No Room For Solitude In Solidarity Partner's Schedule

There’s a version of you who has already done it.

Show up as ‘that girl’ until you become her.

Approach each day through the lens of your highest and best self.

These are some of the mantras I’ve repeated to myself almost daily since the start of the year. I came in hot with a successful 75 Hard from January 2 to my birthday, March 17, and since then I’ve been working to remain consistent and disciplined to my health and fitness goals… and it’s working. Physically, and mentally, I feel better than I have in a very long time.

It turns out mindset- and manifestation- are the true difference makers when it comes to changing your life. For the first time, I created a real vision board for the year- not just on Pinterest- and I’m watching my dream life come to reality. All because I quite literally woke up one day and decided to make a major change. I was tired of feeling anxious and restless and stuck. Maybe you’ve been there, too.

Still, sometimes after all the planning and preparation for a big shift, the panic can set in.

What if it doesn’t work out? What if I fail? Who do I think I am to even try this?

Those are the types of questions Adrianna Sekula asked herself the day she launched her business, Solidarity Partners.

“I was so confident, I knew I could do it,” Sekula said. “And the minute I hit ‘click’ on launching anything, it was panic. There were people reposting, people saying nice things to me, people being kind, and I just could not read them… I remember thinking, why did I do this?”

Anyone who has met Adrianna is likely surprised to read what I just wrote. While the rest of us are just showing up as that girl until we become her, Adrianna has been that girl. By the time I met her last year, I felt like the last person in Orlando to do so; she has the cell phone numbers of everyone who’s anyone from local government to legislators in Tallahassee, and a circle of friends that could have been ripped from the pages of a magazine if Vogue met 40 Under 40 met Forbes. When you enter her world, she’s an instant cheerleader, backed up by a deep squad that has hands on every circle within Central Florida. So where did the self-doubt come from?

“It’s something I’ve worked very hard on the past year, that is much easier now… but you do care about what other people say. You do care about what other people are thinking,” Sekula said. “But in reality, people are probably not even saying it. We think people are talking about us all the time… and it’s such a horrible way to talk to yourself. There’s no grace in it. It’s shocking that you can talk to yourself fthat way, in a way you would never talk to a friend.”

Solidarity Partners is the culmination of years of relationship-building and advocacy work, which has become synonymous with Sekula. Named for the Solidarity movement in communist Poland, which Sekula was born into and fled with her sister and parents, the boutique government relations firm aims to be a partner in public policy, business strategy, and market integration.

“Making connections between businesses, and advocating for businesses to governments or to elected officials,” Sekula explained. “I was born in Warsaw, and my family immigrated here when I was four years old. And so my Polish heritage is very important to me. And the word of solidarity in general is bringing people together and being in union with them and being connected to them and being their partner.”

Learning she is a first-generation American was an aha moment for me, as the work ethic and positivity all started to really click. Before I even befriended Adrianna, I knew about her epic 4th of July parties and her patriotic spirit, as well as her adoration for shaping public policy and chasing the American Dream.

“I think a lot of immigrants will say it really defines who you are as a person, and defines how you view things, and defines your view of America in many ways,” Sekula said. “Especially in this hyper-partisan atmosphere that we’re in now, I think it really says who you are and how you work and what you are grateful for.”

Adrianna was old enough to remember moving to America, after first leaving Poland to Greece and applying for entrance. A Lutheran church in Titusville sponsored her family, paying for the move, housing, and English classes for her parents.

“We moved here with nothing, no language even,” Sekula said. “It was a community, a church, that brought us to Florida… and my parents bootstrapped it from there.”

Many children of immigrants I’ve spoken to share a similar sentiment of feeling pressure to

perform in school, life, and business, but Sekula says she never felt that; rather, an innate knowing that she was witnessing opportunity firsthand.

“They moved here for a dream. They moved here for the American dream. And things are cliché or stereotypical for a reason, but it’s true: they couldn’t achieve what they achieved here- in Poland- at that time. Maybe now it’s different, but at the time, in the 80s, during communism, they couldn’t do that. So they were seeking a better life. They left their families, their parents, their siblings, and all their cousins, with nobody… just so my sister and I could have a better life here,” Sekula said. “I take it as less pressure and more gratitude. My parents are both so grateful, and I’m grateful for the smaller things.”

Sekula remembers approaching her 18th birthday and encouraging her dad to apply for citizenship, so that she could vote.

“I really cared about the system,” Sekula said. “I didn’t even realize I wanted to do politics at the time, but I rally remember caring about wanting to vote, and knowing I wasn’t able to.”

Witnessing her dad ace the test to become an American, and later in life, her mom doing the same, are core memories for Adrianna that has driven her decision-making in the years since. Shortly after her 18th birthday, Adrianna entered the workforce, opting only to take a few college courses and instead focus on making money.

“We grew up in a household that was struggling financially a little bit,” Sekula said, noting that her parents separated shortly after moving to the States. “Me and my sister lived with our mom, and it was tough. It wasn’t easy. It was really tough financially. She did not have a college education, a degree, she was working two or three jobs… She is the most incredible mom in terms of the way that she raised us and cared about us. It wasn't a lack of that. It was a lack of being available, and a difficulty growing up, so I knew that I wanted to make money. That's what it was for me.”

Anyone who claims that money can’t buy you happiness is missing the point. Money doesn’t buy happiness, but life is certainly easier when you know you have enough in your bank account to cover your basic needs and lifestyle. It frees you up to pursue the things that really do make you happy.

“I wanted to be out of my situation, and to me, that meant money,” Sekula said. “I think money allows freedom and allows your life to be easier in many ways.”

With the goal of a paycheck in mind, Adrianna started working for a logistics company in Seminole County, working sales and making what she thought was big money at age 18. While many of her peers were full time students with part time jobs, she was the opposite.

“When I reflect back now, no one can make these decisions for you, right? People may be pushed into something because their parents tell them to, or into something completely separate because a friend wants them to, but really, if you want to change any trajectory of your life- your career, what you’re doing with your day- it’s completely, 100% up to you. It sounds like such a common sense thing to say, but it’s true,” Sekula said. “And it wasn’t until I was put in a situation at that place of employment that I realized I needed something more than this.”

Unlike many of the people I’ve interviewed for this blog, Adrianna’s decision about making a major life change came to her in a radical flash.

