BY JANET O. PENN
Lesbian Business Community
When I started my career 35-plus years ago, there were few business opportunities available to me in my chosen field, and even fewer that effectively tapped into the lesbian market (business owners and consumers). Plus, few organizations were around to support the particular needs and concerns of lesbian-owned businesses. Something had to be done to bring together and promote this underrepresented population.
While there are myriad resources available to the wider LGBT community, none are targeted to the lesbian business community or that help consumers or businesses easily identify lesbian-owned businesses-nor do they do so on a cost-effective basis. The seeds of The Lesbian Business Community took root and in June 2016, it launched-a vibrant business directory and community in one, designed to get our members connected, sharing ideas and building their businesses among true peers-from startups to seasoned pros. Simply put, we’re all about building your business network-in your area and across the nation-with entrepreneurs and business professionals who are all identified as lesbian or LGBT-friendly.
Rather than settle for a static business directory, we created a highly optimized platform that is interactive, interesting and full of insights geared to our audience.
Business owners listed on our directory can easily find strategic partners, vendors and potential customers; our community members will find loads of information they actually care about! Our nationwide LGBT events listings are quite comprehensive, and our compelling articles series provides timely, relevant business tips to help lesbians grow their businesses. There’s also some really cool info on LGBT lifestyle topics (Travel & Leisure, Arts & Entertainment and Life & Style). We will soon feature lesbian business writers who will share their expertise, all under our umbrella of services. This will be a first! And it’s all at LesbianBusinessCommunity.com.
The Lesbian Business Community, based in Livingston, N.J., is run by founder Janet O. Penn, a 35-year veteran of the publishing, marketing and web development industries.