We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eboné Bell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Eboné, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

When I would pick up my local LGBTQ publications, I always noticed they catered to white gay men. As a Black queer woman, it was rare I saw myself represented. So that’s when I thought about creating a publication for queer women. I knew I existed, so that means there were other queer women like me who existed and whose stories deserved to be told. That’s when I decided to leave my full-time job to create something I believed in! In September 2012, Tagg was intentionally created in response to the lack of lesbian and queer women’s stories and images in LGBTQ publications and news outlets across the country.

I knew it was a little risky creating a bi-monthly print publication at a time where people were saying, print was dead. But I had a feeling LGBTQ women would appreciate having something tangible they could call their own. I also knew that people in our community were not only looking for themselves in stories, but they were also looking for community and connection, especially with other queer women. It was important for me to create a magazine and media platform that embodied a sense of connection and the mission was in alignment with it. That’s why the publication is called “Tagg” because when you play the game of tag, you have to reach out and touch someone. After that, we made it our mission to uplift the voices of our community through impactful and entertaining stories, hosting inclusive events, and providing free resources.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m the founder and editor of Tagg Magazine, an award-winning print publication and media company serving LGBTQ women across the country. Tagg Magazine celebrates ten years of telling thousands of stories, creating safe spaces for queer women, and providing important resources for the LGBTQ community. Over the past five years, Tagg Magazine has been named “Top 25 LGBTQ-Owned Companies” by the Washington Business Journal.

A few years ago, I was featured in Forbes Magazine as an “Inspiring Black Entrepreneur Changing Our World.” And that’s exactly my mission: to create change and leave a stamp on this world. One of those stamps includes starting a student group for LGBTQ people of color while attending University of Maryland College Park. Twenty years later the group is still going strong. In 2018, I founded the Tagg Scholarship Fund—a scholarship created specifically for young, queer, women of color who can’t afford to attend school.

In addition to running a media company, I enjoy sharing my knowledge and passion as a keynote speaker. Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of presenting at over 100 organizations and schools like Microsoft, Deloitte, Sourcepoint Technologies, Edward Jones, VistaPrint, Penn State, and Rochester Institute of Technology, just to name a few.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe two things helped build my representation. First, I believe that being authentically and unapologetically myself is what helped build my representation in my industry. I always say that when you walk into any space and know exactly who you are and what you represent, you’ll be surprised how many people and opportunities move in your direction. Second, being a person of my word has helped with keeping not only my reputation, but my business in good standing. I always do my best to uphold (and sometimes go beyond—if I can) agreements, partnerships, and things I commit myself to as an editor and speaker. However, if there is something I know I can’t do, I say no. And if there is something I’ve committed to but I can’t complete it in time, I always stay in communication. It’s something I try to instill in my team as well.

Long story short, people will respect you more when you’re honest and showing up as your true self.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Like most businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to get creative and pivot to ensure Tagg could continue to stay in business and thrive. At this point we had lost almost 50% of our revenue source, which included having to cancel our largest event of the year, our Pride Womxn’s Party.

Because majority of the world was living and working full-time in their homes, we cut costs of printing magazines for our distribution boxes, keeping our print magazine subscription-based only. We also had to start getting creative with our online content. That’s when we started a monthly web show that combined virtual wine tasting and chatting with celebrity guests, all while raising money to save queer women’s media. The web show allowed us to gain followers, new subscribers, and donations.

Thanks to teamwork, determination, and the support from the community, we were able to continue our mission and keep queer women’s media thriving.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ebonebell.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/ebone.bell
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebonebell/
• Twitter: Twitter.com/ebonebell