“There was a woman who worked there, that was probably around my age now, and she was about to take maternity leave with her third baby… and she taught me how to do her job in one day,” Sekula said. “And I just vividly remember thinking, oh my gosh, I don’t want to be here when I’m 39, teaching a 19-year-old how to do my job in one day. I probably put in my two weeks’ notice a week later.”

Sometimes when you change your mind, you have to change your scenery in all sense of the word. Adrianna set out to change her identity, and in doing so, she removed herself from the job, who she was spending time with, what she was doing on the weekends, and start fresh.

“I knew that where my life trajectory was going, wasn’t positive… it wasn’t negative, but it wasn’t anything. It was just going to be a life that I was living day in and day out, clock in and clock out, nothing to it. And I knew there was more,” Sekula said. “I had to remove myself from the entire situation.”

“I’m telling you, I did a 180. It was all mental. It was all just me saying, I’m changing my life completely today. I said, I’m a different person now. And guess what? You can do that. You can say, I’m a different person now. There will be people who say something about you when you do that… but you can. I can be something completely different if I choose to do so, and so can everybody else. I just decided that I was a completely different person.”

(Show up as that girl until you become her.)

Adrianna eventually transferred her credits from Tallahassee Community College to Florida State, and got her first taste of politics on the Model United Nations Club and student government. In what little free time she had as a full time student, she worked as a bartender, and one of her regulars was a top lobbyist in the state capitol nearby.

“We had built a relationship, and she said, you'd be so good at this job. You'd be so good at going and representing and getting to know people and building relationships and advocating for whoever you choose to advocate to the legislature,” Sekula said.

The connection opened a door to an internship at a lobbying firm for the last ten days of the legislative session, and Adrianna was hooked.

“I remember thinking, this is it. This is exactly what I want to do,” Sekula said.

The term lobbyist can carry a negative connotation- Adrianna prefers the word advocate.

Her first job was with the PACE Center for Girls, lobbying for budget allocations on behalf of teenage girls who were either on the way to being or had already been in the juvenile justice system.

“You’re advocating,” Sekula said of the semantics behind lobbying. “I was an advocate, especially when it comes to children, and working for a nonprofit, you're advocating. And yes, you do need to build relationships with elected officials and politicians and get them to trust you and understand what the organization does... But it is for good. It is for good.”

Navigating the capitol can be daunting. It’s taken me almost 14 years as a reporter in Florida to really grasp the process and all the stops along the way for a piece of legislation- I certainly wouldn’t have been able to figure it out right out of college. But Adrianna did… and she wanted lawmakers to know her, too.

“Being that young, advocating to these legislators, at first you are terrified. These people- all of them- are my grandfather or my parents’ age. So it’s tough to become known, and especially with a nonprofit because nonprofits don’t give money to politicians- they don’t have cash to throw at elected officials,” Sekula said. “You really just have to build a relationship on them liking your product, which is your nonprofit. And being very young, it’s hard to be taken seriously sometimes.”

“So, I sat in the front row of every committee. I know it sounds so odd, but every committee meeting in Tallahassee, I sat up front. Everyone else was sitting in the back rows. Everyone else is texting on their phone the whole time… because they've been there, they've been there for decades. They know the system. But I didn’t know. So I thought, you had to see me. You couldn’t mis sme. So when they saw me, they knew I was the PACE girl. They didn’t know my name, but I was known as the PACE girl in Tallahassee, because I was up front and always in their faces.”

Taking a front row seat is a habit that’s stuck with Sekula. If you see her around town at any event (which you will- she’s at all of them!) she’s likely up front, cheering on the speakers or appearing as one herself. She used the same tactics she learned in Tallahassee to create meaningful connections with local leaders in her second role out of school, with what was then known as the Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando. Instead of getting the attention of state lawmakers, she had to learn the ins and outs of local government.

“I made it a point to really build a relationship with [the commissioners]… let me find out who you are,” Sekula said. “I made it a point to get myself out there. I didn't stay in the office… this job is all about relationships. I ate out for breakfast and lunch almost every day.”

Though for a long time she thought she made up the rule, Sekula eventually read the book Never Eat Alone, and learned the schedule she kept then and still maintains to this day is common among business leaders.

“Those are your free times of day, that people usually do alone. They either take a lunch break or maybe eat at their desk, but it’s a really big chunk of free time where you could be breaking bread and sharing a meal with someone and really getting to know them,” Sekula said. “So I'm always out. I’m eating anyway. So what’s better than breaking bread with someone and sharing about life, not just work?”

Those ‘free’ times in Sekula’s schedule are in high demand, with her booking breakfast and lunch weeks in advance. Even to schedule our interview for this blog took an act of Congress- but being busy is part of launching a business.

The position with the home builders earned Adrianna relationships with every elected official in the tri-county are- and plenty of other important people, too. So when a position opened at the biggest game in town, it was easy for Adrianna to get a meeting with one of the few people she hadn’t already met.

“The opportunity came up at Walt Disney World for a government relations position, which was a local piece of their team in Orange and Osceola Counties,” Sekula said, noting that two different mentors notified her of the position coming open. “I remember thinking, to be able to work at one of the best companies in the world, right here in our backyard, would be phenomenal. Immediately, just based on the relationships that I had with local elected officials, this was a local government relations job, I felt very strongly that I was the fit for the position. So I went for that, full force.”

Those initial mentors became sponsors for Adrianna, serving as a conduit to connect her to the hiring manager within WDW and, you guessed it, scheduling a lunch.

“I remember thinking, how can I tell this guy I know everybody, when I don’t know him?” Sekula recalled. “He’s very important in the state legislature, he’s very high up at Disney. I went to my mentors and told them, I really need to meet him. And at first, they said, apply for the job. I said no- I need to meet him.”

The lunch played out like most of Sekula’s- true relationship building, bookended by business. She told the Disney exec to look out for her resume.

“I did go through the formal process, which was many steps,” Sekula said. “But I think it did help to forge that personal relationship with he person who was in charge of the government relations team, to show my personality outside of what sometimes is a fear-based setting of an interview, where it’s not as straight-laced or as comfortable as sharing a meal together.”

It’s no surprise, Sekula snagged the job, putting her in charge of local government relations for the largest company within our local government.

