Often we have the idea that because we join a gym, we will automatically get in shape. We create a false perception that our habits will change and that we’ll be deemed the healthiest and fittest person.

Think about how many times you have paid for a gym membership or a fitness club that you never used, or a fitness class that you never went to. Or maybe you did attend but maybe just for the first week and then never went back. It has happened to you, right?

Changes don’t happen from one day to the other. To be able to see those changes we need to put time, effort and commitment into it.

The same thing happens when you are reaching out to potential clients with the ultimate objective of obtaining new business. We all have our strategies for obtaining new clients and referrals. However, one of the most effective strategies for obtaining potential leads is by joining a local networking group.

Networking groups provide you with the opportunity of meeting professionals like you. They also help you to establish powerful connections that will potentially turn into business or refer you business.

Often people join networking groups expecting immediate results, however they do not put the effort into getting involved in the group activities, networking opportunities or getting to meet the other members of the group. Like the gym, to be able to exceed and see results while joining a networking group takes effort and time. Nonetheless, the connections it creates are long lasting and forever.  

Networking memberships won’t make you fit. They will provide you with all the tools, and opportunities that you need to be able to create a solid base to move your business forward. Networking memberships provide you with long lasting relations that will train you to get your better self ready to obtain more and build your business core.

Joining the networking group is the first step to success. Attending the networking events, conferences, and meetings is like doing the cardio workout for your business needs. Obtaining client referrals because you participated in those events is like seeing your abs for the first time. Getting to experience the amazing opportunities that networking can offer is like showing off your abs to the world and letting them see how fit you are.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce’s Gay and Lesbian Business Exchange Council (GLBX) is one of the best trainers in town to get yourself networking fit. They offer all the networking opportunities that you need to create long lasting business connections and community outreach to help you show those business abs.

The GLBX is the all-inclusive council. Within its multiple offerings, the Council has created the GLBX Referral Advantage leads group, which is the Chamber's Gay and Lesbian Business eXchange group. The GLBX leads group is open to any business interested in doing business with the community. The GLBX council and leads group are all-inclusive which means that they have a diverse membership. The Referral Advantage group also has "power teams" which are sub-groups that work very closely together to promote other businesses in a synergistic way.

If you would like to get networking fit, and experience better business, check out the GLBX council networking opportunities, or come to one of the Council’s monthly events.

The next event will be held Thursday, April 14 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Sea Watch on the Ocean, 6002 North Ocean Blvd., in Fort Lauderdale.

You can follow the GLBX on Facebook Facebook.com/FortLauderdaleGLBX/ or you can contact the GLBX Council Chair, Karen Prescod at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to obtain more information on how to become a member or check out what this exciting networking group has to offer you.

Make the GLBX one of your New Year’s resolutions.          

Regardless of the size of your business, your business plan should include a solid marketing strategy to communicate your product and /or services. Many things should be considered when developing effective marketing initiatives. Featured below are just a few, invaluable marketing tips outlined by Justin Bell, CEO of Arc + Arrow Creative Group (www.arcandarrow.com), a local agency based in Miami, which will help you reap promising rewards. These four easy tips will surely simplify your life and maximize your marketing.

When you join the GFLGLCC - Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, you get much more than a chance to network with some of South Florida’s most successful LGBT business owners, professionals and allies.

No one likes to think about getting older. But we’re all doing it, so we might as well do it right. Since May is National Elder Law Month, it’s a great time for people of all ages, but especially seniors, to make sure they’re up to date on their legal options as they get older (and wiser). Here are 10 tips that are absolute must-knows:

Greetings from Madrid Spain!

Once again, GLBX’s ARTOPIA will take over NSU Museum Fort Lauderdale for its third annual event – an explosion of visual, performing, fashion, and culinary arts.

Big data is a big buzzword today, but the United States has been in the business of big data since the signing of the Constitution. 

The Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC) is the largest not-for-profit corporation in the county for gay and lesbian businesses. With membership on the rise, the Chamber's mission is to promote a unified and thriving, gay and gay-friendly, business and professional community throughout Miami-Dade County.

At this historic moment in the LGBT civil rights movement, Florida is on the front line of Southern states in achieving LGBT equality, and the business community is helping to lead the way.

One of the goals of the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC) is to provide resources for our members and the community. If you are ever in the need of an attorney or legal assistance we strongly encourage that you search within our affinity group GALLA (Gay & Lesbian Lawyers Association of South Florida) to find the resource that better suits your needs.

One of the goals of the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC) is to provide resources for our members and the community. If you are ever in the need of an attorney or legal assistance we strongly encourage that you search within our affinity group GALLA (Gay & Lesbian Lawyers Association of South Florida) to find the resource that better suits your needs.

GALLA is a voluntary professional association for lawyers, law students, paralegals and other members of the legal profession providing a visible community presence within the South Florida legal community. Every attorney that joins the MDGLCC automatically becomes part of GALLA and can make use of all the Marketing tools and Networking opportunities that we offer for promotion and generate business. GALLA’s purpose is to:

1. Promote human rights

2. Provide opportunities for lawyers, judges & law students to meet in a professional setting

3. Encourage the appointment of members of GALLA to the judiciary

4. Provide a forum for members of GALLA in the legal community to exchange ideas & information of mutual concern

5. Promote the spirit of unity among attorneys who are members of GALLA

6. Promote the hiring & advancement of members of GALLA to public agencies & commissions

7. Discuss & take action on questions of law in the administration of justice that affect the gay and lesbian community

8. Promote the creation of coalitions with other legal organizations & stimulate the practice and professional expertise of lawyers who are members of GALLA

