thing in the world, and what I believe life is really about.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We're proud of many moments in our journey with Frankie D's Donuts, and I think what makes us feel the most proud is when people message us to share the impact we've had on their lives. Whether it's giving them something to look forward to when things get tough, bringing a smile to their face, or helping them feel less alone in this world…we care about every hooman, dog & cat that follows us and purchases our Donuts. And when we hear from our customers that they feel that care and we made a difference in their day, it warms our hearts and makes everything worth it.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

As a business owner, there are SO MANY priorities, tasks, and competing things you can be doing to move your business forward. I think the hardest thing is being able to quiet the noise and tune into your own voice and intuition, and just take one step at a time. It can be overwhelming sometimes. One thing thats helped us with the overwhelm is to make sure we are clear on our values and take care of our mental health first, the same way we encourage our customers to take care of theirs. There will always be another item you can do in life and business, but no accomplishment really matters if we are not okay mentally even to enjoy it or be present with it. When things get overwhelming, Frankie reminds us of this and takes us for a walk ;)

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Take care of yourself first.
  2. Get clear on your Core Values and create a solid foundation in your business so that all the many decisions, options, and ideas are able be filtered through something. This helps with being overwhelmed.
  3. Donut give up. It's okay to take two steps forward and five steps back in business. It's okay to succeed and to make mistakes. It doesn't matter how long it takes to build the vision or business that you have; you can get there if you don't quit on yourself. It's okay to quit things that aren't working, to change things, pivot, go in another direction. Just don't quit on yourself, and be kind to yourself on the journey. There is only one of you, and you matter.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Just thank you for the opportunity to be interviewed for your article. We look forward to meeting more Donut Lovers soon. Please check our website for our upcoming Donut Days and the time & date that pre-orders open!

Here are some reviews too:

"These donuts are literally nothing you've ever seen or had. The size of your face - melt in your mouth - the freshest, most flavourful donuts around. Frankie D's Donuts creates the most creative and unique flavours and are always in season as well. To top the deliciousness, they are involved in many community initiatives within our small little mountain town. Do yourself a 'flavour' (pun intended) and check out Frankie D's! YUM!" Allyson

"Gigantic, chewy, fluffy donuts with glaze that's just the right amount of sweet. Love the fresh and pure taste of the strawberry dream donut. Worth the drive to Canmore!" Ann

"Honestly, the best donuts I've ever had hands down…The owners are superb as well, super friendly and you can tell they care about their product. Love their story too. Signing up for donut days from now on! The doggie donuts were perfect for my little pup." Amung

"Amazing donuts! They are HUGE and so flavorful. I wait all month for donut day." Meribel

"Okay get your fork and knife out because these donuts are larger than life. And so delicious! Sweet and soft but not too sweet." Kristin
"Frankie's moms are crushing it making these tasty, incredibly large treats! And our dog loved her doggy donuts too. We love supporting this local business - they are kind, engaged with their customers and give back to our community." Candice

"Honestly best donuts I've ever had! They are not too sweet, not too dense, just perfect :)" Cam

"Would you believe me if I said that I wasn't a donut person (yes they exist) before I tried Frankie D's Donuts? You better believe it! Their Brown Butter Banana did me in in no small way!! It's been days and the taste is still lingering...Soft, chewy, sweet and delicious...I didn't even know a donut could taste this good!" Maude

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.frankiedsdonuts.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frankiedsdonuts/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankiedsdonuts/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.