“Whenever anyone says that Disney is their dream place to work, I highly recommend it. It’s magical. I grew up in Central Florida, but I did not grow up going to the Disney theme parks,” Sekula said. “When I tell you that I feel the magic of why they’re such a successful company, it’s really true. And this is coming from a department that’s just business- straight-laced government relations. You still feel it.”

I can’t help but think of one of my favorite Disney movie’s scores (which is on heavy rotation in my house right now)- and Moana’s dad working to convince his daughter that Motunui is all she needs… and no one leaves.

No one leaves a job at Disney… right?

Turns out, that was part of the problem.

“I always want to grow my career. I always want to do more. I want to be able to accomplish a lot. I’m very career-driven… and of course you can grow at Disney, but our team was very, very small,” Sekula said. “My leader there at the time, is still there. There was no upward mobility for me in government relations… I wanted to stay in public policy, and there was no upward trajectory for me at the time, and I didn't see it any time soon.”

Her next move may surprise you. Sekula stepped away from one of the largest companies in the world to work at a startup, working in the plastic recycling space.

“I wanted to go somewhere I could build a team, hire people, build entire programs. So I was able to do that… and it really taught me a lot,” Sekula said. “After that I said, okay. I’m ready.”

What had been in the back of her mind for years- ever since her first real job in Tallahassee- was launching her own brand and business. Now, she had the resume to back all the relationships she had built- with experience in nonprofit, for-profit, corporate, and a startup setting.

“I knew my relationships were not only based on those particular jobs, but they were me as well,” Sekula said. “I was building them as a person, as Adrianna, and I think in the back of my head I always knew I could do this, for not just myself, but for a lot of companies and use my connections and my influence and my advocacy and who I know to help other people.”

So now we circle back to the preparation- planning- and panic- that went into the launch of Solidarity Partners. Sekula says some of the self-doubt stemmed from her identity being wrapped up in her employer, something a lot of us can relate to.

“I knew I could do it. That’s why I did it on my own, and I’m accomplishing something amazing, I’m working for myself. There are so many people who would never even consider this leap, so how dare they think anything when they’re in their comfortable position?” Sekula said. “Are people even saying these things? Probably not. Or maybe. But either way, what does it matter?”

The risk was worth the reward. A year in, and Sekula has launched a vertical of her business alongside friend Jo Newell; Drop The Mic Coaching, which debuted in March of 2024, helps everyone from executives to interviewees nail the art of public speaking.

“After death, it’s the second biggest fear amongst human beings in the world,” Sekula said. “Just because you are at the top of your game as a business owner or CEO, doesn’t mean you know how to effectively communicate your message.”

Drop The Mic includes coaching on the very thing that’s been key to Sekula’s success; the lost art of relationship-building. Social networking- away from social media.

“When you're at a table for an event, when you are at a meet and greet, when you're at a networking event that so many people dread, how do you get the most out of it? How do you get that elevator pitch down? And how do you really captivate and build relationships in a small amount of time with strangers?”

Clearly, that's something Sekula is an expert in.

Running two businesses is no doubt a demanding schedule (especially when you consider she’s out at breakfast or lunch almost daily), but Sekula is committed to continuing to give back. The advocacy work that helped launch her career is still a pillar of her values, and she fills in what free time she has with serving on boards, committees, and sponsoring fundraisers.

Her ultimate goal, though, is to gift her mom a new home.

“She’s worked so tirelessly, and so hard, for my sister and me to have the life and the lifestyle that we have now… she was working constantly, and working really hard, and trying to set an example for us about, one, work ethic, and two, digging yourself up and also at the same time being grateful for everything. This woman is grateful for everything that her life has either given her, good or bad,” Sekula said about her mom. “She’s constantly positive. She's the most outgoing, positive, energetic person.”

Sekula’s mom graduated from UCF at age 55, proving it’s never too late to pivot or pursue better for your life.

The apple clearly doesn’t fall far from the tree.

“We want to give her what she gave us,” Sekula said.

The greatest gift, perhaps, is the perspective of what it means to start over- navigate something new- whether that be a new country or new business- and handle it all with grace.

“Knowing that I am helping other people… my clients are happy. I’m helping nonprofits with the work they’re trying to do, both in our community like I always have, and with bigger brands, and it feels good,” Sekula said. “You really learn a lot about yourself when you’re by yourself, and you don’t have a staff, you don’t have a boss, you don’t have anyone telling you what to do. You learn a lot about yourself that way.”

Maybe more than anything, making a big leap teaches us we really are capable of changing our lives- just by changing our minds.

“I’m honestly in the most confident, best spot I’ve ever been in my life in terms of what I’m doing for a career.”

A Moderne Twist On Tradition Turns Would-Be Pharmacist Toward Entrepreneurship

In 2013, amid a dispute with our then-landlord over basic, promised amenities (in this case, a washing machine) and feeling frustrated about our finances, I opened a card in a stack of mail that would change our lives. Inside, my grandmother had written a short note, and included a large check.

To say I was shocked is the understatement of the decade.

It’s no exaggeration that I’ve never seen that kind of money; I grew up unquestionably poor.

I remember being with my parents, sitting inside a bank and looking out a large glass window as they begged a man in a sport jacket with thick 90s glasses for more time to pay back certain debts, and though I don’t remember the words spoken across the desk, I remember the barrage of emotions from my parents that followed- anger, grief, desperation, back to anger, and then sadness. I remember the weekend when all our farm equipment, tools and more were put on display in our quartz-rock driveway, auctioned off to the fathers of my classmates and driven away to their new homes; the combine cab I sat in as a little girl as my dad worked through harvest… the giant yellow John Deere tires where I’d posed for photos on our rented acreage.

Declaring bankruptcy didn’t just mean selling off all our possessions and starting over, it meant my parents had to look for work outside of what they’d always known- farming. Both of them grew up on a farm, and my dad had gotten a degree in Agriculture from Iowa State University… a top school for Midwesterners. Why some people can do so well in farming and others lose it all, I’ll never understand, but what I really did not understand at the time is why my grandparents had managed to be the former and did not step in as my parents became the latter (I understand this even less now as a mother myself).

