Nancy Blaine, Founder, Local Expeditions

The sharing economy has given rise to a new generation of start-ups. Joining the fray is Nancy Blaine, a Brooklynite with a love of travel. Blaine is the founder of Local Expeditions- an “anti tour” company that will take you on tours of Brooklyn and Manhattan that will provide an authentic NYC experience. I spoke with Blaine about how she launched Local Expeditions, her vision for the future and how to turn an idea into a business.

What do you do and why?

I just started my own business after many years in publishing. It’s called Local Expeditions and is housed in the sharing economy.  The business incorporates two things I am passionate about:

1. The sharing economy which I think has great potential to be a new economic system based on fair wages for work well done. I know the economic model really comes out of the tech industry, but I also feel like it resonates from Occupy Wall Street. It’s a model that puts the lion’s share of wages directly into the hands of the—you name it—the driver, the homeowner and in the case of Local Expeditions, the local guide.  My website offers a model for a ‘local expedition,’ but people sign up to create their own adventures based on who they are and what they know.  Reviews of guides and reviews of customers regulate the business.  I feel like it is an economic model that celebrates the best in us, instead of the worst. Capitalism is essentially based on profit. Any profit-based system will lend itself to greed. Certainly this can happen in the sharing economy too—we’ve seen it already—but the model I want to emulate is one where a job well done is rewarded by good reviews and most of the income for the expedition. That is how I envision the sharing economy and how I am modeling my business.
2. Travel!  I love to travel. One of the highlights of my publishing career was consistent travel and when I am in a city that I don’t know, I am not the kind of person who wants to go where the concierge tells me to go. I always try to find someone who grew up there or has lived there for a long time to tell me where to go. On the flip side, I am just passionate about New York and especially Brooklyn.  I have been here for 32 years—20 in NYC and 12 in Brooklyn (what took me so long?). I am the kind of person who, when I see an out-of-towner, I ask them what they are up to and I offer as many suggestions as possible that are outside of Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty. Don’t get me wrong.  Everyone should see those places once – I have.  But anyone who has lived here for a long time avoids those areas like the plague.  My new favorite passion is taking the East River Ferry from 34^th street to Dumbo and back.  $4.00 plus $1.00 for a bike and the BEST vistas of the east side skyline and Brooklyn you can imagine.  A great deal and an utterly pleasant ride.

The Manhattan Bridge

What did you do before you started your company?

I was in college publishing for 26 years. It was a wonderful career. I was an acquisitions editor in many different disciplines over that time—anthropology, social work, criminal justice, history, English and engineering.  I feel like I’ve had a lifetime of learning and that is one of the things I really love about my new business. Every day I am reading up on areas of the city, the origins of neighborhoods, their art, their architecture. It’s my own continuing education program.
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?

There were two pieces of advice that really pushed me to make the move. The first was from my accountant who encouraged me to talk to my boss about my idea and see if I could work part time while I launched the business. For some reason, I just assumed I would be told to leave automatically. In truth, since I was going into a different industry, my boss was incredibly supportive and also appreciated the overlap while he searched for a new editor. This gave me financial confidence and also allowed me to begin working on the launch instead of just trying to squeeze it into weekends when I was already exhausted from my job.

The second piece of advice was from a wise friend who knew me really, really well and asked “what is it that is stopping you from moving forward?  What is your greatest fear?”  When I described the 3:00 a.m. terror of walking away from a perfectly good career to start a business that no one is interested in and falling into a deep depression and then drinking all day and then losing my partner and sitting on my dog and killing her in a drunken stupor and losing my apartment and ending up in a refrigerator box in the park, she said to me, “I know you and that is not going to happen.”

I am a daily bicycle commuter. The advice I would give to a young entrepreneur is akin to the advice I would give to a city cyclist.  You must be confident to proceed, but you cannot be over confident. If you are not confident you will falter and the faltering will cause you risk. If you are over confident, you are at an equal or perhaps greater risk of crashing. Be confident, but be aware of your own limitations and the outright randomness of life and others. The most intelligently cautious cyclist can still have a car door opened in their path. Deep breaths. Do the next right thing. Keep on keeping on. Assume the best in people. The car door would not have opened had they known you were there. And if they are in the 1% of people who actually opened that door on purpose—ride on past. Their own karma will catch up to them.

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

So far, how much fun it is!  It is so creative in a way I never imagined. It started with a simple vision, and then I had to spin out the vision into the practical, and then I had to look at the financial possibilities and then I had to consider the risks, the regulations, the barriers, and then I had to talk to others to get feedback, and then I had to decide which advice to take and which not to take. It is all-consuming in a way that I find really interesting.

DUMBO

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

I confess–I like calling the shots. As an Acquisitions Editor I called a lot of shots, but there were some that I had to “check in” on. The “checking in” usually had to do with some kind of higher corporate goal—or worse yet—higher corporate fear—legal concerns, etc. My new business has a lot of legal and insurance concerns but I like weighing the risks and employing my own values to arrive at the ultimate decision.
Where do you see yourself / your company in five years? Hopes / dreams / plans?

