Tonie Snell (right) and Angella Guadjaro (left)

What do you do and why?

Tonie Snell: I am a problem solver…a socially impactful entrepreneur.  I own 2 companies, 360HR– A DiversityForward talent solutions firm, committed in not only in a diverse workforce but inclusive workplaces where talent can bring their entire selves to work.  We offer talent solutions all geared toward inclusion. We help companies understand they don’t have a diversity problem, they have an inclusion problem. 

Our other company, Ayous Companies, LLC (Ayo is Joy in Yoruba) is our newly founded Tech company launching it’s first app in the Spring, OutNSocial- a social networking event app hybrid. Inspired by but different from Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp or Meetup… OutNSocial aims to move the conversations offline, to put the human back into connections.  Besides, imitation is not the highest form of flattery, inspiration is. 

OutNSocial addresses the fact that we are no longer a separate part of society, longing to be connected, not segregated or “closeted” in exclusive spaces but valued, accepted and respected in all the places we live, work and play.This is not to say exclusive spaces are passe, it only means that it is not the sum of us.

I started both companies because I have to do more than breathe and consume.  I have to create a better place for my 5 children, 11 grands, the spaces I live, work and play. 

What did you do before you started your company? 

Gosh, I did some of everything to stay afloat as a single mom with 5 children.  I have worked in sales, the medical field.

What’s the single most important piece of advice you received when first starting your company? What would you tell a young entrepreneur in turn?

Solve a problem, don’t do it to get rich.  Understand you can never skip the hustle.

Your wife,Angella Guajardo, is also involved in both 360HR and OutNSocial. What is it like working with your wife? How do you two keep work and play separate?

Angella works with our companies part-time and all the time if that makes sense, she’s included in everything.  Her full-time profession is in the Aviation/Aerospace industry as a planner/project planner.  The way that translates into our business – she is very spend conscious and detailed oriented.  I am big picture and just want to know the price, let’s pay and keep it moving.  

We discuss major purchases and processes all the time and if Angella doesn’t agree with the why and the how, she doesn’t pacify me.  LOL, she has “27M questions – her phrase” which keeps me questioning, which lead to better decisions. I am the dreamer, she is practical. It’s a concerted effort, major balance and candid conversations.  6 years and counting!  

What aspect of business ownership came as the biggest surprise to you?

Even when you are smart, have a great idea, execution is where all the work begins.  What do you do first?  What do you do first with a limited budget?  And there is always something else to learn.  It can be overwhelming.

What do you find most rewarding about owning your own business?

Mentoring future business owners, the chance to mellow business owners who want to create an impact.

Where do you see yourself / your company in five years? Hopes / dreams / plans?

I am so humbled to be where I am today.   A child of addicts, a high school drop-out, 5 children by age 21, a survivor of depression until I gave myself the freedom to come out.  It took me 30 years to life. I shouldn’t even be where I am… I am so high on my today that I can’t even begin to imagine the awesomeness of tomorrow.

 What resources would you recommend to someone who is contemplating starting her own business?

My first go round as a business owner with 360HR, I did everything myself, today I know how I to lean to the strengths of others.  So with OutNSocial, we used Legal Zoom, Score is still awesome, read “Play Bigger” and always educate yourself.

What would you say is the single most important key to sustaining a business long term? 

To continue to create meaning over money and solve problems.  Whatever you do, do it for people, to live better, be better, do better.

What obstacles did you face in establishing your company and how did you overcome them?

Understanding what I didn’t and don’t know and connecting with people who can fill the void and bring a different strength.  Groupthink kills…ingenuity, innovation…

For more on 360HR and OutnSocial visit http://360hr.co/ and http://www.outnsocial.com!

The post Enterprising Women: Tonie Snell, 360HR & OutNSocial first appeared on Lesbian.com.

A Photo by Brian Harkin/Getty Images

BY CANDY PARKER
Lesbian.com

Anti-LGBT discrimination in the workplace is alive and well in corporate America. That may not exactly be news to most of us, but now there is new data to back up what we already knew.

