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Fact: Self-employment is a more popular choice among people with disabilities than it is with the general population. The Small Business Administration reported that 12.2 percent of the general population chose self-employment, and 14.3 percent of people with disabilities started businesses.
\r\nAlice Doyel, author of No More Job Interviews: Self-Employment Strategies for People With Disabilities, suggests five clear advantages of self-employment for people with disabilities.
\r\nAny person with a disability who has worked in the labor force may be familiar with the concept of Customized Employment (CE). Customized Employment starts not with a job description, but by identifying the strengths, conditions and interests of a job candidate. After this process of discovery, an employer or job counselor can identify a position that matches the candidate's profile.
\r\nThe same framework can be applied to identifying self-employment opportunities.
\r\nJoe Steffy is a young adult with Down syndrome and autistic spectrum disorder. When Joe was in his teens, teachers and school administrators didn't think he'd ever work – at best, he'd spend his days at a fully supervised workplace, also known as a sheltered workshop.
\r\nThen Joe worked with a Customized Employment expert, and together they discovered Joe's interest in popping kettle corn. Joe's family bought equipment, and he began popping and selling kettle corn at local businesses and farmers markets. He started when he was 15 years old, and in three years, teenage Joe’s sales grew to $50,000 with a staff of five part-time employees. Joe works five or six hours a day popping corn and delivering it to stores.
\r\nJoe is in his 30s now, and Poppin' Joe's Gourmet Kettle Korn is still going strong.
\r\nGoing through the Customized Employment framework is a good first step for any person with a disability thinking about starting their own business.
\r\nMelony Hill, who has been diagnosed with PTSD, depression, anxiety disorder, dissociative identity disorder, and fibromyalgia, launched a successful speaking, writing, and coaching business called Stronger Than My Struggles.
\r\nA big part of her success came from identifying a profession that worked for her rather than one focused on money. \"Instead, I sought to find ways I would feel I was living peacefully and doing things I enjoyed,” Melony says. Now she teaches others to do the same.
\r\nOnce a potential business owner has identified their unique strengths and abilities, the fun begins – identifying a business that is a right for them.
\r\nUsually, federal supplemental security income (SSI) payments are reduced or eliminated once the recipient finds a job. With the PASS (Plan to Achieve Self-Support) program, SSI recipients wanting to start a business can continue to accumulate SSI payments while they work and use the money to fund their startup.
\r\nPASS money can be saved up and set aside to pay for the following:
\r\nThe Social Security Administration will not count money set aside under this plan when they decide on an SSI payment amount, so recipients may end up getting a higher payment. However, they won't get more than the maximum payment for the state in which they live.
\r\nTo qualify for PASS, the intended recipient can't have a net worth exceeding $2,000 or $3,000 for couples. However, assets or equipment to be used for the business don't count toward this amount.
\r\nPASS participants must get their plan approved by the Social Security Administration. Examples of businesses that have been approved include a carpentry business, a music production business and a candy vending business.
\r\nTo qualify, recipients must complete paperwork, including the creation of a business plan. Here's more about the PASS program:
\r\nCreating a business plan is a requirement of applying for PASS. It's a vital step for any business owner.
\r\nA business plan outlines the goals of the business and details the steps needed to achieve them. The plan will include specifics like equipment needed, how the business will be promoted, and anticipated revenue.
\r\nFor business owners with a disability, the plan may also include specifics for their unique situation, such as flexible work hours, assistive technology services and devices, bookkeeping services and transportation.
\r\nThe Social Security Administration advises that a business plan should include, at a minimum, the following elements:
\r\nThe goal of a business plan isn't to force a person to prove their idea will work. It's to start them on a path to success, and there are many supportive people and organizations who'll help.
\r\nTake the example of Bill Brent, who suffered a life-changing work injury while working for the Alaska State Ferry system. Bill had actually given up on his dream of entrepreneurship after being turned down for a business loan. He found a support team to help him after being referred to Start Up/AK and the Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
\r\nBill met monthly with representatives from a mix of local government and non-profit agencies, and a mentor in the Alaska tourism business. This team helped Bill develop a business plan for the Admiralty Westside Lodge. He was able to secure a grant for the startup costs.
\r\nIn addition to PASS, potential business owners with disabilities are eligible for many other forms of funding from government loans to private investment. A business plan is required for all.
