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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