The Equal Rights Center and Freedom to Work recently released the results of a one-year study in which fake resumes were submitted to eight different federal contracting firms. In total, resumes were submitted in response to 100 different job postings listed by ExxonMobil, General Electric, L-3 Communications, AmerisourceBergen, Supreme Group Holding SARL, L-3 Communications, Fluor and URS.

In each instance, a pair of similar resumes was submitted in response to a job listing. The resumes were virtually identical in almost every regard, with one notable exception – one resume hinted that the applicant may be a member of the LGBT community via a reference to a leadership position in an LGBT rights group. In each case, the resume with the LGBT reference also included stronger credentials, as shown in the example below featuring two fictitious resumes presented to ExxonMobil.

The study revealed that the better qualified LGBT-related applicants were 23 percent less likely to receive a call in response to their resume submission than their fictitious less suitable counterpart.

“Despite significant progress in advancing civil rights and equality, employment discrimination remains a persistent barrier for the LGBT community,” said Melvina Ford, executive director of the Equal Rights Center.

Tico Almeida, president and founder of Freedom to Work added, “As much progress as our LGBT community has made in freedom to marry, there’s still a lot to be done to make sure our LGBT community has the freedom to work without discrimination.”

The study was initiated in December 2012, prompted by President Obama’s indication that he wouldn’t be signing an executive order prohibiting federal government contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Equal Rights Center and Freedom to Work concluded their experiment in December 2013, releasing the results shortly after the President’s Pride month announcement that he intends to move forward with the executive order which will require companies like ExxonMobil and other federal contractors, which employ approximately 20 percent of the total U.S. workforce, to adopt LGBT workplace protections.

LGBT rights advocates have urged the President to take action as 29 states still allow employers to fire or deny employment to an individual based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Taxpayers should never have to subsidize the kind of anti-LGBT discrimination that was uncovered during this year-long study of contractors with inadequate LGBT workplace protections,” said Almeida. “President Obama’s upcoming executive order will send a strong message that government contracts should be staffed with the highest qualified job candidates, and nobody should ever lose out on a career opportunity just because of who they are or whom they love. President Obama’s executive action to protect LGBT workers confirms that he has advanced fairness for LGBT Americans more than all of his predecessors combined.”

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Kristin and Missy Koefod

BY LESBIAN.COM

Atlanta’s Old 4th Ward neighborhood has seen a lot of new construction, and with that an influx of new business. Missy and Kristin Koefod are part of that new business influx with the introduction of their 18.21 Bitters Company. The duo is manufacturing small batch, handcrafted bitters and Prohibition Era cocktail mixers at Irwin Street Market’s commercial kitchen incubator.

What are these two up to? Well, Missy, a former bar owner, and Kristin, a culinary and craft cocktail enthusiast, decided it was high time that Atlanta produced a local, small batch and high-quality handcrafted product aimed at crafting a better cocktail. They are manufacturing a line of bitters, tinctures, simple syrups and shrubs (a prohibition era cocktail mixer) as well as ginger beer and tonics and expect the products to hit the market later this month. They have launched a Kickstarter campaign and begun manufacturing.

You can find Kristin and Missy at farmers markets and festivals across the Atlanta area this summer and their product will be in several local shops and restaurants. They will also be at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans from July 16-20 and will be participating in several local pop-up shops in and around Atlanta.

Tell us a little bit about your business.
We manufacture bitters and prohibition era cocktail mixers. Our line includes bitters, tinctures, shrubs, syrups, ginger beer and tonic. We are based in the Old 4th Ward neighborhood of Atlanta, Ga.

What was the inspiration for your business?
I (Missy) am a former bar owner and Kristin is a foodie and craft cocktail enthusiast. We also have a thing for New Orleans which happens to be the birthplace of the cocktail. We always enjoy drinking prohibition era cocktails there and wanted to put a modern spin on old cocktails.

Did you have another career/other careers before you started your business?
Kristin is a designer and I am an attorney.

What obstacles did you face in establishing your company and how did you overcome them?
I think one of the biggest obstacles was finding the time to start and run the business when both of us were working 60 hours a week on our day jobs. It was tough to find time for everything, especially each other. Luckily we are both passionate about the company so any time spent working on it never feels like work and we are in it together and make a pretty good team. Funding is always a challenge for any new business. We are utilizing Kickstarter not only for those purposes but also to get the word out and have seen a very warm reception.