I would like to see Local Expeditions grow nationally and internationally for these 3 reasons:  1) It offers something that people want; 2) It is reasonably priced and; 3) It has great customer service. I have heard many, many business theorems in my years in the corporate world, but these are the three simple features that strike me as a winning business plan.

For the customer:

1. All expeditions are 2-3 hours long and led by a local who designed the jaunt
2. All expeditions are $40
3. All expeditions are 10 people maximum (to keep the experience intimate)

I also believe that it has a fair and sustainable business model for the guide:

1. Local Expeditions website gets 15% of every tour ($6.00 per person)
2. The guide offers customers a local libation of his or her choice in the amount of 10% ($4.00 per person)
3. 5% of each expedition ($2.00 person) goes to a local non-profit of the guide’s choice (10 from which they can choose)
4. The guide receives 70% of the proceeds ($28 per person x 10 = $280 per expedition)

Also, the guide gets to choose his or her own schedule on a weekly basis. This is a great opportunity for extra income or full-time income depending on how often the tour runs and fills up. I really hope to attract artists, actors, grad students, local historians, etc.  as guides. I think it is a better way to make money than waiting tables and these people are natural storytellers!

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

So far, I have been able to fund this business on my own via a loan. I am really only launching now, so I have no idea whether I will need to seek further financial resources but I personally don’t like to be beholden to anyone. Banks, I don’t mind. Eventually I will seek a Board for advice but not for fundraising.  I want the business to gain a profit from its own worth.

Let a Local Expeditions tour guide take you on a ferry ride!

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

This is a two pronged business:  1) Guides 2) Customers

In order to sustain a long term business we will need to be absolutely attentive to and respectful of both.  Happy guides and happy customers = success.

Also, I want to keep it simple.  I want to manage people’s expectations. They should always know what they will get from Local Expeditions and it should always be fun and simple—clear website navigation is critical.  I am not a huge fan of offering a million different things.  I want to do one thing well for a very long time. No upselling.

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

The biggest obstacles in any sharing economy business are municipal rules and regulations. New York City, in particular, is a highly regulated city and I am of the belief that it needs to update its Byzantine systems to meet the new economy. So far the biggest barriers I have come up against are maneuvering around and within the test for tour guides (i.e., what subway takes you from the Cloisters to the Rockaways?—who cares? Anyone can look at a map and this will never be part of a Local Expedition).  Not all cities require this and it makes my model much more complicated than it needs to be.  Also, receiving my PO Box key from the USPS was a nightmare. I am a fairly intelligent person and I had to return no fewer than three times to get my PO Box key. Why?  Every time I needed a new piece of paper that had my address on it (apparently a passport and a NYC driver’s license was not sufficient). Come on people! I don’t believe this level of absurd regulation is either necessary or sustainable and I do believe that as younger generations come up and technology improves (does the USPS know about the world wide web?) these kinds of regulations will not be tolerated.

Persistence. Especially in this town of all towns. One must be persistent.

Want to take a tour? Visit the Local Expeditions website!

The post Enterprising Women: Nancy Blaine, Local Expeditions first appeared on Lesbian.com.

While over one-third of the Fortune 500 now accepts NGLCC certified LGBT businesses as a part of their diverse supply chains, California is poised to be the first state to require utility companies doing business in the state to include LGBT-owned businesses alongside other diverse enterprises, like those owned by women, ethnic minorities and disabled veterans.

The law will include all companies with more than $25 million in annual revenues that are regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.

“We are so proud of the hard work of our team, our California Affiliate Chambers, our LGBT businesses, our corporate utility partners, and our allied organizations that made passing this bill not only our priority, but also their priority. We are hopeful the wide support of this bill from diverse business communities will ensure Governor Brown signs the bill quickly,” said Justin Nelson, NGLCC co-founder and president.

The bill’s lead sponsor in the State Assembly, Assemblyman Rich Gordon, said, “Not only does the bill establish equity for LGBT business owners, but it is also generates additional opportunities, spurring continued recovery and economic growth throughout California.”

On Tuesday, the California State Senate passed the bill by a vote of 22 to 9. Yesterday, the State Assembly gave final approval to the measure by a wide margin of 50 to 17. It now heads to Governor Jerry Brown to be signed into law.

The bill was introduced by Senator Mark Leno in the California State Senate. “The LGBT business community owes a huge debt of gratitude to Assemblyman Gordon and Senator Leno for their hard work in passing this bill that will have real impact on the lives of LGBT California business owners and the many Californians employed by them,” said Chance Mitchell, NGLCC co-founder and CEO.

“This is a major step forward in leveling the playing field for thousands of LGBT business owners in California and we look forward to working with the many diverse business organizations in the state to ensure access and opportunity for our collective businesses,” said Sam McClure, NGLCC vice president of affiliate relations and external affairs.

Nelson noted that in addition to advocacy at the state level, NGLCC is working with several federal agencies through a series of memorandums of understanding to ensure LGBT-owned small businesses have access to contracts that will aid the federal government in meeting its mandated small business procurement goals. NGLCC is also working with several county and municipal governments to open up procurement opportunities to certified LGBT businesses.

