If you create it, be direct or creative with the group name, avatar, and cover. Check out the Joining and Creating Groups Knowledge Base article.
Thriving together
We recently refocused the site and allowed active Yearly/Monthly members to optionally be affiliates/influencers and earn a residual income. Check out the Affiliate/Influencer Income Estimator.
Are you interested in the group because you are a writer or content creator? See Get Published on OutBüro.
Who doesn’t like a bit of news, great information, warm fuzzy stories, learning something new, or just a good chuckle?
We know the challenge it can be to craft good to great to amazing content. Don’t think we’ve hit amazing yet, but striving to do so and would love to have you be part of our journey. We’ve always welcomed posts from site members. As OutBüro shifts to a paid membership model, we are striving to support the community and grow together.
Types of Content
With the recent shift, OutBüro is now an LGBTQ whole self inclusive platform. Articles and content can be about pretty much anything. We’d love original content, but 100% fine with it living on your own site as well. Press releases, business product or service awareness, informational, how-to, educational, entertaining, editorial, opinion, news, and others. OutBüro currently has wide topic categories and we are open to adding other top-level categories. Tags and hashtags may also be used to hone your article/content SEO.
You are welcome to link to your site within your content to grow your search engine love juice.
Earn in 2-Ways
Would you like to share your content on a growing LGBTQ+ global community that rewards you in 2 ways?
Affiliate/Influencer Program
We have to pay for marketing so we might as well provide an optional ability to earn residual income through our Affiliate/Influencer program as you influence your audience (10%), their audience (5%), and their audience (2.5%) to join OutBüro as a Yearly/Monthly member. Yes, that is 3 levels deep. See the Affiliate/Influencer Income Estimatorfor more on that.
Post Performance
We have implemented a system integrated into analytics to track many forms of interaction with a post. Provides an Author Income and Page Performance Dashboard. We want to strive for a good balance of value for all coupled with the 1st revenue stream. From word count, a number of images or videos, total views, unique views, comments, and more for a holistic view. We’ll be working on a Post Income Estimator soon and will update this when ready. We’ll be open to constructive feedback on the base and have the ability to provide per author unique plans if agreed.
In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with out gay author Michael Dumlao regarding his new book “The Wisdom of Guncles” (gay uncles).
The Wisdom of Guncles is about queer people and their relationship with family — however, they choose to define it. Featuring a diverse pantheon of gay uncles (“guncles”) and other queer mentors, their stories offer unique perspectives about life, love, and personal empowerment.
Michael Dumlao (he/his) is an artist, author, and activist equipped with more than twenty-one years of advancing diversity, equity, and social justice through award-winning brand strategy, digital marketing, and creative storytelling in corporate, federal, academic, and non-profit environments. He led the rebrand of a Fortune 500 company as its first Director of Brand and serves as a senior advisor for leaders in defense and intelligence.
Are you the black sheep in your family who chafes at traditions and seeks examples of how to redefine them?
Grab your Kindle or Paperback copy today.
In our conversation, Michael shares a bit about a few of the stories. We also chat about his process of writing the book and how his passion for storytelling started as a teenager full of angst and his need to express it through writing. The stories are human stories where any reader regardless of age, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation may connect with the story and perhaps learn a bit about themselves and/or others. As a family “black sheep” bunking the expectations of others, we can find our own identity, passions, likes, dislikes, and so forth. With some family dynamics, it can take courage to break out and do your own thing. Some people are completely rejected by birth families for being different, not the following conformity, and for being LGBTQ+. We can choose to view those past negative situations from a victim’s perspective or change our mind’s narrative into viewing it as a challenge that we dealt with and now is a superpower. With those life lessons learned, the book is about sharing such wisdom with others so that we all may rise and be our true authentic selves.
With each chapter, Dumlao examines what various LGBTQ+ experiences teach about disrupting norms, exploring identity, and creating chosen families that affirm one’s truth. Readers will ponder questions such as:
How do I challenge and change traditions that hide those that are different?
If I choose to never dim my light, will I become a beacon for others lost in the dark?
