I recently had the pleasure of meeting Deborah at a business networking event sponsored by the Bucks County Lesbian Alliance here where I live. I (and everyone in the room) was intrigued by her business venture Womynsmovies.com, an online DVD rental service specializing in offering movies of interest to gays and lesbians. She’s a sharp and smart lady with passion and a vision and thought you could benefit as well from getting to know more about her and Womynsmovies.com.

What was your inspiration to start womynsmovies.com?

My inspiration is my love of lesbian movies. Since my childhood was spent in Northern Ireland during the inspirational 70’s and 80’s it was extremely difficult to find any positive images of lesbians represented in television or the movies. I would be excited by any movie that featured lesbian characters and would secretly watch it after dark with the little pink triangle in the corner of my TV screen.These movies assisted me to make sense out of my life and to understand that my feelings towards women were neither unusual nor strange.

What kind of experience do you have/did you have before starting your
business?

Other than having square eyes from watching a lot of movies, I have the experience of being treated poorly as a customer, of being undervalued, of being overlooked, and of being viewed with disdain. I would like for any woman who joins www.womynsmovies.com to feel valued as a customer as well as respected as a person and to have access to a huge selection of movies that appeal to women.

What do you offer the LGBT movie lover that other rental services don’t?

At the time that I first started working on my business plan a well-known large DVD rental service offered only 235 gay and lesbian movies and out of those approximately 74 were of lesbian interest. What I found when I studied the offerings of Online DVD Rental businesses was that (1) GLBT movies were offered collectively to customers in one category and (2) the categories showed a preference in their offerings toward the gay male customer. Lesbian interest movies were taking second place and there were no categories specializing in movies for bisexual or transgendered women. While the offerings of major online DVD companies have slightly increased I find that those two items have remained consistent. I offer specialized categories focusing on movies of interest to women and a huge collection of movies from all genres including family and recent releases.

What keeps you going on the tough days?

My coffee, my dreams and my friends and family.

What are your top three measures of success?

If you can view yourself and your past actions without regret, if your friends can rely on you, and if you continue to try.

What is the wildest success story you can imagine for your business’ future?

I’m on an elevator in Palm Springs at the Dinah Shore weekend and I overhear a group of women talking about what a great company www.womynsmovies.com is.

What brings you the most joy personally or professionally?

Learning, being inspired and staying creative.

How can people learn more about WomynsMovies?

The best way is to visit the website at www.womynsmovies.com and sign up. I offer a 2 week free trial, low monthly subscription packages starting at $14.95 and a huge selection of movies.

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