We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adrienne Mays. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adrienne below.

Adrienne, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I was working at an insurance company and I never got to see my child. I was a new mom and I worked 11am-7pm everyday. Often I had to work later than my schedule, so I would get home really late. At age 4 my son was diagnosed with autism, my employer would not allow time off that was needed to take my son to his medical appointments so I had to leave. While waiting in the lobby at my son’s appointments, many parents would address their concerns about their child working in the real work when they would get older and whether or not they would even have those opportunities. That is when I came up with the idea of having a business that would cater to individuals that desire work but didn’t have opportunities else where. I wanted to create a space for my son to always have a place of employment in the future.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

We are a greek apparel business that focus on Autism Awareness in the community and organizations. I got into the retail industry by pure chance. I have always been a driven and hard worker so it gave me an edge to doing what was necessary to push my business to the next level. Fashion is a perfect way to express yourself and an inspire others. We have wonderful employees who has that super power in creativity and pays plenty of attention to detail. I am so proud of my staff. Not only have they created fabulous designs for our brand, but they have ventured out and created their own brands and lines.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My company started out as being just a side project that I hoped to become my full time job. It happened and it happened quickly. I would say it took about 2 years to fully take off. The first year was the trail and error run. Every thing that could possibly go wrong did and I’m grateful it did. The key milestone for us was when we didn’t have to push ads or post that much. Our customers would spread the word for us. Just the love our clients have for us is truly amazing and a blessing.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I can remember a time where I over heard someone say that I am destined to fail. This wasn’t a stranger and she was just in my space congratulating me. So I was very hurt for a brief moment. But remember it is always someone you know who wants to see you fail. There are so many people in this world that you do not know and probably will never meet, but they will be your biggest cheerleader. Always take the doubts of others and make it be your fuel to thrive.

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