Coming Out as an LGBTQ+ Business
In 2021, Sarah Scala Consulting came out as an LGBTQ+ business. Although I have been out to friends and family for a number of years, many people in the business world did not know that I am a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Why Now?
Many people have asked me why now? I often answer that question with feeling safer today publicly and also wanting to provide services to support LGBTQ+ leaders for my clients. As a business owner, I know that in order to grow income streams or parts of my company, I need to market, promote, and share about these services so that people will be aware that these are offered.
I started out in January contacting clients and friends in leadership positions who are also LGBTQ+ or allies. I got a lot of feedback that they never knew of anyone that did LGBTQ+-specific leadership coaching. I know many people who support this coaching niche, however either are not public about it or do not focus their marketing on it. What that means for LGBTQ+ employees is that it is difficult to find a coach, speaker, or facilitator that fits their unique needs at work.
Coming out as a business has had some similarities to coming out as a person. There continues to be a feeling of nervousness or uncertainty every time I add to my LGBTQ+ service marketing through social media posts, blogs, and my newsletter. At first it was simple emails to people I knew. As I became more comfortable, I felt a web page specific for LGBTQ+ career coaching was important to add. For a few months, I didn't even publicly share this webpage nor could people really find it unless I simply emailed them a link to it. As I became more comfortable and felt more supported, I started writing LGBTQ+-specific blogs, and I also built an entire section of my website to specifically focus on these services.
Pride Month Contributions
During June (Pride month) I added a link to my LGBTQ+ Solutions page to the header of all of my web pages and I also added a rainbow flag next to my name on my LinkedIn profile. These may seem like tiny little changes to many, but they took time for me to feel confident and comfortable with being so vulnerable publicly.
A large part of my business now provides LGBTQ+-specific services. Had I not come out as a business, I don't think this would be the case.
What’s Next?
I am excited to share that I have was selected to speak at the 2021Out & Equal Workplace Summit on the topic of Sustaining LGBTQ+ Success with Optimism, Resilience, and Grit in October! I am also working on certifying Sarah Scala Consulting as an LGBTQ+ certified business through the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
Each month I challenged myself to do something additional to promote or put out there that I provide LGBTQ+ services. It has not been easy. However, I feel confident about this choice as I am supported by peers, mentors, clients, and my network. I am pleased to bring my full self to work now - even as the President of Sarah Scala Consulting!
Looking for a resource to provide LGBTQ+ Leadership Coaching or Workshop Facilitation for your employee resource group? Contact me.
Follow my blogs on Medium, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Sign up for our Newsletter for great articles, tools, and top blog posts
About the Author:
About the Author:
Sarah Scala is a sought-after speaker supporting unique needs and issues within the LGBTQ+ community. She is a senior talent management leader and executive coach with 20+ years of experience providing organization development, change management, and leadership development solutions for diverse global and local industries. She is a collaborative consultant, coach, and educator supporting the performance transformation of executives, leaders, and teams. Sarah is a methodical, results-driven leader recognized for helping clients reach their highest potential, increase revenue, reduce turnover, elevate business profitability, build competencies, and improve performance. Sarah lives with her partner in Boston, MA, USA.
Privacy policy: I do not rent, sell, trade or share your email address with anyone, ever.
©Sarah A Scala Consulting
All rights reserved. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sarah A. Scala Consulting with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.