Meet the founder
Débora Mendonça
Built from the ground up — not from a textbook.
Débora Mendonça built her career from the ground up — literally. She started as a restaurant busser in New York City and worked her way to Chief Operating Officer before founding DM Business Solutions, where she now brings nearly two decades of hands-on leadership and operations experience to hospitality businesses, teams, and professionals.
Her approach isn't built on business theory. It's built on having done the work herself, at every level.
Harvard Business School
CORe Program Graduate
The journey
Two decades in the making
A Leader From the Start
A Brazilian native, Débora was never one to blend into the background. At just 12 years old, she was elected Junior Mayor of her city — an early sign of the leadership path that would shape the rest of her life. At 16, she made her first major solo move, relocating to one of Brazil's busiest cities to begin building a career on her own. The years that followed brought plenty of challenges, but they also built the trait that would come to define her: resilience. Every setback became a chance to reassess, adapt, and keep moving.
Building a Career in New York City Hospitality
At 21, Débora made an even bigger move — packing a bag and relocating to New York City on her own. She entered the hospitality industry from the ground up, taking entry-level positions while learning English and adapting to life in a new country at the same time. Her ability to connect with people, communicate clearly, and lead naturally didn't go unnoticed. She moved from bussing tables and serving guests all the way up to General Manager of a celebrity chef's fine-dining restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side — climbing the ladder while continuing to invest in her own development along the way.
A Pivot Point: Harvard and Central Florida
When COVID changed the hospitality industry overnight, Débora saw an opportunity to evolve rather than retreat. She went back to school, completing Harvard Business School's CORe program in Business Analytics, Economics for Managers, and Financial Accounting — sharpening the technical side of the business instincts she'd already built on the floor. The pandemic also became the catalyst for her next chapter: leaving New York City for Central Florida. After getting involved in restaurant projects on Park Avenue in Winter Park, she joined The Glass Knife as Director of Operations. Over the following five years, she rose to Chief Operating Officer, playing an integral role in the growth and operational expansion of one of Central Florida's most recognized bakeries and cafés — including the opening of its second Park Avenue location.
Recognition and Community Leadership
Débora's leadership soon extended well beyond the businesses she ran day to day. In Central Florida, she's been recognized as Chair Person of the Year and received an Outstanding Citizen Award from the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. Within the Brazilian community, she's been honored with Notable Brazilians and Woman of Leadership & Courage distinctions from Mídia América. Her commitment to community service includes serving on the Wine Quest Board for Quest, Inc. and being nominated as a Leader of Impact by the American Heart Association — a campaign through which she raised more than $10,000 and helped bring heart-health awareness to an audience of over 100,000 people.
On stage
Public Speaking
Public speaking has become a natural extension of Débora's leadership. She has spoken at the sold-out Professional Women's Forum at the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce and led a Personal Branding Workshop for the Chamber's Youth Leaders program — using her own path to help the next generation understand what leadership, communication, and resilience actually require.
What she does today
Founding DM Business Solutions
Today, Débora serves as President of the Leadership Winter Park Executive Council and is the Founder & CEO of DM Business Solutions, where she helps hospitality and service-based businesses grow by fixing what's actually holding them back.
Reducing redundancy in operations
Identifying where time, labor, and resources are being duplicated or wasted, and cutting it out.
Optimizing processes
Rebuilding day-to-day workflows so teams move faster with less friction.
Building from the ground up
Standing up new departments, locations, or entire operating structures where none existed before.
Turning data into an actionable plan
Analyzing what's actually happening in the business and translating it into specific next steps, not just a report.
Integrating culture to drive retention
Building the kind of team culture that keeps good people from walking out the door.
Her expertise spans the full picture of what it takes to run a strong business — organizational structure, growth strategy, business development — but her approach is grounded in something most consultants can't offer: she's actually built a business from the ground up herself, one shift, one promotion, one hard decision at a time.
“Débora believes strong businesses are built by strong people. When people are given the right structure, accountability, tools, and opportunity to grow, extraordinary things happen — and that's exactly what she helps her clients build.”
— Débora Mendonça
Ready to build something stronger?
Whether you need to streamline operations, turn your data into a real plan, or build a culture that keeps your best people around, Débora brings real operational experience — not just theory — to the table.
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