GAY BUSINESS GETS the spotlight in Atlanta Nov. 8-9, as the city’s Gay & Lesbian
Chamber of Commerce hosts a day-long conference targeting business professionals,
followed the next day by a separate Gay & Lesbian Community Expo showcasing
a variety of products and services aimed at gay consumers.
The Community Expo, set for Nov. 9, brings an array of vendors and companies
together under one roof seeking gay dollars. Everything from art to travel
is represented in what amounts to a "big trade show" for gays, according
to Mickey Parsons, chamber vice president.
The Community Expo is sponsored by the Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce,
the Atlanta Executive Network and Southern Voice.
"I think Atlanta has always had a high awareness of businesses that are
friendly to our community," says David Payne, AEN president. "Events
like these really bring the community together and take the awareness to the
next level.
"The biggest challenge is raising awareness about the event and making
sure people will see and understand what it is about," Payne says.
Community Marketing, Inc. — a gay-owned company based in San Francisco — is
producing the event. The company touts a 12-year history marketing and producing
gay conferences and conventions.
Other regional gay business expos — such as "Empower 2003" last
month in Houston — boost attendance by offering attractions like live
entertainment, food courts and a job fair.
But leaders at Community Marketing say they prefer a tighter focus for their
events.
"Our expo will be a business-based expo," says David Paisley, production
manager for Community Marketing. "However, there will be things for sale
and people demonstrating their products and services."
Vendors at the Atlanta expo are evenly divided among large c
orporations known
for gay outreach, small gay businesses prominent in the Midtown area, non-profit
organizations and companies from outside Atlanta. Many of the non-local companies
are travel-related businesses that target the gay market, Paisley says.
The idea to host a Community Expo in Atlanta gained momentum after Atlanta-based
Delta Airlines expressed interest in having an event for gay consumers, Paisley
says.
Community Marketing then approached AEN and the Atlanta Gay & Lesbian
Chamber of Commerce for support, and the idea took off, he says.
Admission to the Expo includes a ticket for prize raffles to benefit local
gay service organizations. Beneficiaries were not named at press time.
THE DAY BEFORE THE EXPO, the gay Chamber of Commerce hosts "Thinking
OUTside of the Closet: How to Grow Your Business From Gay to Z." The Nov.
8 conference features six workshops led by gay business leaders.
Topics addressed in the workshops include leadership basics, tax matters,
the Atlanta business market, creating and growing big business, business etiquette,
public relations and marketing, and a survey of all steps of the business process.
"There is tremendous economic power within the gay community in Atlanta," says
Parsons, who also serves as co-chair of the Business Conference Planning Committee.
More companies are acknowledging the importance of gay businesses, he says,
noting conference sponsorship from Delta Airlines, BellSouth, IBM and the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution.
"They’re beginning to recognize that it’s a marketable niche
and there is some economic clout there," he says. "That’s continuing
to grow over time."
The conference includes a keynote address by Chance Mitchell and Justin Nelson,
co-founders of the Washington, D.C.-based National Gay & Lesbian Chamber
of Commerce.
"They’ll be talking about the economics of doing business in the
community and where the GLBT community is going as a business front," says
Pat Reda, business conference co-chair and programs chair for the Atlanta chamber. "They’ll
also talk about the ways traditional corporations are trying to woo the gay
dollar."
The chamber hopes to have at least 100 registered attendees from Atlanta and
throughout the Southeast, Parsons says.
"Our hope is not only to reach out to our gay business leaders, but that
this will also be a way for them to reach out to the community," Parsons
says.
Nov. 8, 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Sheraton Midtown Atlanta at Colony Square
188 14th St., NE
404-377-4258
www.atlantagaychamber.org
$129 members, $179 non-members
Nov. 9, 12-5 p.m.
Sheraton Midtown Atlanta at Colony Square
188 14th St. NE
404-724-9008
www.aen.org
$5
