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Adrian
Guglielmo is no stranger to adversity.
Her
New York-based business is a full-service promotional,
premium and product distributor to Fortune 500 companies.
The company sells an array of items conceived, designed,
assembled and or fulfilled by individuals with disabilities.
Adrian
manages her own disability, living with Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (known as ADHD),
while helping others on her staff overcome their
own hurdles in life.
But
even Adrian couldn't have been prepared for the
events of 9/11. She lost loved ones in the World
Trade Center tragedy and her business was devastated.
After weeks of being shell-shocked by the experience,
she began picking up the pieces and rebuilding her
company.
With
sales revenues of $500,000 in 2002, Adrian has worked
diligently to turn her company into a multi-million
dollar enterprise. She expects to post revenues
by year-end of $11 million. Currently involved in
a major consulting project for Avis Rent a Car System,
Inc., Adrian has also received support from United
Parcel Service, and a number of other major companies.
Diversity
Partners extends its impact within the special needs
community with its "give something back program."
The company donates a portion of its profits from
every sale to the non-profit organization of each
client's choice. The firm also has a summer internship
program and employs from within the disabled community,
many of them young women.
A
strong advocate of putting your children first,
Adrian launched her business by asking for (and
receiving) a meeting with the purchasing director
at American Express. Unable to secure reliable childcare
that day, a sympathetic executive from the company
held Adrian's two-year-old son throughout most of
the meeting. Soon after, she received her first
contract from American Express that helped launch
her business.
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