SBA NH Celebrates Pride Month with ‘603 Birch Realty- Concord'
Pride Month is a time to celebrate LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and their contributions to our communities and economy. Across the country, LGBTQ+ owned businesses generate more than $1.7 trillion dollars in US economic impact and support tens of thousands of jobs. Adam Gaudet, the owner of 603 Birch Realty located in downtown Concord takes great pride in his business being LGBTQ+ owned and its diverse group of talented agents throughout New Hampshire. Adam is well connected with local resources and knew of SBA’s programs and services. 603 Birch Realty was able to connect with their SBA lender Santander Bank to receive a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to help keep his workforce employed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Adam, “Pride Month is a good reminder to celebrate and support each other for our differences. Seeing straight allies and local businesses put out pride flags helps us feel seen and represented – which is important. Pride Month is all year for us at 603 Birch Realty. When you step into our office, you know it is a safe space for all. In 2020, to help connect with other LGBTQ+ local businesses, 603 Birch Realty sponsored a LGBTQ+ business expo in Concord.” He added, “Growing up in New Hampshire, I rarely saw businesses showing support for the LGBTQ+ community. I have an opportunity to help change that and that is exciting. It is important that our clients and our agents know that we are champions for equity and inclusion.” Adam is hoping to bring back the LGBTQ+ Expo in 2023. When asked, “What is an issue the LGBTQ+ community is facing that many people might not know about?” Adam replied, “Family planning. It is incredibly costly, extremely complicated and there are very few resources available in New Hampshire to help. The barriers are so massive that many same-sex couples I know are not willing to go through it all, despite wanting to start a family.”
Another passion of Adam’s is to be a voice of advocacy for policy changes at the state and local levels to get more affordable housing built. “My goal is to be as loud as possible about the lack of affordable housing we have in the Granite State, and the long-term negative impacts that we’ll face if we don’t address it now,” according to Gaudet. Adam fought for equal access to fair housing, by meeting with members of Congress on Capitol Hill to demand that sexual orientation and gender identity be included in the Fair Housing Act. Adam is the President of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors and was named to the Union Leader’s “40 Under Forty” for his contributions to make "New Hampshire a better place to live and work." Adam’s volunteer activities include serving on Stay Work Play's Advocacy Committee, Greater Derry Londonderry Chamber of Commerce's Government Affairs Committee and assisting the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce and Intown Concord with some of their initiatives.
The SBA is working every day to support greater economic empowerment of the LGBTQ+ community and to connect entrepreneurs to the capital and resources they need to start and grow their businesses. On June 29th, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) New England Regional Administrator Mike Vlacich, NH District Director Amy Bassett, Concord Mayor James Bouley, representatives from Intown Concord, the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, NH Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) celebrated ‘Pride Month’ in Concord with a walking tour to several LGBTQ+ businesses including 603 Birch Realty, Teatotaller, Bona Fide, and Penumbra.