Meet the Team Series: Taylor Walters
Get to know our DALRT, Inc. Team
Taylor Walters, DALRT, Inc.
Dunkin’ Franchisee, Director of Human Resources
Meet Taylor Walters. She is the “T” in DALRT, Inc. and she heads up human resources and operations DALRT’s nine Dunkin’ locations with over 250 employees from New Castle, Grove City, Meadville, and Edinboro to Erie, PA.
Taylor is the youngest of the three sisters who operate the family-owned franchisee network of Dunkin’s in Western PA. Taylor’s role in the family business has significantly shifted in the past 10 years as the business has grown from two Dunkin’s to nine with more locations in the works.
This is the first installment in our Q&A style blog series with each franchisee family member and director team.
What do you enjoy most about your being Director of HR for DALRT, Inc.?
Seeing team members grow! I have had the privilege of watching so many high school students/college students turn into great managers, managers turn into multi-unit leaders, and multi-unit leaders that have turned into directors! There is no greater feeling than watching your team flourish!
What was your experience growing up in the family business?
As a kid, I honestly knew no differently. My friends thought it was awesome that my parents owned and operated two Dunkin’s and of course that made it enjoyable for me. As I came into my teenage years I knew I’d have to make a decision about joining the family business and that was difficult for me. I really didn’t want to compete with my sisters and run our third store, plus I felt like there was no growth past that. This is most definitely what sparked the idea of expanding to 4+ locations and what brought us into executive positions.
What keeps you up at night?
What doesn’t keep me up at night?! Just kidding, sort of! But with three kids under four years, being responsible for 250+ employees, juggling a side hustle of a successful small business, plus devoting time to my marriage and my own self-care… there could definitely be a lot to keep me up.
Fun fact about me though, I need about 9 hours of sleep at night to function adequately! And this is why I became a pediatric AND adult sleep consultant! This girl NEEDS her sleep. I would not be able to cope with the stress of my chaotic life if I slept poorly!
How did you stay positive during the pandemic and the staffing shortages?
We have an incredible team of strong leaders that have become family. They are what truly keep Dunkin’ “running”.
Three locations to nine has been quite a growth journey. How have you had to adjust?
Taylor Walters (pictured back row, right) at their Grove City, PA Dunkin’ on opening day. Photo credit: Felicia A. Petro | Allied News
It has definitely been a challenge with shifting positions as well as mindset over the last few years. From being the one who runs things on a singular store level to overseeing a team of people who are more hands-on in the location than yourself is a huge adjustment.
What advice do you have for your younger self?
College isn’t always necessary. I remember worrying as my senior year was approaching, thinking that I’d have to decide what I was going to do with the rest of my life and if I needed a degree to do it. That is a ridiculous amount of pressure for a 17 year old to have to decide, not to mention the cost associated with that. Looking back, all of the stress and worrying was completely unnecessary. There are many senior level professionals that work in our organization that DO NOT have a degree. They have life experience and sometimes that is equally as valuable.
Do you have any advice for young people just getting started in HR or the food industry?
There will be seasons. You will have months where things are great, low stress and extremely productive. And you will have months where s*** literally hits the fan, you are extremely stressed out and cannot juggle all you’ve been given. It’s okay. Take it one day at a time. What you will soon realize is that those challenging seasons will teach you more about yourself than you can possibly imagine and at the end of it all you will be better because of it.
You’re also a pediatric sleep consultant. Tell us about your business!
Taylor Walters, pediatric sleep consultant.
I am the owner and founder of a motherhood consulting company called MOMents Beyond the Bump. We provide evidence-based, judgment free customized support for moms/parents while navigating the early delicate days and later milestones.
I started my business as a certified pediatric sleep consultant and during my time working with hundreds of family’s one thing became clear… moms were not receiving the support they deserved. With common struggles including breastfeeding, postpartum recovery, and overall childhood development, these women were finding it challenging to find help. So I pulled together a team of experienced professionals and quite literally became a one-stop-shop for this community of mamas! I absolutely LOVE what I do and how I change these parents' lives!
Let’s hear about your favorite Dunkin’ memory from over the years.
We have made a lot of great memories over the years. Many of them happening during the chaos of a store opening! My favorite was probably the opening of our Grove City location. You’d think this town had never seen a donut before with how quickly we were selling out of them! Our entire family plus every leader we had at the time was involved in operations during that first week. It was insane but so much fun.
On the other hand, 3 years later I really enjoyed watching our Edinboro location open and our help was no longer needed. Our management team has grown so much over the last few years and seeing that hard work pay off was definitely a highlight for me.