Though it wasn’t my grandparents’ job to bail anyone out, and though our family is not the type to typically air dirty laundry in this way, it did create an unspoken rift that lasted until my grandfather passed in 2013. I say grandfather because, had it been up to my grandmother, I am almost positive the outcome of the bankruptcy proceedings would have been different. Even his obituary noted his farm-related success: [he] appeared on the television show “What’s My Line” … He was a hard-working man and spent most of his life developing and advancing [his feed yard]. Eventually, he did feed cattle in six states and earned notoriety in the Farm Journal Magazine for his success in farming. A New York motion picture company made a short film about the feed yard operation which aired as a preview to movies in theaters. Visitors from around the world toured the operation to learn about cattle feeding and farming.

I digress.

It’s my belief that my grandmother started writing checks toward the end of his life as a way to repair the damage of the confusing paradox we witnessed as a family found in bankruptcy. She was a strategic woman, making sure the total amount gifted did not put anyone into a compromising tax situation; instead, it was enough to give us all a fresh start, and perhaps a different outcome than the one her daughter and son-in-law had faced while raising children. To this day, I’m not sure I’d be a property owner without the boost of her gift, dropped randomly in my mailbox one day, and I 100% would not have had the opportunity to witness the transformation of Orlando’s Mills 50 as a resident of the neighborhood.

Brandon and I used that check to bolster a down payment on our first home, a 1925 cute-as-a-button bungalow one block off of Mills, the epitome of up-and-coming at the time. The Fresh Market was just about to open around the corner; the Guesthouse was still the Peacock Lounge; Pig Floyds was just a concept; you get the idea. The moniker Mills 50 had just been coined a few years earlier- previously known commonly as the ViMi District, one thing that hadn’t changed was the heavy Asian influence on the neighborhood, started decades earlier when an influx of Vietnamese refugees put down roots in the community.

Though Orlando wasn’t the first stop for Michael Nguyen’s parents after they immigrated from Vietnam, it’s where he considers home base; and Mills 50 is woven into the first-generation American’s history.

“I remember vividly it being like Little Saigon, it has so much meaning to me and my family, that’s where we go grocery shopping, a lot of my parents’ friends are owners of a lot of the small businesses on the strips, the little Oriental Market, some of the small restaurants, it’s a very close knit community,” Nguyen said. “So being able to be this new generation of business owners, redeveloping the area, is really cool and exciting.”

Nguyen just celebrated a year in business at his stunningly-designed, upscale bar and restaurant, The Moderne. Sitting at the corner of Colonial and Shine, it represents the intersection of tradition and trajectory in Orlando’s Asian food scene.

“I just love Mills, the cultural richness of that area,” Nguyen said. “I really wanted to reflect that in Moderne, and I feel like doing an Asian-style-fusion concept is a really great way of tying in all those classic authentic flavors in a new, modern way.”

With literal lines out the door and a wait list of three or more hours upon opening, The Moderne appeared to be an overnight success… but Nguyen told me the concept was nearly scrapped midway through planning, all due to COVID. He and his family had signed the lease for the property just weeks before the world shut down, placing unprecedented restrictions on bars and restaurants.

“The project was very much always going, and we were always looking at inspiration in terms of design, what we would do for the food program, cocktail program, everything,” Nguyen said. “But when bars were shut down for those periods of months, we actually pivoted, and Moderne was supposed to turn into a hot pot restaurant. A complete 180. Not a lot of people know this because this was just a few months during COVID, but we worked on a completely new project, scrapped The Moderne… the logo, the name, everything- design, renderings…. Then when later bars reopened and it looked like they weren’t going to be closing again in the future, we did a pivot again and went back to Moderne where we left off.”

Pivoting isn’t anything new for Nguyen, who didn’t set out to be a restauranteur despite his family having such success in that space; in fact, it was a temporary gig helping his parents run their Japanese sushi and grill concept, Maki Hibachi, which has two locations in Orlando (including one in, you guessed it, Mills 50) that took him away from a path toward becoming a pharmacist.

“I was going to school to study pharmacy, working as a pharmacy technician at the time, when my parents opened Maki Hibachi, and it started off as just a part time thing, helping out on the weekends,” Nguyen said. “Long story short, the general manager ended up getting fired, so I filled in that role for a little bit. My dad was trying to find other candidates to fill the spot, but then eventually he was just like, you're pretty good at this. If you want to keep doing it, and work together, we'll keep opening stores, father and son, we can do that.”

If it sounds like every father’s dream scenario, consider the cultural factors at play here. Michael jokes that his parents would rather have seen him become a neurosurgeon, but pharmacist was at least in the medical realm. And even though he was raised by entrepreneurs, the work of running a restaurant didn’t come naturally to Nguyen.

“It definitely didn’t happen right away. I was pretty bad when I first started,” Nguyen said. “I initially started off as a server and I did so poorly that they took me off the floor and moved me to be a hibachi chef…. And then when I had to step up to GM, I had no prior restaurant experience besides that job.”

To make the scenario even more high-stakes, Nguyen was still in school, about to apply for pharmacy programs.

“I was managing the store and then also taking organic chemistry and microbiology, and doing all the labs, and then also being a pharmacy technician, counting out the pills and making the creams, all this crazy stuff,” Nguyen said.

His casual recollection of what was no doubt an extremely stressful balance to strike is evidence of the work ethic he was exposed to growing up.

“Especially as a kid, I never pictured myself being a businessman or business owner, just because of the way my dad was geared. Seeing the long hours, how hard he was working, his life was very much work, work, work, work, work, and that intimidated me. I didn’t necessarily want a life like that for myself,” Nguyen said. “And I don’t think he wanted that for his kids, either.”

“I think when you become a business owner, you realize how tough and difficult it is, and you realize that it’s not for everybody.”

He sees all the pressure with a fresh perspective now when reflecting on his parents’ perseverance.

“Super hard workers. Their work ethic is levels apart from anything I could do,” Nguyen said. “They are so dialed in, all the time, 24-7. It’s pretty admirable but very intimidating to see that and say, damn, is this the standard I should hold myself to? Because I know that’s how they look at me.”

Despite the high standards and societal expectations, Nguyen says he received full support from his family and friends when he made the decision to stop the pursuit of a pharmacy degree and go full steam in the service industry.

“At the time, I was 20 years old. I was just a college student, I had very little skin in the game,” Nguyen said. “It was easier for me to pivot. It’s not like I was raising a family or in a career that I went to college for, and then did a complete 180 to pursue something new.”

“Because I was young and I didn't have many obligations, it was easy to make the transition. But it's still scary going from one field to another like that.”

