A concept in the making for over three years, we’re excited to unveil our new LGBTQ-owned business directory to you. Hi! I‘m Valerie, Founder of QueerCos.com and a proud member of the LGBTQ community.
In this blog, I’ll walk through why QueerCos.com was created and why it’s an important tool for everyone, not just LGBTQ people.
How you can help: Spread the word and Use it!
Spread the word. At Launch, QueerCos includes over 2,200 LGBTQ-owned businesses across the greater United States. This is a good start for supporting the cause but there are over 30,000 LGBTQ-owned businesses in the U.S. We have a ways to go.
- LGBTQ business owners can Add a New Listing if their free unclaimed listing is not already listed.
- They can Claim their listing if the free version already exists.
- If you know of a business that is missing Recommend it!
- Finally, post reviews for businesses to share your experiences for others.
As a patron, use it! Just by using the tool and patronizing a listed business, you are supporting a minority-owned business! Easy right?!
LGBTQ Community Support
The easiest and most obvious way to support LGBTQ-owned businesses is to do business with them but you can’t support LGBTQ-owned business if you can’t identify them. Providing direct support will empower LGBTQ business owners and increase their presence in the world of commerce and business. No more combing through Google searches, articles or lists to try to filter them out. QueerCos is your one-stop directory for that.
Ease & Safety
Who doesn’t like easy? Over the past 10 years or so, I would travel solo for work to various parts of the country. Before flying out, I would frequently jump on Google and it would be impossible to easily locate LGBTQ-owned businesses. Thankfully, things have improved; there are various LGBTQ-friendly business directories out there, but LGBTQ-owned is different. LGBTQ-owned is deliberate.
For my non-LGBTQ friends, a LGBTQ-owned business brings a sense of safety to someone in the LGBTQ community. How? Could be something simple like no contemplation or hesitation needed before saying “My wife loves this color” as a woman buying a gift at the checkout counter. You’ve seen the examples on the other end of the spectrum.
People in the LGBTQ community being attacked or losing their lives just for being who they are. Worrying about how others will react is a real thing and it can be stressful. There’s no exaggerating when I say that for someone in the LGBTQ community, knowing that a business is LGBTQ-owned is physically and emotionally relaxing. Sadly, I think you would be shocked to see some of the hateful reactions to the rollout of this website alone.
For this reason, and in keeping with the original motivation for QueerCos we have launched the tool with over 2,000 LGBTQ-owned businesses already listed. We want it to be impactful for the user as well as the LGBTQ business owners. Ideally, business owners will claim their listing and customize them with additional business details, Services, links, brand and event data.
Minority Owned Businesses Spotlight
It’s undeniable, we’re in a period of growth and awareness as a nation. Sites like Google and Yelp have expanded their owner demographic/diversity data (great move!) but it’s not searchable unfortunately.
Empowering all consumers (LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ) with data is critical to increasing the chances of a socio-economical change.
Owner Diversity search functionality is provided on QueerCos. When a new listing is added, or an existing listing Claimed, the owner can indicate if they are:
- Asian
- Black
- Hispanic-Latina
- Native American
- Pacific Islander
As the listings increase, so will the usability and impact. Locate LGBTQ Black owned businesses during Black Business Month in August. Locate LGBTQ Native American owned businesses during Native American Heritage month in November.
You get the gist.
Be intentional with your business. We’ve made it easier for you.