What’s the single most important piece of advice you received when first starting your company?
Talk to everyone about it. I think that it can be hard to sell yourself and talk about yourself especially when we are raised to be modest. It almost feels bad — like bragging — until you realize that, hey, this is a great product, we do a great job, it tastes good and we want to share it with people. We want people to taste our products because they are good, we love them and we know they will too!

What aspect of business ownership came as the biggest surprise to you?
The time — the hours and hours you put into every detail of making your business succeed. We have never ordered so much Chinese food in our lives. There is no time to cook.

What do you find most rewarding about owning your own business?
Doing something we care about and doing it well is really great. Seeing the results of your hard work pay off is probably the most rewarding aspect of running your own business.

Do you use social media to engage your customers? If so, does it play a key role in your marketing efforts?
We do. Currently, social media and word of mouth is our only form of advertising.

What resources would you recommend to someone who is contemplating starting her own business?
Find a mentor — reach out to someone who has done it before, made the mistakes and is willing to share with you what not to do. It is so much easier to learn from someone else’s mistakes than to make them yourself. We are always happy to speak with young entrepreneurs.

What would you say is the single most important key to sustaining a business long term?
Passion and drive. You have to love what you are doing because you are going to be working longer hours than you ever have before and you will always be on; always thinking about your business. We can be laying on the beach and Kristin and I will be thinking of new flavors.

Is there anything we didn’t ask you about that you’d like to share with the Lesbian.com audience?
We love meeting our customers! Kristin and I are always happy to enjoy a cocktail on the town for any customers that happen to be visiting Atlanta. We are so excited about what we do and love to share it!

Missy and Kristin are offering Lesbian.com readers a special gift opportunity. If you back the 18.21 Bitters Kickstarter campaign on any level and complete the questionnaire you receive after doing so, mentioning Lesbian.com in your response, then you’ll receive a special gift from the company.

Keep up with 18.21 Bitters on Facebook and Twitter and stop by their website to see where their products are available.

The post Enterprising women: Missy and Kristin Koefod, 18.21 Bitters first appeared on Lesbian.com.

“Pursue your passion and you’ll never work on your passion a full day in your life.”

Wait — that’s not how the old adage goes, is it? Isn’t it true that you if you work on something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life? What’s this about not being able to work on your passion?

Well the truth is, while there are benefits in pursuing your avocation as a vocation – you’re not going to have too much time to work on that passion when it becomes a business. You don’t get paid for just pursuing your hobby! You get paid for distributing and selling your passion.

Read more at Project Eve

Project Eve challenges and inspires a new breed of innovative and creative women who are actively reinventing their careers and with it the future of business. With engaging articles and interactive tools, Project Eve motivates women to think beyond traditional boundaries, support one another, embrace change and view challenges as opportunities.

The post Pursuing your passion: The entrepreneurial reality first appeared on Lesbian.com.

It used to be a given that large corporations allied with right-wing groups that were hell-bent on oppressing the LGBT community. Recent headlines, however, have made it clear that things are no longer “business as usual” – companies are now rescinding their usual donations to such groups.

As Care2 has addressed previously, while corporate America’s political clout is dangerous for the country, on the rare occasion that it does support a progressive value, it is certainly beneficial to the activist community. Fighting a moneyed opposition is often a losing battle, so corporate support (or even just indifference) will definitely accelerate the route to LGBT equality.

Read more at Care2.com

Care2 is the largest online community of people passionate about making a difference.

The post 7 companies that stopped giving to anti-LGBT groups first appeared on Lesbian.com.

On February 7, AT&T became the first major corporation in the US to officially condemn Russia’s anti-LGBT laws. The telecommunications company is known for standing with Team USA at every Olympic opening ceremony since 1984; it has also received a perfect score in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for the last ten years in a row. When those two interests suddenly clashed, AT&T chose to support the side that needed it most.

AT&T released a statement that included:

“…We stand against Russia’s anti-LGBT law…AT&T has a long and proud history of support for the LGBT community in the United States and everywhere around the world where we do business. We support LGBT equality globally and we condemn violence, discrimination and harassment targeted against LGBT individuals everywhere. Russia’s law is harmful to LGBT individuals and families, and it’s harmful to a diverse society.”

