Small Business Ownership and Whole Business Accommodations
by Alice Doyel
Small Business Ownership and Whole Business Accommodations;
By Alice Weiss Doyel; BOLD Consulting Group, LLC This article
contains excerpts from No More Job Interviews! Self-Employment
Strategies for People with Disabilities, by Alice Weiss
Doyel (2000). Used with permission of the publisher, Training
Resource Network, Inc.
Even when the economy was strong, three-fourths of the
people with moderate to severe disabilities remained unemployed.
Not surprisingly, many people with disabilities see small
business ownership as their chance for economic self-sufficiency.
Self-employment is never easy, and there are increased challenges
when the business owner has disabilities. Business owners
with disabilities need to find ways to operate their businesses
successful in a competitive environment.
A few years ago I saw my own disabilities become more severe.
I knew that I needed to find ways to run my company more
effectively. My years of experience as a small business
consultant helped me develop the concept of Whole Business
Accommodations. I realized that as business owners with
disabilities, we must create workplace accommodations which
take into consideration the success of our entire business.
Whole Business Accommodations permeate the full scope of
the business.
* Operations planning should include accommodations for
the owner's disabilities. These accommodations are not just
for the physical attributes of the office, e.g., access,
furniture, equipment. These accommodations should take into
consideration the people who will be part of the business,
or closely associated with it. Whether they are business
partners, associates, employees, vendors, family members
or support providers, these people are an integral part
of making the business work. Their roles in supporting the
business owner with disabilities must be integrated into
their business functions through the business planning process.
* Marketing capabilities are often affected by the owner’s
disabilities. Determining potentially effective marketing
approaches during business planning will allow the company
to test and determine the best ways to reach and sell to
customers. Some people with disabilities believe that an
Internet website is the answer to their marketing challenges.
However, the Internet should almost always be used as a
secondary marketing approach. There must be direct marketing
either by the owner with disabilities, by other company
owners or employees, or by sales representatives in order
to create a successful marketing effort.
* Financial planning is a challenge for business owners
with disabilities. Many people with disabilities have few
assets of value to help secure a business loan. They may
have lived for years in poverty, unable to establish a sound
credit record. They may have poor credit due to an unexpected
health emergency or accident that created large medical
expenses at the same time that they were no longer able
to work. Micro-loan programs are a resource for small business
owners with disabilities who have viable business plans
for start up or existing businesses. These programs will
take into consideration disability-related financial limitations
and credit problems. Some Whole Business Accommodations
are free while others may be quite expensive.
All accommodations must meet the same financial test
as any other business expense:
1. Can the Whole Business Accommodation be paid for?
2. Is this an effective use of limited company funds?
The following are specific examples of Whole Business
Accommodations which are consistent with best business practices:
* Creating an accessible office. Many accessibility methods
are free or inexpensive, e.g., arranging office furniture
and equipment for the greatest ease of use, telephones with
easy to read displays and/or large keys, speakerphones or
head sets, open storage shelving for easy access, keyboard
and mouse that fits the owner’s physical needs, free Microsoft
accessibility utilities, and tables and desks with comfortable
wheelchair access. Good office design saves time and energy
that the business owner can put into the business.
* Including alternative means of transportation in the
business plan, e.g., hiring a part-time driver, finding
volunteer drivers such as family members or friends, determining
effective methods for using public transportation and/or
taxi services, and teleconferencing instead of in-person
meetings. Business owners with disabilities can host meetings
in their own offices, minimizing the need for transportation.
* Using company business policies that protect business
owners with disabilities from working in a manner adverse
to their health. Developing these policies requires the
owner to evaluate and determine the most effective means
of running the business. This analysis leads to more effective
and profitable management of the entire company.
* Creating a positive, supportive work culture for the
business. This includes a culture that values everyone’s
abilities and supports the concept that disabilities do
not decrease a person’s humanity or value . . . that for
many people, the challenges from their disabilities are
a means for personal growth. This work culture will be a
positive environment for all employees who share these values.
* Hiring a full-time or part-time employee who does work
that is difficult or not possible for the business owner.
This is a common practice in all businesses; however, here
the focus is on assisting in the area of the business owner’s
disabilities. The same employee can serve other functions
for the business, bringing more capabilities to the company.
* Partners are often used to create a company where the
owners have complementary business or technical skills.
Business owners with disabilities can find partners with
the skills, time, or energy to compensate for their disability
needs.
* Creating alliances with other companies is often an
excellent strategy for business owners with disabilities.
It allows them to provide a variety of services or products
through their alliance partners, while limiting the size
of their business and the number of employees they manage.
In summary, business owners with disabilities report a
wide range of positive experiences when they use Whole Business
Accommodations to run their companies more effectively.
Whole Business Accommodations are powerful tools for success
in business and for success in living a complete and satisfying
life.
About the Author
Alice Doyel may be contacted at http://www.boldconsulting.com/
boldconsulting@yahoo.com. Click here to view more of their
articles. Alice Doyel is the founder of BOLD Consulting
Group: where she heads the consulting practice specializing
in operations management for small businesses. Also, she
is a national speaker, consultant, and advocate on self-employment
for people with disabilities. Alice wrote the book, No More
Job Interviews! Self-Employment Strategies for People with
Disabilities. Copyright Usage: none
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