Hi As several of you know, I am on the Board of A4TE. This past week was our day to lobby Congress for trans relief. Here is my substack post about my day. I am sharing to increase exposure to this important topic. Danielle https://open.substack.com/pub/qualsit/p/the-recipe-for-a-wonderful-future?r=2s5swi&utm_medium=ios

I found myself clicking through a new member's website and discovered that their business is NGLCC Certified LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTBE) — which is a truly remarkable milestone. I’m currently in the middle of putting in my own application for LGBTBE certification through the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), which has been an unexpected but awesome journey so far. (nglcc.org) I also wanted to highlight this for anyone here who might be interested in becoming certified as a queer-owned business and didn’t know this pathway existed — because I definitely didn’t until recently. I’ll be honest — there was a part of me that did hesitate about being openly LGBTQ-owned in a field like healthcare, especially as a newer business. But then I was like, “If someone is turned off by that, they’re probably not someone I’d enjoy working with anyway,” and honestly, it probably filters out the exact people I’d hate collaborating with… so win-win. I'm curious what other people's experiences are with this. For folks who are certified or further along in your journey: what else am I missing? Other certifications, networks, resources, or opportunities that actually made a difference for you? I’d love to hear what’s been useful in your experience.

As I find myself at home and under the weather I am reminded that most of us entrepreneurs and creatives are highly driven with a touch of perfectionism which serves us well....until it doesn't. In a life of deadlines and events, meetings and numbers, we can sometimes forget to include time for self-care. Then one morning you wake up and your body is no longer offering an option. There are ways this can be addressed sooner, if you have a team you can leverage and trust that crew to allow you some time. You can pivot some meetings to on-line or simply move them. I am instituting a new rule in my life, one day in my week is just mine. No meetings or even a laptop, just me. In my creative world this is the concept of an "Artist's Day." If we run ourselves into the ground we will lose the joy that our work gives us. Just my thoughts.

Hello all - As I have shared in various sessions, I write. Here is simply a celebration of one of my fun topics (fun defined as a topic that creates ample discussion, even though the underlying reason isn't so much fun) - the article is short (1 page) and is published in a HNW (High Net Worth) targeted real estate magazine. The publisher is part of our "family," so I was happy to assist. The topic is discussing the estate impacts of posthumously conceived children, and part of a 2-hour program I teach on this topic, along with adding global marriage equality and the discussion if "lovers" (mistresses of all types) can petition to be included in inheritances (New Zealand actually has a checklist for this) Here is the link - it is a short read - and I hope you enjoy. https://online.flippingbook.com/view/6468071/10/#zoom=true Danielle

Hi Everyone! I publish a bi-weekly Substack newsletter featuring LGBTQ travel articles and destination reviews. I would love for everyone to subscribe (it's free). My goal is to showcase LGBTQ-welcoming destinations that are a bit under-the-radar. Here is a link: https://joeyamato.substack.com/