Dawn Hummel

I have to say my children. My children are my world, you know, they keep me going, and I have a boy and two girls. I want them to see that you can achieve what you can achieve in life, and I want to be that example to my children, especially to my daughters. I want them to see how hard their mother has worked, not only to provide for them, but then to also set the path for other women. And then I want my son to see, you know, as an example, what kind of woman he should support. I always tell my girls, and they'll tell you from the time they were talking, you should want a partner in your life because you want somebody, not because you need somebody. And that goes financially as well. I think the more independent women can feel financially, the more uplifting it is, the more successful that they tend to be, because there's that independence there. I want them to be proud of their mom. I want them to look at their mom and see everything that I went through as a single mother.

You can learn from bad bosses just as much as you can learn from good ones. I think I've learned more from bad bosses of what not to do, and the type of boss I would never want to be. But I think I've had a lot of really great mentors over the years who have taken me under their wing and kind of helped shape and develop me as well. I've learned that you can take lessons from every experience, whether positive or negative, and use those to become a better leader.

I would say don't ever take no as an answer. I think when I first started out, I got turned down for a lot of positions, even within my companies that I had worked for. And I think it's easy for people to get deflated when that first no comes back, whether it's you're not qualified, or you still need to develop, or you still need some time. Don't give up. Don't accept it - turn that no into a yes. Show people who you really are and that you can do it. I think people get defeated very quickly sometimes in the corporate world and business in general. I tell my girls, okay, they told you no. Well, next time, have them tell you yes, show them that you're ready to take this on. I think you have to empower yourself a lot of times to go out there and make things happen for you. I'm just a big believer on pushing forward, even though you may get that job rejection, or somebody says that you're not qualified enough. I turn it around as a challenge and say, okay, well, then I'm gonna learn a new skill, or read a new book to help me navigate to that next level, or pair with a mentorship program to help me get there. Don't get discouraged. I think I've had more no's in my life than yeses, but those no's turned me into who I am today.

The restaurant and hospitality industry faces daily changes in menus, teams, and clientele, along with challenges around perceptions of long hours and limited work-life balance. A key opportunity lies in mentoring young professionals and demonstrating that a career in hospitality can be rewarding and sustainable with the right employer.

The values most important to me are family, independence, mentoring others, grit, teamwork, and supporting other women.