To show that AT&T still hasn’t lost its team spirit, the post concludes with: “Go Team USA! #ItsOurTime.”

Read more at dot429.com

The post AT&T publicly condemns Russia’s anti-LGBT laws first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Lesbians love events. We know you do and there’s a one-of-a-kind event underway that you won’t want to miss.

The 2014 “Live Your Best Lesbian Life Global Telesummit” is a truly unique happening and is accessible by lesbians across the globe via the internet on mobile, tablet or computer. And did we mention it’s free?

Gay Girl Dating Coach Mary Malia presents the event to provide a jolt of lesbian energy to help participants feel alive, connected and inspired to get out there and make life happen in a big way.

“As a dating and relationship coach for lesbians, I’m always looking for women who inspire and motivate me to do and be my best self,” says Malia. “My role models are women who are living their lesbian lives out loud by creating lesbian community, coordinating amazing events, writing books, creating resources and who show us that what seems impossible isn’t.”

The 2014 event is Malia’s second “Live Your Best Lesbian Life Global Telesummit” and includes interviews with comedian Vickie Shaw; Karen McCrocklin who knows being lesbian is her best gift; Denise Warner of “The Lesbian Lounge;” introduces you to Cindy Edwards who’s creating a movement in Europe; and many more amazing lesbians who will share their secrets, their dreams and what keeps them going.

Don’t miss this chance for the inspiration you need to get out there and live your best lesbian life — out loud.

Join the free telesummit now by visiting www.liveyourbestlesbianlife.com.

The post Relationship expert Mary Malia wants you to ‘Live Your Best Lesbian Life’ first appeared on Lesbian.com.

BY JESS MORR

Stoli Group (USA) of Stolichnaya vodka has announced a three-year partnership with the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center’s Leadership Learn, Act, Build (LAB) program, which aims to help aspiring LGBT leaders to effectively advocate for equality. Stolichnaya, owned by SPI Group, joined the battle against the controversial, anti-gay “propaganda” laws in Russia with a worldwide message of support for the LGBT community. So far, Stoli has donated $300,000 for a fund that will go towards training the potential leaders to build strong organizations to fight against legislation which endangers or discriminates against LGBT people.

“Our position at Stoli is clear. We stand with the LGBT community in the fight for equality, and are proud to be working with the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center to make our joint vision possible,” said the president of Stoli Group USA, John Esposito. “Through our strategic partnership we hope to harness the power of our global community, cultivating leaders on a local level in the U.S. to create meaningful change throughout the world.”

Read more at dot429.com

The post Stoli sides with LGBT community first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Working in a veterinarian’s office isn’t the only job that lets you interact with animals at work. A growing number of companies are allowing employees to bring their dogs to work. Currently, about 17 percent of U.S. companies allow pets in the workplace, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPA), and bringing dogs to work is more than just an indulgence — employees can actually benefit from the presence of man’s best friend.

Less Stress

Pet owners often worry about leaving their dogs at home unattended while they’re at work. It’s easy to imagine that bringing Fido to the office would lower the stress level of a dog owner, and a Virginia Commonwealth University study found that employees who are accompanied by their dog actually produce lower levels of cortisol, a stress-induced hormone. The presence of their dog forces people to get outside even for a few minutes instead of sitting at their desk all day, letting stress build.

Read more at TaggMagazine.com

Tagg Magazine is a print and online resource for LBT women in the DC Metropolitan and Rehoboth, DE areas.

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Scene originally included in Coca Cola’s “Reason to Believe” commercial

BY RON DICKER
Huffington Post Gay Voices

Coca-Coca included a gay wedding in its new ad, but perhaps it got cold feet: The soda giant omitted the scene in a version for Ireland.

The “Reasons To Believe” spot seen in the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom features feel-good moments, including two men posing for the cameras at their wedding. But the ad running in Ireland replaced the snippet with the heterosexual nuptials of an interracial pair.

Original commercial:

Edited commercial:

Read more at Huffington Post Gay Voices

The post Coca Cola deletes gay marriage scene from commercial first appeared on Lesbian.com.