How will recovering past stories and unsung heroes help us create a better future?
How can I leave a space more welcoming than how I found it?
The Wisdom of Guncles shares ten powerful journeys, each bearing knowledge honed through struggle and triumph, on living with audacious authenticity and compassion. While these narratives are unapologetically queer, they hold universal lessons about the human condition that, like all stories about family, are grounded in love.
Michael was born in Manila, Philippines, raised in Sydney, Australia, schooled in Santa Barbara, California; residing in Washington DC with his Peruvian husband Daniel and their rescue dog, America. He is the proud guncle to more than fifty far-flung niblings and protégés to whom his debut book, The Wisdom of Guncles, is dedicated.
Join us OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies, and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality-focused benefits, policies, and business practices. https://www.OutBuro.com
Would you like to be featured like this? Contact the host Dennis Velco via our site’s Recommend an Interview Guest form. https://outburo.com/recommend-a-guest/
In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with Richard LeMay. He is an executive producer, director, screenwriter, screenwriting instructor, actor, and author.
If you have questions or comments for Richard or Dennis, please add them to the comments.
Richard’s career started out as a physical therapist. His current career started out when he was discovered and asked to be in some commercials. He’s made several LGBTQ films, most notably “Children of God” that he produced. It went on to win 27 international film festival awards. Another great LGBTQ film he wrote, produced, and directed is “Naked as We Came” which may be currently watched on Amazon Prime, Hulu, and other streaming services. Watch or listen to the conversation to hear Dennis’ review and recommendation of “Naked as We Came”.
Other film titles currently on Amazon Prime included “Whirlwind”, “200 American”, and Blood Bound”. He was the director of the remake of Francis Ford Coppola’s first firm “Dementia 13” for Universal, also currently on Amazon Prime.
www.rlemay.com
www.nakedaswecamethemovie.com
Link to his profile on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0501165/
Connect with Richard on OutBüro: https://outburo.com/profile/richardlemay/
We chat about how fear of asking for help can hold you back in your career. He learned by doing many roles in filmmaking. By doing so he has an understanding of all roles and the process. On projects, Richard is open to considering ideas from others. As the film director, he wants the best possible outcome and has to make the decisions in a timely manner. As he states, “the best idea wins”.
Richard’s first gay novel is “All The Way to Wrightsville” is a coming-of-age story. Who says you can’t run away from your problems? Twenty-one-year-old Pete plans to do just that: run away from his blue-collar, Massachusetts upbringing, his anger issues, and most importantly, Jackson, his overbearing twin brother. And while he’s at it, he’ll take his deepest secret with him. A recent college graduate, Pete moves to North Carolina to start his new job and his new life. After years of being compared to his gregarious and lovable twin, he needs to create an identity of his own and not be seen as the “angry one” or “Jackson’s brother.” What he finds are the same problems that have always held him back. That is until he has an affair with his boss, who is married with two kids.
What starts out as a dream come true begins to take a darker turn, until Jackson shows up in North Carolina to—once again—upend Pete’s life. Although Jackson’s intentions are pure, his help is reckless. He drags Pete out of the closet and tries his hardest to point him in the direction of real love. Wickedly funny, sexy, and deeply touching, ALL THE WAY TO WRIGHTSVILLE is the story of one man’s journey to find himself…and maybe even true love along the way.
Join me and Richard on OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies, and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality-focused benefits, policies, and business practices. https://www.OutBuro.com
Would you like to be featured like this? Contact the host Dennis Velco. https://outburo.com/profile/dennisvelco/
In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with John-Manuel Andriote, freelance health/medical-focused journalist for the likes of The Atlantic, Psychology Today, and others and author.
In his early journalist career, he focused his reporting on HIV/AIDS and then broadened it to the wider health and medical topics. Over the past 10 years, he has focused on psychological and emotional resilience. He is currently training to become a personal resilience coach to help others build their own resilience.
