Diversity Builder - How it All Began.....

When an accounting firm refused to work on Rachel Stanton and her partner's taxes because of their sexual orientation, she couldn't believe her ears.

Soon after, Rachel said, the couple received what felt like the cold shoulder from a jeweler while they were out shopping in Brentwood, TN.

''It saddens me,'' Debbie Wolkiewicz states. ''We are in the new millennium and people will still turn away business from someone who they don't realize is just like them and may even be their neighbor.''

Co-founders, Rachel Stanton and Debbie Wolkiewicz began to think, "Wouldn’t it be great if there was a business professional locator or referral service on the internet for people like us?" So out of a Franklin, Tennessee bonus room, Diversity Builder was born, www.diversitybuilder.com.

Diversity Builder began as a website that offered free searches for gay-friendly real estate agents, doctors, lawyers, travel agents, mortgage brokers, financial advisors and more.

“We basically started it out of necessity,” states Debbie. “When we really thought about it, though, we realized that by starting this referral service it could benefit the entire community.”

“We’ve all banded together to share ideas for ways we can help the community. Things we can do for the community and ways we can give back to the community,” said Robin Amonette, one of Diversity Builder's many supporters.

Launched in November 2003, the site began with referrals in only four states. With steady growth, the site's referral service eventually reached nationwide, with a provider in every category in each state.
The Diversity Builder founders envisioned the website as a business professional resource for the gay, lesbian and transgender community that would serve to strengthen the LGBT community across the nation.

Diversity Builder is continually growing and has even been ranked in the top 5% of all websites on the internet. (Source: Alexa.com)

Internet Marketing Emerges from Customer Demand - SEO, SEM, Email Marketing

The diversity friendly providers that listed with the referral service received so much business, that they began to request other internet marketing services as well, such as search engine optimization, email marketing, and enhanced local presence on internet mapping sites, such as Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Ask.com, and AOL. "Basically, our providers noticed how much traffic diversitybuilder.com was receiving and began to ask me if I could help them increase traffic on their own sites," Rachel Stanton states.

Marketing As Diversity Builder began to take on more SEO/SEM clients, other businesses began to recognize that being diversity friendly is good for business, supporting healthy workplace relationships, lowering the number of lawsuits, and even profitable, as it improves communication between the company and its clients. One company even went as far as to contact Diversity Builder in order to find if there was a way to improve the attitude of its staff towards its diverse clientele and each other.

Workplace Training Division is Founded - Diversity Training and Beyond

Thus the third branch of Diversity Builder was born, the training division. Diversity Builder provides training to individuals and groups including diversity (sensitivity) training, sexual harassment prevention, team building, sexual orientation in the workplace, new supervisor training, and more. Potential advertisers may contact the the sales team sales@diversitybuilder.com or call 615-424-2323.




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