How LGBTQ-Run Businesses Are Surviving — And Thriving — In The Face Of Obstacles

By Casey Quinlan

Gay marriage may be the law of the land, for now, but LGBTQ people continue to face many hurdles. There’s the increased risk of sexual violence and the threat of police brutality. And there are also economic barriers — both on the individual level (LGBT workers, especially men, earn less on average than similarly qualified heterosexuals), and in the form of special challenges for LGBTQ business owners.

According to a 2015 Gallup study, LGBTQ business owners make up 3.7% of small business owners in the U.S. The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce estimates there are 1.4 million LGBTQ-owned businesses. LGBTQ business owners tend to be younger and earlier in their careers compared to the general population, the Gallup study showed. They’re also more likely to rely on credit cards than their own cash reserves. Twenty-three percent of LGBTQ business owners said that being LGBTQ made it harder to run their businesses.

Despite these disadvantages, LGBTQ business owners are attempting to use their status as LGBTQ business owners as an advantage rather than a deficit. They’re finding microlenders aimed at financing LGBTQ businesses, supplier diversity initiatives are opening up to LGBTQ people, and business owners are finding ways to make…