Being a young manager isn’t easy, and the transition from peer to boss can be even more difficult to navigate; I’ve seen this firsthand with my husband and some of our closest friends who have climbed the ranks in their various professions. For Nguyen, the stakes were even higher, as a lot of the people he would come to manage were either his high school classmates or his elders. Though he’s in charge, he says he looks up to his staff at The Moderne.

“These people that I am working with at Moderne are such inspirations. You know, they love their craft. They're so passionate about what they're doing. They genuinely just love giving people a good time, making people great drinks and great food, that’s their calling, that’s what they’re passionate about. So just seeing that, experiencing all that, it’s almost intimidating to be their leader or their role model and try to live up to this, because it’s not like I was born into this… this is something that kind of fell into my lap and I just made the most of it,” Nguyen said. “So trying to be the leader of these people is sometimes stressful because, you know, how do I live up to that? It almost gives me imposter syndrome, but on the same coin, it’s also very motivating.”

“I have these people on my team, and they’re great, and they believe in me, and they put their trust in me, and I don’t want to let them down. It propels and motivates me to keep doing better, not just for me and myself, for my family, but for my team as well.”

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and high are the expectations for an establishment that comes in as hot as Moderne. I remember wanting to visit in the first few weeks and having no shot- some people even weaseled in just to take Instagram pictures, not able to get an actual table.

“None of us were expecting that, at all… I didn’t even do any marketing,” Nguyen said. “We did a grand opening and lines queued up… expectations were very much high, and especially if you’re waiting three hours for food, you’re like, this better blow my freaking mind.”

Consistency in quality of the food and beverage is key, but so is consistency in service. Nguyen feels lucky that unlike the restaurant industry as a whole, Moderne hasn’t seen a lot of turnover, allowing the kitchen and bar staff to really perfect each item on the menu.

“You've you got to replicate that dish hundreds of times during a dinner rush, and it's got to taste the same every single time,” Nguyen said.

Some of those items were cooked up by Michael himself; he and the head sushi chef at Maki collaborated to create the signature dishes at The Moderne, including my personal favorite- the KFC (Korean Fried Chicken… run, don’t walk to try it!).

“I didn’t intend to. I’m very much the business guy. I enjoy cooking as a hobby, but I wouldn’t categorize myself as a top-level professional chef. Maybe an advanced home cook, if anything,” Nguyen said.

Regardless of the credentials in the kitchen, Michael has his sights set on some of the highest recognition in the restaurant industry for Moderne; he’s hoping to join the growing number of Orlando businesses that have been Michelin-recognized. The most recent guide was just announced, and The Moderne was not featured… but he’s not giving up hope.

“I think what we're going to approach that Michelin-caliber this year, probably very soon. So that's the goal… with the kitchen, and the front of house, just further fine-tuning our craft to eventually become nationally recognized,” Nguyen said.

“You have no way of getting them in the door, it’s just that they show up. But if they show up, I want to be ready. I want to blow their minds.”

With those aspirations, there are no off-days. You have to bring you’re A-Game every.single.time. And as Orlando’s food scene gets more crowded, you not only have to be consistent- you have to stand out.

“With social media, my explore page is all restaurants, all restaurants,” Nguyen said. “There’s always something new going on. There’s a new restaurant here, new this, new that, new and shiny. Everybody’s so fixated on that, and it’s really hard to stay relevant and keep pushing the envelope and not get buried by the sea of new concepts.”

So what would he hope the Michelin judges order if they stop by The Moderne?

So. Many. Things.

“For some of our sashimi-style appetizers, I would do the tuna truffle, the tuna kobashi… then we’ll work into some of our hot small plate options,” Nguyen said. “I hate recommending the KFC just because everybody orders it, but it’s just so good at the same time, so I’d want them to experience that crunch, you know?”

“Then the gyozas we have, we have this shrimp and crab gyoza… we make them fresh in-house, hand folded, served with a truffle beef stew, a yuzu aioli, pickled cherry tomatoes, and black sesame and herbs. It’s just got this beautiful blend of being light, refreshing, the perfect level of acidity and saltiness, it’s so good, so tender. That would be it for apps.”

For the main course, he’d recommend his personal favorite, the duck- or the braised pork, a nod to a classic Vietnamese dish he grew up eating with a Venezuelan twist, courtesy his head chef.

If the judges are somehow still hungry, he’s got the perfect sweet ending: the yuzu panna cotta.

“It’s infused with Sichuan peppercorns, so it’s got this little tingling element for your tongue… it’s banging,” Nguyen said.

The creativity of the menu means Nguyen never gets bored eating at his restaurant, and each night the team in the kitchen creates a ‘family meal’- freestyling an off-menu dish for the staff.

“They make some crazy good stuff… I’m constantly in a state of eating. It’s hard to stay on top of fitness,” he laughed.

In addition to getting Michelin in the door, he’s hoping to help his parents close the door on the working part of their lives. His mom has technically retired, but his father is still at it.

“Seeing them relax a little bit and being a little more hands-off is very fulfilling for me,” Nguyen said. “When you’re young, you just don’t have perspective, and you're ignorant to a lot of things. But the more I grew up and made my transition into the adult world, everything that my parents were doing, whether I agreed with it or not, came from a good purpose. They just wanted the best for their family.”

“Coming from a whole different country, with whole different cultures and cultural norms, coming to America, and starting over, I have nothing but respect and admiration for them.”

It’s something innate in us- that crosses cultural boundaries, countries and continents- the desire for future generations to have it better than we did. I believe this is what led my grandmother to do what she did for us, when she couldn’t for her children. My witnessing a bankruptcy auction is not so different from Michael’s witnessing of the hard work his parents put in to creating a legacy in a new country; both shaped our childhood and thrust us on a path to pursue the hard work in hopes of creating our own success, and maybe make it a little easier on those coming behind us.

“This lifestyle’s not meant for everybody,” Nguyen said. “there are going to be some difficult days where you feel like you’re drowning, and that doesn’t go away for weeks, even months, sometimes even years. But if it’s something you really want to pursue and you think you have what it takes, once you set your goal and set your plan, the next thing to do is just trust the process.”

“If you believe in something, and you're doing your absolute best to pursue that, the fruits of your labor will eventually bear themselves to you. Whether that's six months, a year, or two years, five years… everybody's story is different. If it's really what you want, don't give up. Pursue it relentlessly until you get there.”

