Exclusive: Regional entrepreneur Donna Benton on how business owners must lead from the front

Exclusive: Regional entrepreneur Donna Benton on how business owners must lead from the front

There are three kinds of people - those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who say, 'Oh, what happened?',“ says 46-year-old Donna Benton, founder of incredibly popular buy-one-get-one-free dealmaker The Entertainer.

It isn't difficult to guess which among those three personality types best describes Benton.

She arrived in Dubai from Australia to take up a marketing job in 2000. Driving down Sheikh Zayed Road, she realised that although there were several restaurants, none of them really incentivised customers to visit. That's when this first generation business owner decided to strike out on her own and begin The Entertainer in 2001.

She had a great idea, but needed funds.

"A friend invested Dhs120,000, and in turn received shares in the company. I managed to pay back 28 times that