11/9/2003

INBA directory puts fairness first

Gay and lesbian business community has a home, and deservedly so, Bert Caldwell says.

Bert Caldwell / The Spokesman-Review

An annual directory published by the Inland Northwest Business Alliance provides kind of a three-way mirror for the Inland Northwest's gay and lesbian community.

They can see themselves, the broader Eastern Washington and North Idaho community can see them, and those outside the area can see what the region holds for a population increasingly being identified with innovative, flourishing economies.

Marvin Reguindin says impressions on all sides of the glass have improved.

Reguindin, owner of Thinking Cap Communications, has begun putting together the ninth edition of the Inland INBA's Community Resource Directory, which was launched in 1995 by an INBA member who wanted to find a plumber who would not be put off by photos of him with his partner.

That first effort had about 30 entries, none by plumbers. The 2003 version has 75. Still, no plumbers.

Listings include gay businesses as well as those considered "gay friendly," which Reguindin defines as "Anyone who is accepting and wants to break down stereotypes about gay people."

He says many mainstream businesses prefer to advertise in the directory rather than the city's two gay newspapers because the content of those publications makes some uncomfortable.

Both listings and advertising are split almost evenly between gay and gay-friendly businesses. The INBA itself is more heavily gay.

Reaction to the directory has always been positive, Reguindin says.

"If you want to reach the gay market, we're the way to do it."

Although ads are relatively inexpensive -- less than $1 per day for one-half page of full color -- there has been some slippage, Reguindin says. Many advertisers are sole proprietors for whom any advertising expenditures are difficult during lean times.

But Donna Lajoie, senior loan officer at National City Mortgage, says even a few referrals from her ad more than offset the costs.

"It's a quality publication that people do rely on," she says. And they hang onto it, just as they would with mainstream Yellow Pages.

National surveys show gays have higher incomes than the overall population, spend more and are more entrepreneurial.

"They will be very loyal to those reaching out to them," Reguindin adds.

The INBA circulates about 3,000 copies through the local gay church, gay and lesbian bars, the Spokane Human Rights Commission and Auntie's Bookstore. Copies were recently made available at the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Advertising revenues not only pay for the directory itself, but also INBA scholarships, which this year totaled $3,000.

The 2004 edition is due out in January.

Reguindin says the directory helps affirm for the gay community its increasing presence and status.

The early directories were low-key and intended only for the gay community. Reguindin says INBA started to expand the directory audience after the Spokane City Council in 1999 adopted an ordinance protecting gay rights.

Confidence in the community's tolerance for gays was reinforced the following year when Dean Lynch, who is gay, was appointed to an open council seat.

The publication has become a tool for the increasing number of business and government leaders coming to understand the contributions gays and lesbians can make to the local economy. Economist and author Richard Florida underscored that connection during a September visit to Spokane.

Mike Edwards, president of the Downtown Business Partnership, says Florida and his book, "The Rise of the Creative Class," suggested that gays were more likely to seek out urban amenities -- precisely the services downtown boosters strive to provide.

"The directory helps show that there is a gay community out there," he says.

Reguindin says gays or lesbians considering a move to the Spokane area always ask the same three questions: Is there a gay community? Is there a supportive environment for gays? Is there a directory?

That Spokane can say yes to all three makes attracting more innovators to the area that much easier.

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