Occupational Therapist Opts For More Colorful Life

Over the last year or so, I’ve been trying to find and refine my sense of style. 

It’s actually one of the things I told my husband I wanted to work on as a sort of resolution in 2021, before becoming pregnant and really just dressing for comfort and wearing whatever fit. 

After our son was born, my fashion choices revolved around what would be easiest to breastfeed or pump, so it wasn’t really until 2023 that I was able to refocus and start figuring out what I wanted my signature style to be. 

I think most midlife moms go through this at some point. We either hate all the clothes in our closet, wear the same five things, or have no idea how to dress our new bodies after having kids. For me, I have a totally different work identity than I do outside of the newsroom in terms of the style I want to convey, and the challenge is finding a way to feel empowered in both. 

Retailers bank on us being confused and pliable. A customer with no sense of personal style will simply seek what’s easy; the newest trends being displayed on mannequins and tables throughout the stores that fill shopping malls or your nearby Target. The famous scene with the blue belts in Miranda Priestly’s office in The Devil Wears Prada is more accurate than acting- the colors, silhouettes, and fabrics that we seek without even thinking were all carefully selected by someone in a room much like that one, from a pile of stuff. 

So how can some people take the same looks that are available to the masses and really set them off with their own flair, as though the mass-produced looks were somehow made just for them? 

It might come down to color or style analysis. 

Color analysis has been around for decades. I remember my own mother having a consultant over to our farmhouse when I was a child, armed with drapes of all colors of the rainbow and beyond, to help her find her ‘season’. I want to say they draped me, too, but I could not tell you what the results were. But my mother, to this day, stands by those results and very strict rules about what she believes she looks good or bad in. “I can’t wear yellow,” she’ll say, sticking to mostly blues and pinks instead. 

How funny to reflect on the fact that she was then a midlife mom, just like I am now, trying to find her sense of style while raising children. 

The 1980s and 1990s surge of color analyses was spurred by a book titled “Color Me Beautiful,” but it lagged in popularity for years… until recently. 

As the pandemic prompted many to trade in their business casual attire for simply casual work from home sweatsuits and athleisure, our shopping habits changed, too. Fewer in-person shopping trips meant fewer chances for the latest trends to entice you into a new section of the store or a new item into your cart. And now, as much of the world has gone back to pre-COVID standards of work and dress, shoppers are trying, like me, to find their own sense of style and remember how to dress themselves… and they’re often turning to TikTok or Pinterest for fashion tips. And what’s taking over TikTok in the last year? 

Color Analysis. 

This has been a big opportunity for app developers and small business owners alike. For Ashley Hedden, what would eventually become her full-time source of income, started as a quest not so different from my own; a yearning to find her own sense of style as a young mom. Before she would ever become a consultant for one of the largest color analysis brands in the world, she was a customer. 

“I had my third child in less than four years, and was just feeling kind of… gross about myself,” Hedden said. “I felt like all I was doing was looking at babies, spit up and diaper sand all the things, and I gifted myself for Mother’s Day a color consult.” 

Though apps and websites can give you an idea of what your ‘season’ and best colors might be, the best and most accurate results are said to come from a trained consultant, who uses a series of drapes that to the untrained eye may look like sixteen different types of green, yellow, or blue, but actually reveal what makes the undertone of your skin, hair and eyes pop and look their very best. 

“We were like… this is the wildest thing. Who in a million years would believe that wearing your best colors, that complement you, can make you feel so good? And as I just kept digging into it, I learned it’s more than just colors… this is about putting your best looks together. How do you pair your best colors with your best jewelry, with your denim? And then you add in your style, which takes into consideration who you are as a person… and how do you want to be perceived?” 

Hedden learned a lot about herself in that session. She is a Winter- think clear jeweled-tones like the beautiful berry fuschia she’s seen wearing in our interview. Her style- romantic classic… meaning she likes the frills, bows and feminine touches with a little structure to smooth everything out. 

“That's the law and order in my personality,” Hedden said. 

The law and order thoughtfulness meant Hedden wanted to learn all that she could about her newfound closet compass, editing down what didn’t suit her and analyzing each outfit she owned. It also meant analyzing other areas of her life, including her role as a pediatric occupational therapist, working with ill children who were close in age to her own- fulfilling… but sometimes, full of heartbreak. 

“Having that done, and having it be so impactful to me, it kind of pulled me out from this place of feeling like I'm just going to live in my athleisure-wear because I'm a mom, and then I go to work and I wear my scrubs, and I haven't taken my ponytail out for four years,” Hedden said. “Having that color and style consult pulled me out of a rut that I didn't really realize I was in.” 

Hedden went through the Post-COVID awakening so many of my guests so far have described, of wanting more flexibility in their work… more fun. I can’t think of a more sobering job during the pandemic than one at a children’s hospital to realign your perspective. When the world reopened, her husband’s job changed, too- going from a flexible work from home position to a lot of travel, putting more weight behind the pull for Ashley to take a different path.  

“From a professional standpoint, I was approaching a little bit of burnout, working in an environment of a hospital with kids who are ill, and having children of your own, definitely weighs on you,” Hedden said. “I’d been an occupational therapist for 14 years, and in an inpatient environment for ten years… I had sat for my board certification in pediatrics, which in our profession is one of the top tier things you can do, and that kind of proved to myself that I had the skills to be working with the neonatal population and in pediatrics…. And after that point, I kind of looked around and said, what’s next? What’s my next step?” 

What is it with us as a species that we always have to be striving for the next big thing? The next project? In my own efforts to become the best version of myself, I am in the middle of 75 Hard (if you’ve never heard of it, it’s a mental and fitness challenge that plays out over the course of 75 days) and learning a lot about how to put yourself into a growth mindset.

Basically, there are two sets of people- those who believe their identity, intelligence, and status are fixed and unable to be changed no matter how much effort is put in—and those who believe you can get better at anything, smarter, and change your future, through a growth mindset. 

Those of us always looking to the next thing are the latter, which is both a gift and a curse.

“Honestly, I didn’t love [my role at the hospital] enough to pursue something bigger and go after my MBA… that would kind of be the next steps for hospital administration. And that got me thinking,” Hedden said.  

Thinking about how transformative her own color and style session was. 