John shares that in 2005, after reporting on HIV/AIDS, he received an HIV positive diagnosis. This rather shocking diagnosis caused John to reflect on his life, the challenges, and assessing his ability to reach a positive outlook thriving and surviving life’s storms. Exploring his own resilience made him keenly interested in the topic. Stonewall Strong is not a self-help book perse, but rather a collection of personal stories that demonstrate resilience so that the readers may connect with authentic stories and glean insights.
In our engaging conversation, John discusses his book titled Stonewall Strong that focuses on resilience told through his own personal story from a Journaling archive stretching over 30 years to one on one interviews with notable gay figures like Bishop Eugene Robinson, Larry Kramer, Congressman Barney Frank, and others from many walks of life. We chat about how members of the LGBTQ community face many obstacles and challenges others don’t yet still find ways to be resilient and thrive. John found that we need to tell our own stories in our own ways versus allowing others to define us. Too often still today LGBTQ people are bombarded with the negative message that they are not worthy, they don’t belong, they are not loved for who they are. One must overcome these messages that can become deeply ingrained causing emotional, mental, development, relationship, self-loathing, and potential substance abuse issues. Resilience is reframing that message internally from a state of the victim to a mindset of a survivor, a hero for overcoming.
This mindset shift is very important because negativities attract negativity likewise positive attracts positive. I share my personal story of having to put boundaries in place with people who after years of trying never accepted me for who I am and vehemently kept throwing mystical dogmatic religion in my face. It was difficult, but I had to distance myself from them out of love and respect for myself.
John developed a stand-alone course on developing resilience which he offers for free. It is found on his website at http://stonewallstrong.com/
To connect with John-Manuel find him on OutBüro here. https://outburo.com/profile/jmandriote/
Join me and John-Manuel on OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality focused benefits, policies, and business practices. https://www.OutBuro.com
Would you like to be featured like this? Contact the host Dennis Velco. https://outburo.com/profile/dennisvelco/
In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with Christopher Clawson-Rule, publisher, author, out gay entrepreneur.
Christopher, who has several books published himself turned publisher with over 150 authors he represents says writer’s block is bullshit. He elaborates that writer’s block is just laziness. In our discussion, we explore his journey from starting his first book, ways to overcome writer’s block, and how he became a publisher. Christopher started writing after his 16-year-old daughter challenged him when after reading a book he said, “I could write better than this. Her reply was, “Well then why don’t you?”. When he completed his first manuscript she further challenged him to get it published. He was disappointed that the publisher simply handed him is now bound book and basically said, “Here you go.”. At the time Christopher was living in New York City. Eager to get his book out into the world he had an idea to gorilla market it by placing 100 copies in the subway stations. Passengers picked up his book and started reading it on their commute. Other passengers saw several people at the same time reading it and therefore thought it had to be good. This low budget marketing campaign paid off. It resulted in over 17,000 copies sold in a short time.
By the time Christopher finished his third book other authors began seeking his advice on how he was selling so successfully when the publishers offered little to no help or guidance. He realized that he wanted to help those authors in a professional way and so Breaking Rules Publishing was born. Watch or listen for his full story and examples of authors who break the rules to stand out.
Join me and Christopher on OutBüro, the LGBTQ professional and entrepreneur online community network for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, allies and our employers who support LGBTQ welcoming workplace equality focused benefits, policies, and business practices. https://www.OutBuro.com
Ray Barron-Woolford is a lifetime community activist, broadcaster, playwright, and author. His most recent play is Liberty about Kath Duncan’s role in establishing the LGBTQ and civil rights movement in 1930’s Britain, laying the groundwork for The National Council Civil Liberties. Liberty is based on his book The Last Queen of Scotland exploring the rich and fascinating life of Kath Duncan.
Kath Duncan was a significant figure during the 1930s involved in nearly every significant civil rights movement, revered and respected by most. She was a personal good friend of Winston Churchill’s wife before she married Churchill and remained close. Kath was a lesbian and married a gay man to hide their sexual orientation during a time that was not welcoming. Due to her political views and activism, she was under surveillance by the British government. There is therefore a tremendous amount of documentation about her life, who she associated with, where she went, and even what she ate. Ray petitioned access to the government records on Duncan which offers his book on her incredible rich accurate details. After the book was released Ray was encouraged to write a play to help bring Kath Duncan’s story to life. In our, discussion Ray describes the process he went through and the details of creating a period of work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kath_Duncan
In a short time, his play gained attention and he was contacted by #Netflix who optioned it as a movie or series.
