GREENFIELD — Nowadays, it's easy to find a barber or therapist near you with a quick Google search. But for some in the LGBTQ+ community, it's not as simple. However, a new app is helping customers find businesses with owners who identify the same way they do.
Everywhere is Queer is an app that features more than 13,000 queer-owned businesses across the world. It can be downloaded onto your phone or used on your desktop. So far, the app has 13,000+ businesses on an interactive map.
“What can I build on a global scale that connects people to spaces that see them as their most authentic selves? and I was like I need to connect them with queer-owned businesses," Charlie Sprinkman, the creator and founder said.
Sprinkman, who is from Pewaukee but now lives in Portland, Oregon, got the idea for the app back in 2019. After going to 41 out of 50 states in 2019, he noticed a lack of resources that helped LGBTQ+ folks and allies find queer-owned businesses.
"As a recently out person, I was constantly seeking safer spaces to go when I was driving over the 80,000 miles that I drove in 2019," Sprinkman said.
He wanted to go to shops and restaurants he felt comfortable at and to support other LGBTQ+ businesses. After a few years of brainstorming, he officially launched on Jan. 2, 2022 with just five businesses. Today, 100 to 200 new companies are added each week.
"This was just a little idea of mind, you know. I went pretty much a year and a half without making any money. I was just making the resource out of the kindness of my queer little heart because I saw that it was working. And now I get to work full-time for myself," Sprinkman said.
Nearly every type of business and service is offered on the map from marketers to healthcare professionals to artists, jewelry makers to lawyers to financial advisors to graphic designers to candle makers to community resource groups to event planners to venues, and more. Not only is the app helping people find safe spaces to shop, it's helping increase business for queer-owned companies.
“I’ve had people be very intentional saying they want to spend their money with a queer artist," Cassie Mareno, who owns the tattoo studio Alderaan Inkin Greenfield, said.
Watch the story on Everywhere is Queer to see how the app works...
Getting a tattoo is a deeply personal endeavor. The tattoo artist needs to design what their client wants and understand who that person is.
"I was bullied a lot in school for being queer. I think queer people need a safe space. I think tattooing is very intimate and I think to have trust from humans is huge. And to be in a place where, you know, you're not going to be judged because of who or what you like or who or how you are is super-duper important," she said.
In fact, she was so excited about the app, she became an early supporting founder. She received certain perks and advertisements by pledging a monthly contribution early in the app's development. It's a testament to how much she believes in this service.
"I think it's super important to put your money where your mouth is. There's so much we can do, and so much we can say, but it's about being active in the community, and I guess proving yourself," she said.
In the app's two-year existence, it has proven to be successful and in-demand. As numbers grow, Sprinkman has expanded the offerings. Recently, he released a job board to help queer folks find jobs with other queer-owned and ally-owned businesses.
“To yea, become the global resource for the queer and ally community," Sprinkman said.
A global resource that connects you with neighborhood shops like Alderaan Ink.
“It’s pretty freaking awesome being able to support our community and be able to have people feel more comfortable because I’m also queer," Mareno said.
It's free to submit your business to the app. Sprinkman reviews every single submission since he is still the only full-time employee. But based on the app's growth, it wouldn't be surprising if that changes sometime soon.
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