9. Promote sensitivity to legal issues particularly faced by members of the gay and lesbian community

10. Demonstrate the presence of members of GALLA in the law

11. Facilitate and improve the administration of justice

12. Promote legislative & administrative reforms for the purpose of eliminating discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender expression

13. Assure fair & just treatment of members of the gay and lesbian community under the law.

The next GALLA event is a luncheon on 12/6 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. @ Perricones MarketPlace & Cafe (15 SE 10th Street, Miami). $35 members / $45 non-members. Guest speaker will be Mark Scott from Kaufman Rossin "Taxes". For more information on GALLA visit www.galla.mdglcc.com. For any inquiries or interest in joining the MDGLCC as well as RSV’ing for the upcoming GALLA luncheon, please visit GayBizMiami.com or reach us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 305-673-4440.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (GFLGLCC) announces the start of a monthly series of smaller networking luncheons held on the fourthTuesday of every month. These ‘intimate’ luncheons will take place at Dapur Asian Tapas and Ultra Lounge, 1620 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, from 12 Noon to 1 p.m. ‘

The Gay & Lesbian Business Exchange group of the Greater For Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce held their annual Artopia Event on Sept. 24, 2016. The event was a success raising $9,000 for the new initiative “Our Night Out” which is organized by the Stonewall National Museum & Archives, Island City Stage, and the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida. This new initiative is organized by these three groups to help promote gay arts and culture. The money served as matching funds for a Knight Foundation Grant.

One of the goals of the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC) is to promote networking within the existing gay and gay-friendly business and professional communities. While we accomplish such with the many opportunities we create as part of our programming, you do not want to miss participating in our biggest networker of the year coming up next month.

The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC) is one of the largest and most active business chambers of its kind in South Florida. Since its inception over 18 years ago, we have taken pride in successfully promoting and supporting opportunities for the LGBT and allied community through its role as a grassroots business and professional association.

If you are in the search for an opportunity to network, connect, and engage with the LGBT business community and allies in Miami look no further. The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC) will honor corporate and individual supporters of the Miami-Dade LGBTQ community at its 16th Annual Gala and Awards Celebration “The Topaz Gala” presented by Wells Fargoon Saturday, May 13, at the Hilton Miami Downtown, 1601 Biscayne Boulevard. At this event there will be plenty of opportunities to network while celebrating the honorees who were selected for their long-term commitment to fostering diversity, as well as for their efforts in contributing to the overall quality of life in South Florida.  

Psychologists at Harvard University published an article in early 2017 recommending five critical elements for raising healthy children. This article will highlight how business leaders and owners from the LGBTQ community can serve as role models and allies to the teenagers and young adults who begin their journey as out LGBTQ persons.

The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is on the final stretch of its Membership Campaign and consequently compiling the information that will appear in its “2015 Membership Directory & Resource Guide.”  

The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is on the final stretch of its Membership Campaign and consequently compiling the information that will appear in its “2016 Membership Directory & Resource Guide.” This book is the most important LGBT & Allied community resource directory available in South Florida from which to plan, purchase and/or select service providers.

If it seems the lazy days of summer are impacting your business’s bottom-line, have no fear and gear-up for fall profits.

S.O.M.A. means “Support Our Members Always.” As a community chamber (versus a civic chamber), we encourage both our gay and gay-friendly family to support those who support us. One of the benefits of membership in the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC) is the knowledge that an $8 billion local LGBT market searches our roster of members first when making purchase decisions about goods and services. With a list of over 700 companies comprising our membership, more likely than not you will find what you are looking for.

Why is AIDS still relevant 36 years after the first case was discovered in 1981? Why do we still need to care? Are people really still getting infected? Why is SMART Ride still relevant 14 years since its inception and over 20 years since the first AIDS bicycle ride took place in California?

Vote for your favorites today

As expected, following the recent decision by the Supreme Court to legalize gay marriage nationwide, the same sex wedding market has exploded. A report from the Williams Institute, a national think tank at the UCLA School of Law, estimates that 24,248 same-sex couples will marry in Florida during the first three years it is legal. Those weddings, according to the report, would generate $182.2 million to the state and local economy and create between 875 and 2,626 jobs in the tourism and recreation sector.

How to remain upbeat and positive in 2016

There recent passing of the law that allows for same sex marriages in Florida will for sure positively impact our local economy. Businesses, both gay and allied, are eager to offer their products and / or services to those who will soon join their loved ones in matrimony. Many wedding preparations are on their way and businesses are cruising full steam ahead in aiding these couples in their journey.

On behalf of the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce we would like to wish our members and the community at large a prosperous New Year ahead. May 2015 be a year of personal and professional growth where businesses continue to thrive in order to contribute to our economy and the progress of our city. $8 Billion – That is the estimated LGBT purchasing power in Miami-Dade County. We encourage the LGBT community to support those businesses that invest in our community needs. It is from this support that we thrive and have a voice in the policies that shape our nation, our state, and our local communities.

The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce launched last month its MDGLCC - “U” Educational Series of Events. These events consist of opportunities where members and guests can tap into the expertise of business leaders to obtain some tools and key learnings that they can apply to their own businesses or careers.

The Gay and Lesbian Business Exchange [GLBX], a council of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, is Broward County’s premier support for Gay and Lesbian owned businesses as well as gay-friendly businesses is once again at the forefront of “building bridges” with the community as a whole.

The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce launched last month its MDGLCC - “U” Educational Series of Events. These events consist of opportunities where members and guests can tap into the expertise of business leaders to obtain some tools and key learnings that they can apply to their own businesses or careers.