In this podcast episode of The Big Dawgs podcast, Manning Sumner welcomes Amanda Pizarro-Rodriguez who, together with her husband, is the co-founder of The Salty Donut. She was awarded Forbes 30 under 30 in the Food & Drink category in 2018 for the creativity and entrepreneurship behind The Salty Donut brand. Now just turning 30 this year, she and her husband now have 8 locations of The Salty Donut throughout Florida, Texas, and North Carolina with other shops announced for Tampa and Atlanta.

In this podcast episode, Manning and Amanda talk about the triumphs, trials, and tribulations of starting and owning a business, taking what works and doesn't work from other businesses and implementing them into their own, and leaning into what makes their businesses stand out (competitive advantage). Being obsessed with their vision, they speak about continual learning, nurturing their team, and listening to constructive criticism to be a better business for their customers. They also discuss the creative design process of opening new spaces, expanding locations, and how each requires its unique touch based on the city it’s in. With inevitable aspects of the business-owning journey not working out and going wrong, they reflect on learning to pivot, advising entrepreneurs to stick with it, trust the process, and keep going regardless of setbacks- making the blood, sweat, and tears that go into business owning, worth it.