\r\nThe PASS program is a terrific way to stockpile SSI payments for a business venture. But people with disabilities who want to pursue self-employment can also take advantage of additional forms of funding.
\r\nA local Small Business Development Center is the best place to start. Managed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, these centers employ folks with local expertise on successful business ventures and available loan programs.
\r\nThere are thousands of loan programs for small businesses ranging from loans given out by the federal government to loans offered by counties and towns. There are also loans for specific groups: veterans, women, people with specific disabilities, and many others. That's why it's worth talking to the experts at a Small Business Development Center. They can save weeks of research by identifying the best loan resources for a particular person and their business.
\r\nState vocational development or vocational rehabilitation offices are also good resources for identifying little-known forms of business funding for people with disabilities.
\r\nService-disabled veterans have additional options for getting a business off the ground. The U.S. government has set a target that 3 percent of all federal contracting dollars go to service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses, and all veterans and their spouses are eligible for low-interest Veterans Advantage loans sponsored by the Small Business Administration.
\r\nPersonal relationships play a part in everyone's career. Meeting the right mentor can open the door to self-employment success. Small Business Development Centers and state vocational development offices can often connect aspiring business people with experienced volunteer mentors.
\r\nAnother tactic is simply seeking out a mentor. That's what happened to Marjorie Turner, who suffered extensive paralysis after an operation to remove a spinal tumor.
\r\n\"I turned to writing as a way to help with the isolation I experienced with this drastic life change,\" she says. \"A wonderful local newspaper editor, Pam Johnson, of the Bellingham Bulletin gave me the chance to write for her newspaper and has been a mentor to me these past 20 years.\"
\r\nFreelance writing satisfies Turner's creative side, and much of her work can be done over the phone or with email. She has since branched out into writing commissioned \"life histories\" for individuals and organizations, giving workshops in oral history interviewing, and publishing her own books.
\r\nTurner's book series Easy Walks in Massachusetts highlights safe, accessible walks for people of all ages and abilities. In partnership with a local conservation group, she has received grants to fund her community writing projects.
\r\n\"I am blessed beyond measure,\" she says, \"in ways I never could have imagined when this challenging road presented itself to me.\"
\r\nThe first step to starting a business may be additional training and education. This can take the form of anything from vocational training to support a business dream, or a traditional business education to acquire entrepreneurial skills that will last a lifetime.
\r\nState vocational development offices are the best resources for local skills training. The same skills training that attracts employers could give someone the skills to start a business.
\r\nFederal law requires that people with disabilities have equal educational opportunities. So nearly all colleges and universities have an office of disability services to ensure compliance.
\r\nStudents seeking additional business education can get resources and support before and during their college career.
\r\nStart-Up USA, a collaboration of The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Griffin-Hammis Associates LLC, asked people with disabilities who started businesses, \"What's the best part of owning your own business?\"
\r\nResponses included:
\r\nStarting a business is hard work but for many business owners with disabilities, the fulfillment they feel makes all the effort worthwhile.
\r\nListed below are resources for people living with specific disabilities who are interested in self-employment.
\r\nWith business marketing and communication increasingly taking place online, people with visual impairments face obstacles to business success that didn't exist a generation ago. Speech-accessible computers can help.
\r\nProspective business owners who are visually impaired should also consider reviewing these resources:
\r\nVideo relay services have revolutionized person-to-person communication for business owners with hearing impairments. The technology is improving and so is adoption in public areas like airports. Many how-to videos include easily accessible captions. Still, business owners with hearing impairments face unique challenges.
\r\nThese resources provide support:
\r\nStudies show that more than 80 percent of people with disabilities don't work, and of those who do, 80 percent work in sheltered workshops. Over the past 30 years, an increasing amount of nonprofit and government funding has been employed to improve these outcomes.
\r\nMany states have launched loan and special mentorship programs to support \"self-directed employment.\" Self-directed employment supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in choosing a career path that fits their individual interests – often this process suggests that self-employment is the most viable path.
\r\nThe rise of the internet has led to a golden age of home-based businesses. For people with mobility issues, eliminating the need for a daily commute is a powerful incentive to consider self-employment. Of course, working in the digital world can present obstacles to people with mobility issues as well.
\r\nThe business.com team invests thousands of hours reviewing hundreds of products and services to help business owners manage and run their companies. Take a look at some of our comprehensive guides with solutions to help you grow your business.
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