Known as the “Professional Lesbian,” Jenn Tracz Grace, M.S. is a marketing and communications expert that has been in the industry for the past ten years. Focusing specifically on the LGBTQ market, Grace’s website states, “I teach straight people how to market to gay people and gay people how to market themselves.”
Though much of her past focused on helping clients understand LGBT people, she has decided to shift her priorities in 2015 and focus on building a stronger LGBT business community.
“Part of me feels like there’s just so much more of a need to help fellow LGBT business owners that it just makes more sense for me,” says Grace.
She is also the author of two Amazon best-selling books. The first, But You Don’t Look Gay… Successful Marketing Strategies for Doing Business with The Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Community, is ally-focused and reads as a guidebook for understanding the unique, niche market.
Her second book, No Wait, You Do Look Gay… The 7 Mistakes Preventing You from Selling to the $830 Billion LGBT Community is also geared toward allies but is more about proper communication when working with LGBT clients and partners.
She is in the process of writing a third book, but has decided to gear it more toward gay readers and more specifically LGBT business owners. Grace is a firm believer that she can learn something from anyone and encourages business owners and entrepreneurs at any level to reach out to her with their personal stories of traversing the marketplace from an LGBT background.
“I need to know what other people have gone through because I don’t want it to be a book based just on my experience,” explains Grace. “I want it to be based on a lot of successful LGBT businesses so we can really make something that’s a nice guide to shave off time in the learning curve of being a business owner and being gay.”
Another focus of Grace’s is helping LGBT individuals market their own personal stories. Whether it is helping ghostwrite books or scheduling speaking engagements; she works as almost a counselor, life coach, and business manager for LGBT individuals looking to promote their brand.
“I kind of come in and demystify things and say ‘Okay, let’s just start from scratch. You’re the author so all you need to worry about is telling your story. You worry about that and I will help you with all the logistics behind the scenes.’”
She feels that the more LGBT stories that are out there, the more we can connect to each other and the general public. With her new shift in focus, backed by a decade of experience, Grace’s end goal is to get more stories and businesses out in the marketplace and continue to grow and support the community.