The post Business equality bill passes in California first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Jenn T. Grace is on a mission to help the mainstream understand the gaystream in her new book, “No, Wait, You Do Look Gay: The 7 Mistakes Preventing You from Selling to the $830 Billion LGBT Market.”

Profiled in our enterprising women feature last month, Grace gave Lesbian.com an exclusive sneak peek at her new book and it’s introductory Kindle price of $5.99 plus a free online training course, “Defining Your LGBT Target Market” (value: $97). Details.

INTRODUCTION

The primary objective of this book is to help you better understand who the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is and how to effectively communicate to people within it. I encourage you to use the materials in this book as your beginners guide to appropriately communicating within the LGBT community. I share anecdotes, personal stories and tips I’ve learned along the way in my eight years of working with the community.

The intention of this book is to provide you with the correct approach to doing business with the LGBT community. You will see many recurring themes throughout, such as how important it is for you to understand why the community is important to you and how you can parlay that knowledge into your marketing messages; being able to admit when you’ve said something inappropriate, apologize for it and move on; and finally, if you are going to do this, you must be authentic and transparent.

All of the money in the world will not buy you the trust of the LGBT community, which is the key ingredient to a successful marketing outreach plan.

Whether you are a business owner who is an ally to the community or you are LGBT yourself, you will find something of value in this book. The stories, advice and guidance within this book stem from personal experience and one-on-one interactions I’ve had with people over the last eight years, many of whom would likely be your target audience.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to the LGBT community, which you will quickly learn. Because of this, you may find different avenues to success in your business. If you do, hurray! I hope you’ll consider sharing your success stories with me by e-mailing me at jenn@jenntgrace.com.

I do this work for you, so I truly hope you enjoy this book. Happy reading!

CHAPTER 1

Have you ever sat back and wondered why we, as a society, feel the need to put labels on ourselves or put our identities into a box? I really began thinking about this when avid readers of my blog started to ask me if I knew how to market specifically to lesbians. When companies or individuals decide they want to market their products or services to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, it is all too common that what they really mean is they want to market to affluent gay white men. Throughout this book you will see that the LGBT community is quite a diverse group of people who happen to fall under one umbrella term of gay or more broadly, LGBT.

Since my readers have been asking me “Where are the lesbians and how can I reach them?” I’ve been on a quest to find an answer. Your very first and possibly most important take away from this book is that the LGBT community is not monolithic. What you will soon find out is that the LGBT community is not a large mass of people but rather a mosaic of individuals within an expansive, diverse community.

Every marketing and communications touch point from your company to the community must be specific and not just a blanket statement of ‘We are gay-friendly.’ For example, an advertisement encouraging me to book one of your cruises should not have young gay men on it if you are trying to reach me – a lesbian with a family.

Let’s discuss this a bit. When you are preparing any targeted outreach effort for a potential audience of your product, you do your homework and your research; you identify key demographics and psychographics, correct? The same should apply for the LGBT community. Simply being part of the LGBT community is not targeted enough.

If you are marketing to me, for example, I am a Generation X (on the cusp of Gen Y), married, lesbian mother of two small children. Regardless of your product – marketing to me versus one of my single lesbian friends or married Baby Boomer friends would be different. This difference is based upon factors outside of the commonality of being lesbians.

This is by far one of the biggest pitfalls I’ve seen companies make when preparing their LGBT outreach efforts. Not only is sending your gay men’s cruise flier to my lesbian household a waste of your marketing dollars, but it is also sending the message that you don’t know what you are doing because you are throwing us all into the monolithic heap of ‘LGBT people to market to’. You are better off not doing anything at all if you are going to treat the community as one large undifferentiated mass of people.

When speaking with people, I’ve found that the best way to demonstrate this poor planning is to look at how deodorants are marketed. If you see a commercial for Secret for Her versus a commercial for Old Spice for Men – would you ever wonder if Secret was trying to market to men and Old Spice was trying to market to women? Of course not. The deodorant companies’ marketing is geared very specifically to their individual target customers. This is no different as it relates to your LGBT marketing efforts.

Learn more about the book and Jenn T. Grace at her website.

The post Exclusive excerpt of LGBT marketing guru’s new book first appeared on Lesbian.com.

The first national LGBT greeting card company has found a new way to empower families and support LGBT communities. Dina Proto and Dina “Dom” Poist-Proto are entrepreneurs on a mission to create professional high-quality greeting cards that reflect the emotions and sentiments of the LGBT community and their families.

Dina and Dom share four children and started their professional greeting card company, Teazled, while working full-time as nurses in the health care industry. They met through their jobs and faced challenges within their own families before they could begin their life as a couple. When Dom “came out” to her mother, her mother had a difficult time with it and kept her distance. During that time Dom’s mother wrote in a journal about her journey to acceptance. Later, that journal would be used to create some of their first greeting cards.

Read more at TaggMagazine.com

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

The post Teazled: A greeting card company for the LGBT community first appeared on Lesbian.com.