She was a diminutive school teacher from Kirkcaldy who enjoyed an “extraordinary” friendship with Winston Churchill and spent two terms in jail as she led some of the biggest civil rights campaigns of her generation.
But the story of Kath Duncan, a powerful orator “everyone was scared of” has, up until now, gone largely unnoticed by a modern audience.
Newspapers of the day dedicated countless column inches to the activities of the Scot, who was involved at the highest level in campaigns such as the 1920s hunger marches and the fight against Oswald Mosley’s fascists. She took on slum landlords, rallied against gas price rises for the poor and, later, acted as a recruiter and fundraiser for the Spanish Civil War. She was also a suffragette. But her legacy has been largely airbrushed out of history, according to Raymond Woolford, author of The Last Queen of Scotland, who said Duncan should be celebrated as a working-class hero.
Woolford said: “We get taught about our kings and queens and tyrants and yet working class heroes, ordinary women like Kath, who became extraordinary, are left in the shadows. It is long overdue that Kath is recognised as a national treasure.
“In the post-war context, Kath would stand out from the crowd and become arguably the greatest UK civil rights activist of the past 100 years; no other activist was as forceful as her in her leadership in so many different campaigns.”
For more of Ray’s background watch or listen to Getting to Know Ray Baron Woolford – Part 1 at https://www.outburo.com/getting-to-know-ray-baron-woolford-part-1/
Connect with Ray on OutBüro. https://www.outburo.com/profile/raybarronwoolford/
In this episode of OutBüro Voices featuring LGBTQ professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from around the world, host Dennis Velco chats with Ray Barron-Woolford, a community activist to his core, political assignation attempt survivor, book author, playwright, and so much more.
If you want inspiration into the potential impact one person can make when you believe in yourself AND take action, this conversation is for you. Ray Barron-Woolford is one of the first out gay politicians in Britain (United Kingdom). He has a lifetime record of being a community activist championing for establishing the first not for profit housing organization in Britain and established the largest independent food bank in the UK We Care food bank. He is a gay hate crime murder attempt survivor. He has been and currently many entrepreneurial ventures including being a club promoter, club owner, broadcaster, playwright, and author in addition to being a politician, and community activist. He is a regular contributor to The London Economic, and regular on LBC, Talk Radio Europe, BBC, and RT news.
In this conversation, we openly chat with Ray whom at first seemed quite fine with a quick one long sentence describing his past. But I wanted to know a bit more detail. You will find as I have grown to know, that Ray is a warm, approachable, humble person that happens to have a heart that considers the needs of others first. He rose from literally nothing as a teen run away in the mid-1970s in Britain, living where he could, often on the streets for months at a time. Like many he was struggling with understanding and coming to terms with his sexual identity s a gay man. He didn’t fully accept his sexuality until he was in his 30s. There weren’t many ways then for him to explore, learn, share, and express himself. He found himself standing across the street from known gay bars assessing the men who entered and exited until one day he mustered the courage to venture in. During this time to get by, he’d often share a flat whom many often also ended up being closeted gay men all too afraid to even share or talk about with each other. So even when he was fortunate enough to have a roof over his head he lived in silence out of fear of being discovered. His life has truly been about helping others. Helping them meet the basic living necessities, rise to improve their situation. As news spread of his political win, now an out gay man, his success and community victories were not praised by all. He was stalked, harassed, had to be placed into police protective custody, and while there was chased by armed men who shot at him. The bullet luckily only grazed his chin, but had the aim been spot on Ray would have lost his life that day. Part 2 shines a light on an unsung female British hero Ray believes does not get the rightful recognition she deserves. Stick around for that interesting and intriguing story that Netflix has optioned.
Connect with Ray on OutBüro. https://www.outburo.com/profile/raybarronwoolford/
