Gay business owners still face challenges

By Joyce M. Rosenberg 

 04/27/2014 
 http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25639902/gay-business-owners-still-face-challenges

In a world full of independent businesses, it can be hard, as we've learned in class before, sometimes it can be hard to find and keep a steady paying job in which you can live off of. Economics plays a huge factor, as we all know, in how money is made by people. As we know, there are many factors that come into play in economics of how a small business functions, but with this particular article, what caught my attention is there is an increase in discrimination, thus hurting businesses.  Joyce M. Rosenber, author of this fascinating article, says "It happens a few times a year: A customer refuses to work with Dave Greenbaum because he's gay.
Greenbaum, who owns a computer repair business in Lawrence, Kan., often needs to go into customers' homes. Some people realized he is gay after he was quoted in a newspaper story about gay rights. They told Greenbaum, "I don't appreciate your lifestyle and I don't want you in my house." Others canceled appointments saying, "I found out you're gay."I thought this was just... Really shocking. You call someone when you need help with something, in this case, getting your computer repaired. I've always known there was a great deal of discrimination around the nation and world pertaining to a person's sexual orientation, but I never really thought about how it can, and is, hurting businesses. "The need to raise public awareness about AIDS, which has affected many gays, and the fight for legalization of same-sex marriage have encouraged more gays to be open about their sexual orientation and has increased acceptance of them by others. Still, gay rights advocates note that 29 states don't prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Business owners are also vulnerable, they say." I feel at this point, gay business owners have to choose. Sacrifice their business, or their personal opinions. Like the article states, if you basically share your opinions about people's sexual orientations, you are risking the entire livelyhood of your business.

challenge for some gay owners is they're not part of what they call the good old boy network. Straight men in business often connect by talking about a football game or golf trip, topics that some gay men don't care about. "A lot of the way guys relate to each other is with sports, and frankly, that doesn't interest me," says Nayte Carrick, owner of ClikClok, an Orlando, Fla.-based software company.
His home life is different and that can also make it difficult to connect.
"I don't have a girlfriend and I don't have a wife. I'm 36 and don't have kids. That's bizarre to them," he says. "Even people I think of as open-minded have difficulty relating to my life."
Some believe that being gay costs them business. Cindy Weigel, owner of Roxy Insurance in Chicago, finds it hard to sell policies to suburban families, while her wife is more successful. Weigel says she believes it's because she looks gay -- her hair is short and spiky and she says she doesn't look as feminine as other women. Her wife, Weigel says, is "pretty" and "does not look gay."
Weigel has a solid business selling to gay clients and straight ones who are single. But families are the most lucrative customers for an insurance agent.
"I feel that being gay is hurting my business," Weigel says. "It's just the way it is."
Some owners develop strategies to avoid losing business or head off an unpleasant situation." I am glad that some businesses have found ways around these potential issues, but I personally think it's sad that these precautions have to be taken in the first place.