Thinking about how much fun the consultant seemed doing it. 

Thinking about how much fun it would be to do the same for others. 

“I have to give a shout out to one of my good friends in Austin, Texas, because she was working as a speech therapist as well, and she made this big leap and started working for this color and style company,” Hedden said. “I called her, and I was like, how did you even get involved? It just seems like you’re doing something that makes you so happy, and every time I talk to you, you are beaming and glowing and I want what you’re doing. I don’t know if it’s with your company, but I want to make a leap, I want to do something different.” 

The lingering thoughts were shut down almost as quickly as they started. Hedden called the company’s headquarters and learned there were no franchise opportunities in her region, meaning someone else had already claimed the area where she lives- an effort to reduce competition and confusion.  

“Well, that’s my sign,” Hedden said. “That door is closed, I’m just going to look for something else… maybe I’ll find another side hustle. But it just kept weighing on my mind.” 

She made a second call to headquarters, this time asking to apprentice or assist the current franchise owner for her region. 

It worked. 

“She, our franchise owner, is this amazing human who just has a passion for helping people really be entrepreneurs,” Hedden said.  

Hedden teamed up with four other women, working at first from her own home studio (her kid’s old play room) before eventually moving into a co-working space with her teammates. 

“Which is really fun, because we have coworkers,” Hedden said. 

At first, she stayed on as a part time OT at her hospital. With the risk of starting a new business, she didn’t know if she would have clients filling her books… part of the reason she used her home studio to start. 

“I remember opening my schedule and thinking, okay, if I have like three people for a week, that’s pretty good. Maybe I can keep that up for a couple of months,” Hedden said. “But I very easily, quickly, was able to start seeing 8 to 10 clients a week. It happened really fast, which was really fun.” 

Within three months, she had not only supplemented her family’s income, but she fully replaced her hospital income… and it was time to leave the hospital for good. 

“Timewise, I’ve got to be able to dedicate the right amount of time to this to be successful. I don’t just want to sort of do it, if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right and be all in,” Hedden said. 

She attributes the almost overnight success to the groundwork her franchise leader had already put in, and the popularity of color and style in the Midwest where she lives. 

“There are definitely parts of the country where people are like, what is color analysis? What is style analysis? And they kind of look at you like you’re an alien,” Hedden said. “But around here, people definitely know what it is.” 

With the popularity of the service, we talked about oversaturation concerns (color pun not intended) and whether it’s a fad that will fade out (another color pun not intended). Hedden admits she’s experienced all of the new business jitters you might expect. 

“Initially, not at all, I was very excited, I thought it was an amazing opportunity, and that I would just do a little shift in life,” Hedden said. “But then I remember the night before I left for training, you’re gone for a week physically doing training, being away from my family and making the drive to Kansas City, I thought- what on earth am I doing? Am I making this huge mistake, is everyone going to think I am losing my mind?” 

When Ashley completed her training, there were 220 or so consultants in the United States, but just a year or so later, there were 350. 

“It’s definitely evolved, and they’re growing as a company, but there is also TikTok and Instagram and people learning a lot of things online and it spreads quickly,” Hedden said. “So with that, I think competition is always good, because that’s how businesses thrive and learn from each other. It has definitely allowed our company to expand and grow into a lot of other avenues, which has been really fun to be a part of.”  

Despite those initial fears, Ashley admits she’s more apt to leap before she looks… and she has never looked back.  

“If you had asked me, not even three years ago, if I would be doing this… I would have laughed and pointed to the 8 years of college I went through, and all the student debt I had to pay off,” Hedden said. “For me it is all about balance. Yes, I can still be a therapist- no one is going to take that way from me, it’s who I am- but right now, the flexibility of the schedule of doing color and style, and I’m still working with people and helping women embrace who they are, in a different way. I feel like it’s still very therapeutic, it’s just different.” 

In her first year, she’s helped a lot of people find their best looks; averaging almost one client per day through group events and one-on-one consulting. Though social media brings in a fair amount of clientele, most of her customers are brought in through referrals.  

“I think that's definitely a benefit of working with a big group; we can see these big parties together, but we have a lot of personal and private sessions too, that are one on one. And you build relationships and friendships with these people,” Hedden said. “I never in a million years would have met half of these people that I'm working with because we're doing such different things professionally, but to be able to connect with them and then they refer somebody else… that’s where the majority of those clients are coming from.” 

The influx of referrals is a testament not just to Ashely’s shining personality and kind approach; a color analysis is simultaneously a self-care and self-improvement activity that immediately pays off. 

“It’s something that’s very tangible. Once you see this, once you see that colors complement you or they compete against you, you can't really unsee it,” Hedden said. “It’s an instant- yes, that makes sense why I love these things in my closet, or why I love my prom dress, or why I picked those colors for my bridesmaid dresses… it’s something that you can definitely see.” 

And at our cores, we all want to feel that best-outfit, fresh blowout, perfect makeup confidence, no matter what we’re working with each day. 

“Everybody wants to feel and look their best… and if you can do itnwith a sweatshirt or a t-shirt from Target because it's in your right color and it's complementing you, that's fun, and it’s also very powerful,” Hedden said. “We see a lot of young teens and college-aged girls, and I just think, gosh, if I had the power of color, knowing what my best colors were when I was going through those teenage years!” 

Your season is set for life, meaning once you know your best colors, they won’t change, even as you get older, get a tan, or get highlights. Armed with all this knowledge, I had to ask- is Ashley constantly analyzing everyone she meets? Was she analyzing me over our video chat? 

“I get that question all the time, and the answer is no. I tell people, 100%, I’m not the color police,” Hedden laughed. “But you can tell when someone’s had their colors done, because they’ve got the combination, they’ve got their jewelry, they’ve got their hair, they’ve got their best denim on, and they just look polished, whether they’re just running to the grocery store or a gala. Those things do stand out.” 

I’m a different person in the grocery store vs. a gala… I always say I’m in disguise when I’m off the air. But as my personal style is something I’m actively working on, I have been actively considering shelling out the cash for a color consult of my own. The company Ashley works for uses the phrase curating confidence to explain its mission statement. 

“Knowing your colors is one part of it, knowing your style is another part, but ultimately the goal is to empower people to feel confident, and feel like you’re the best version of yourself, you know? Whether that means putting yourself together with your best makeup or your hair color or your clothes,” Hedden said. “If you look good, and you feel good, that does portray confidence. I think when people come, they’re looking for that a little bit.” 

