“This was a personal thing for me; it was about me doing something to honour my dad.” The money from the sale of her father’s pharmacy had allowed Bennett to buy into McDonalds, and she “always wanted to do something he would have been absolutely thrilled with.”

Executive director of Ronald McDonald House N.L., Annette Godsell, credits Bennett’s “boundless energy” and “passion for the community” for motivating others and helping the project succeed.

Seeing the doors of Ronald McDonald House in St. John’s open, thanks in part to her efforts as chair of the capital campaign to raise $6 million in just 18 months, remains one of her proudest achievements.

An admitted workaholic who lends her expertise and time to community causes, as well as a committed wife and parent of two boys—there’s no way Bennett could balance it all without family support. About this, she is very clear and adamant: her family is as much a priority as anything else she does.

On the second date with the man who would eventually become her husband, Bennett laid out the facts. First, she wanted to be a McDonald’s operator. That makes sense, agreed her date.

“And then I said, ‘Well, in all likelihood that means you can’t work. If I’m working full time, someone’s got to look after the kids,” Bennett remembers.

Heavy words for a second date, but he went with it. Doug and Cathy were married, and when Cameron was born, Doug Bennett became a stay-at-home dad.

“When McDonald’s asked us to joint venture, Cameron was six months old. I’d just gone back to work,” Cathy Bennett says. “If Doug hadn’t said so confidently, ‘I got it, Cathy,’ those first years of 70 to 80 hour weeks would not have been possible.

“He saw the opportunity for our family, and it meant some sacrifice on his part… When Liam came along, there was no argument about who would do the latenight feedings. I know it’s an unusual situation, but it’s a big reason why I can do what I can.”

Doug jumps in to help with the business when needed; he’s always there for the children, at a moment’s notice. Bennett admits it was a struggle at first to “feel present” when she did have family time. Better planning has improved that.

“I’ve been a manager for 30 years, I don’t know anything else,” she says. “That certainly seeps into how I parent. I’ve always had good communication skills in business and it’s easy to bring that home. My kids have a lot to offer me, to teach me, if I listen to them.”

Weekly family meetings and quarterly time-outs together are crucial. So is including the whole family in discussions about “mommy’s work.”

In younger years, the Bennett boys got a kick out of being the sons of the McDonald’s lady. Now, Bennett says, they are equally excited about the new ventures, and are busily planning their own (Liam, for one, has a seasonal lemonade stand, selling lemonade, dog biscuits, and advice.)

Bennett, always quick with an anecdote, tells her favourite story: “Cameron said to me the other day, ‘Mom, you should write a book.’

“And I asked what kind of book I should write, thinking it would be something about business. He said, ‘You should write a book about how to be successful in life and how to juggle so many things and to be a great mom.'”

Did she cry? “I did. If I can get that kind of feedback from my kids, I know that some of the things we did, we did OK.”

Bennett is still excited by the instant gratification of the restaurant business, but her growth strategy will take her further away from the McDonald’s brand. She is focused on further diversification through two or three new partnerships a year. She believes in herself as an idea person, a strategist, and a leader—and has surrounded herself with talented executors to get things done.

A fear of failure has never caused her to pause; her confidence in and excitement about finding a workable solution drives her desire “to take things from nothing to something,” and to make the world better today than it was yesterday.

“I’m motivated by the example I’m setting for my kids, that if you work hard and work smart you can be successful. And that success means that you have to give back.”

As for her future, that’s both exciting and unknown. “Wherever I’m going to be in five or 10 years won’t be somewhere I can see now. I always knew that I was going to do something else, or build something, but often I didn’t understand what that was until I was halfway into it.

“I can tell you, whatever it will be, it’ll be about growing something, in a way that allows me to be a really good parent and a good partner with my husband. And I will probably be the boss.”