BIZ Online NGLCC

On Thursday, April 14th, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce will be holding its kick-off reception for the eighth annual 2011 NGLCC National Business & Leadership Conference at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

With the increasing number of corporate partners, certified LGBT business enterprises (LGBTBEs), affiliate chambers and members, it is only fitting that the staff at National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce follows suite

NGLCC affiliate Plexus and the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE), Northeast Ohio’s largest chamber of commerce with 15,000 members to date, recently announced a new partnership that will bring benefits to all members. Both organizations recognize the importance of supporting the development and growth of small business as a foundation of Northeast Ohio’s economic sector.

Entrepreneurs are known for finding creative, enterprising ways to gather the resources necessary to achieve their goal of building and growing their businesses.

When Tamara Fleming received a scholarship for a highly regarded executive education course through the NGLCC's Supplier Diversity Initiative, she also received the tools she'd need to help her and her partner's business grow at a key time for their company.

According to a breakthrough survey commissioned by the NGLCC, LGBT-friendly companies may benefit from the purchase decisions made by LGBT business decision-makers.

As new board chair for the NGLCC Board of Directors, Ernst & Young's LGBTA inclusiveness strategy leader, Chris Crespo, has some big ideas for what has become a thriving LGBT business organization.

At the end of 2009, at the encouragement of an associate who provides contracts to my company for training, I investigated and ultimately pursued certification as a gay-owned business from the NGLCC. The process really wasn't that daunting—I was most concerned about what the interviewing visitor would think when he learned that our "global headquarters" was a spare room in my home in suburban Illinois. Those worries were unfounded, as I was treated with the same respect throughout the application process as if I made millions of dollars in contracts each year. Ultimately, the NGLCC certified my company, including its home-based office.

Thanks to the Small Business Jobs Act, small businesses will receive immediate access to higher maximum loan amounts.

Recently I was able to tour a building that has achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification. What a great experience! This building has incorporated many great features that reduce its energy usage and impact on Mother Earth. While not everyone, including small businesses, have the opportunity to build a new building every day, we all have things in our office interiors that we can control that will help reduce our businesses' energy usage and make them more "green."

According to a breakthrough survey of commerce and business trends among LGBT-owned businesses and LGBT-friendly corporations, membership with the NGLCC and local LGBT chambers leads to increased business opportunities.

Larry Poltavtsev, president and CEO of certified LGBTBE Target Labs, Inc., never expected to meet President Barack Obama in person, but he got the chance to meet and discuss small business issues with him this week.

As part of its ongoing effort to encourage LGBT business owners to connect with corporations and other business owners, the NGLCC has launched a Mentorship Program for certified LGBTBEs.

Whoever thought we'd be able to measure our branding efforts by tweets and posts? Well, the social media revolution is upon us and it's the biggest change in the way our world communicates, connects and works since the industrial revolution. And I feel it's an opportunity to measure the effectiveness of a brand via social media statistics.

After working with Accenture for several years, certified LGBTBE, Neil Cerbone Associates (NCA), was invited to participate in Accenture's Diverse Supplier Development Program (DSDP).

Before leaving for a vacation this week, President Obama called on members of Congress to move forward with the Senate Small Business Jobs and Credit Act when they return from August recess.

LGBT business owners should use estate plans to protect their ownership interests in companies, as I discussed in Part I of Business Success Planning for LGBT Business Owners.

Proper estate planning is particularly important for the LGBT community since same-sex marriage is not legal in most states, and even in states where it is legal, same-sex couples are not afforded the privileges and benefits of federal law.

The new health care law will be affecting most people in this country, especially those individual who qualify for, use and manage Medicare and its ever-changing regulations and policies.

Small businesses starting out of necessity are on the rise in recent years compared to those that are launched based on deliberate, strategic planning and a new idea, a new survey suggests.