Though men are catching on to color analysis, too, this traditionally has been a female-centered activity- offering a chance for women to bond and do something for themselves amid the chaos of running homes, demanding jobs and for many, like Ashley, new motherhood. 

“They're looking for a fun time. It's definitely one of those things that you don't forget, you go through with girlfriends, or you go through by yourself, and you're like, Gosh, that was just a really fun afternoon,” Hedden said. “And if you know someone who's had their colors, it's like a snowball effect. Even at the hospital, everyone in the rehab departments had their colors done, and it's so fun to talk about it… it becomes a relatable thing.” 

Curating community as much as confidence… through color. 

“I think ultimately people come in looking for a way to boost their own self-image, and they’re able to do it in a way that’s really simple.” 

The career shift has boosted more than Ashley’s self-image; it’s helped her family in ways tough to quantify. 

“The biggest thing that this shift has done for for me and my family is giving us flexibility- flexibility to block my schedule…  to be able to pick them up from school and do those things that I wasn’t able to do with a traditional schedule or even modifying my schedule,” Hedden said. “In healthcare, there are just a lot of things that you can’t modify. You have to be in a hospital working with patients when they’re eating, if I’m working on feeding and swallowing, that’s around eating time… there are just things you can’t be flexible around and that’s just the job. So, this change has definitely given me that.” 

Flexibility and financial freedom, now surpassing her hospital salary and projections for 2024 to be even better. 

“I feel like there are so many other opportunities within that company. First you learn how to do color consults, and then you learn your style consults, and then you learn your makeup and your advanced makeup… there are a lot of like continuing education opportunities within the company,” Hedden said. “I think what you make of it is really up to you. I know there are consultants around the country that specialize in men’s style and that’s what they do, that’s their passion. They’ll still see anyone for color, but their passion is doing men’s style.” 

As she hits her stride, Ashley is looking for her own niche, too. 

“As I’ve been doing this longer and longer, you kind of figure out what it is that you love most about it. Some people love doing closet clean ups, coming in and helping someone overhaul their closet,” Hedden said. “I don’t know if that’s going to be my thing, but I feel like as I’m digging a little deeper within the company, I'm kind of starting to figure that out.”

Now THAT is a hobby I can get behind, as someone who likes to cycle her closet once every month or two, due in part to my thrifting addiction. My fellow-thrifting friends who have gone through color analysis say it makes them more discerning shoppers, opting only to buy in their ‘season’ and simplifying their relationship with clothes. 

“If you are an autumn when you're six, you're going to be in autumn when you're 60,” Hedden said. “The colors that you love within that season, those can change. My mom and I are both winters, but different versions of winter… she looks her very best and feels her best in those really dark burgundies and pine greens, and I feel my best in more of the jewel tones.” 

But what if you’re like me, delulu and believe that you can wear any color? Ashley says people often come in with preconceived notions or confusion about what makes them look the best, as it’s hard to have an unbiased opinion of yourself.  

“One client came in and she definitely had an idea in her head of what season she wanted to be, and she told me straight upfront, I have in my mind what it is I’m going to be,” Hedden said. “So I go through the process, and my first job as a consultant is to get it right, but my second job is to help you see it along the way. And she and I got to the final reveal, and I asked her, are you seeing this with me? And she said- oh yes, I see it. I totally see it… but this is not the season she was hoping for.” 

“So we celebrated, we were all excited, we’re going to talk hair and makeup and denim and jewelry and how she’s going to put it all together… and she said, I have to circle back to my Instagram because I have a live feed going and people are voting on what season they think I’m going to be!” 

That’s when Ashley realized her client was an influencer… leading to even more referrals flooding her DMs. Turns out the two of them shared more in common than just being a Winter; they both initially thought they were an Autumn (and wanted to be!). 

“I remember thinking, oh my gosh, my closet is full of olive green because I love olive green and because olive green looks good on me, and in the consult, I realized I looked sick when I was wearing it,” Hedden said. “It was really easy to get rid of after my consult, but I needed somebody else to show me. Sometimes you’re so blind to what you WANT to see.”

She says that’s part of the reason online consultations or apps don’t always provide the best results. 

“The actual training in person is where it’s at, that is the deal breaker, that’s what sets our company aside from other companies, too, is having a hands-on experience,” Hedden said. “You want to learn from experts, and you want to learn from people who have done it and done it well, and I think our training team does that.” 

Ashley is living a more colorful life in more ways than one, and it’s something she wants everyone to experience, whether they become a client or not. 

I’m not talking about clothes here. 

“I think first and foremost, you need to trust yourself, because if there’s something you’re not loving about life or what’s happening, or you’re feeling like you’re stuck, you need to honor that and trust that you can do more, that you can do better for yourself, because you owe that to yourself,” Hedden said. “There are a lot of opportunities out there to do things that are nontraditional, and your friends and family are going to support you no matter what. They love you for who you are, not what you do.” 

Ashley admits she thought her husband would think she was a little nuts when she first thought of pursuing color analysis as a career, but the opposite happened. Not only was he fully on board, but he became a client (with the family discount, of course)- making getting the family out of the house so.much.easier… a perk that could not ever be quantified but all wives can understand! 

“I was convinced he was a winter, I’ve known him my whole life, we went to preschool together, and I’ve always seen him in bright colors and thought he looked really handsome,” Hedden said. “But he is an autumn. For him, it just totally transitioned his shopping and his closet… he can go into his closet now and put something together super quick, he travels all the time for work and he can get packed in five minutes because he knows everything in his closet is going to go together.” 

The support she’s received from her family, and the support she’s able to give back with her newfound freedom, has her beaming as bright as her favorite palette, and urging others to take a similar leap. 

“If you’re out there and questioning whether you should make a shift in life… I think you need to honor those feelings. For me, it was like I was missing something, and I didn’t even know what I was missing,” Hedden said. “Looking back in hindsight, I was missing that achievement… but I was also missing, who is Ashley? I am this creative person. I do love style and clothes and color and all of those things, but I was not my best version of myself. So I think to find something that is going to honor you, and make you who you really, truly are… for me, it balances out.” 

A more colorful outlook… all thanks to taking that leap. 

“I didn't realize what I needed, until I had it again.”