The Small Business and Self-Employment Service (SBSES) is a service of the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor which provides comprehensive information, counseling and referrals about self-employment and small business ownership opportunities for people with disabilities. Entrepreneurship is an exciting opportunity for people with disabilities to realize their full potential while becoming financially self-supporting. Some of the benefits of self-employment or small business include working at home, control of your work schedule and the independence that comes from making your own decisions.

Over the years, SBSES has received many calls from people with disabilities seeking assistance with business ideas. Although we cannot decide what business idea is right for you, this publication will provide information and resources that may help in the streamlining of business ideas. The publication is not comprehensive and there are many other resources available other than the ones listed here, but this may serve as a good starting point.

What Kind of Business Should I Start?

Frequently people have self-employment ideas but are not sure how to convert them into a business. Other times people will want to start a business but they have no business concept or idea. They might ask for ideas regarding products or services that are in high demand, or the types of businesses that have good success rates. These are good questions, but another question that may be better to start with is, "What is involved in starting a business?"

A potential entrepreneur should make an effort to learn about and understand what starting and operating a business requires. Professionals in the field have different views about what entrepreneurship requires. The traditional view is that entrepreneurs need to have many personality attributes such as persistence, energy, optimism, risk-taking, and problem solving skills. Although these attributes may be helpful to have, there is a new trend in finding out if someone is a potential entrepreneur. Alice Weiss Doyel (2000), who is a business owner with a disability, states that "the best method is giving prospective entrepreneurs the chance to determine for themselves if they can succeed." Doyel goes on to discuss that this is more than "simply putting people into a training program or handing them money. It means teaching them about entrepreneurship in a step-by-step process." She says that once given this information in incremental levels, people can decide for themselves whether they think they can succeed in business ownership. This person-centered approach is being adopted by many professionals that assist people with disabilities in self-employment. For example, Cary Griffin and David Hammis (1999), both professionals who train other professionals that work with people with disabilities, state that "self-employment is grounded in the belief that all people have strengths, interests, preferences, and an innate ability to perform work competently when offered choices, respect, support, hope, and opportunities. Abandoning stereotypes and taking a strengths-based, person-centered approach is a proven process in both supported employment and self-employment."

Before asking about what business to start, one should first learn about self-employment and small business development and the steps involved, then make an informed decision and ask whether entrepreneurship is for them.

Resources to Help You Decide

For potential entrepreneurs with disabilities, a good resource to start with is vocational rehabilitation (VR). VR can provide many services that may be helpful in the area of career planning. A VR counselor can help develop an employment plan for a person with a disability who is eligible for VR services. VR not only provides an array of employment services, they may also agree to pay for various services that would be consistent with the employment plan. To contact your local state vocational rehabilitation office, their number can be found in the phone book under state government listings. Also, the following link will provide a state-by-state listing: (http://www.jan.wvu.edu/SBSES/VOCREHAB.HTM)

The U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration released a technical assistance circular that empowers state VR programs to consider self-employment as an employment outcome. The following link provides additional information regarding the circular: (http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/rsa/tac-2000.html)

The University of Montana's Research and Training Center on Rural Rehabilitation Services works closely with VR programs in the area of self-employment. The publication, "Steps for Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors: Helping a Consumer Start a Business," may be helpful for the VR counselor and for the potential entrepreneur. This publication can be found online: (http://selfemploymenttraining.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/)

Chapter four, "Self-Employment Assessment," contains useful information on skills and interest assessments as well as tests for evaluating entrepreneur potential. The publication contains many other informative chapters that might help the potential entrepreneur decide if self-employment is for them.

Listed below are some other resources that can help a potential entrepreneur learn about what it takes to develop and operate a business.

Small Business Development Centers provide a wealth of information on business development. Many local centers offer courses on various aspects of self-employment such as business feasibility tests, developing a business plan, cash flow analysis, and marketing. Many local centers also offer other services such as management counseling, technology advising, training, and reference resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Here is a link to learn more about small business development centers and to find your local offices: (http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/sbdcnear.html)

Women's Business Centers also offer similar services to potential female entrepreneurs. Here is a link to learn more about what they might offer: (http://www.sba.gov/financing/special/women.html)

There are various other economic development resources that could provide information on what it takes to grow and develop a small business. It may be worthwhile to spend some time researching these programs for your state. Many have regional funding programs listed as well as links to resources related to business development at the local, state, national, and international levels: (http://www.jan.wvu.edu/SBSES/ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT.HTM)

There are also various publications that might be helpful in learning more about what it takes to start and operate a small business. Here is a link to a list of self-employment related publications: (http://www.jan.wvu.edu/SBSES/BIBLIOGRAPHY.HTM)

In addition to learning about self-employment, a potential entrepreneur or business owner may find it helpful to assess their own level of knowledge, skills and abilities, commonly called KSAs. When applying for a traditional job, most employers will want to match a job to a potential employee by asking questions about the applicant's KSAs. To learn how KSAs match various jobs or career fields, a good resource is the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network, also called O*Net. The O*NET database can help employers, workers, educators, and students make informed decisions about education, training, career choices, and work: (http://online.onetcenter.org/)

In addition to KSA's, it can be helpful to know about the potential entrepreneur's interests when considering a business concept or idea. Here are some basic methods to help identify KSAs and interests.

• Write down any and all knowledge, skills, and abilities that have accumulated over time.
• How much formal schooling has been completed?
• List all job experiences, paid and unpaid.
• List all hobbies and the knowledge and skills associated with those hobbies.
• Consider all activities that may have required certain skills and abilities. For example, caring for a sick loved one may have required tremendous self-sacrifice, time, energy, and compassion. Performing landscaping services may have required the knowledge of plants and trees, the abilities to use certain types of equipment, and the skills to implement plans.
• Listing all interests may be helpful in narrowing down a group of business ideas. Starting a business in which one has no interest could lead to business failure.
• Volunteer work may be helpful to learn more about potential business concepts, to gain KSAs, and to learn more about how one's interests might match certain kinds of jobs.

There are also more formal methods to assess knowledge, skills, abilities and interests. Getting help and using all of the resources available is not only highly recommended, but it can also be the foundation of a successful business. Learning to seek help in the beginning may be a good way to start a network of resources and information that could be useful during the life of the business.

Other Career Planning Considerations

This publication has referenced career and self-assessments as being potentially helpful in career planning. The Career Key, by Lawrence K. Jones, is an online resource that allows a user to take a ten-minute career test: (http://www.careerkey.org/). It refers to various other assessments and resources that can help people make decisions about career planning, but it also warns of potentially harmful career planning resources and assessments. This shifts focus back to the person-centered approach in deciding if self-employment is feasible and in selecting a business concept. Regardless of someone's knowledge, skills, abilities, and interests, if someone feels strongly about pursuing self-employment, there very well may be a way to do it even if the assessments don't match. To reiterate, it is important to learn about self-employment in general, and to learn about one's own attributes, but it may also be very helpful to seek outside perspective on goals and the means by which someone plans to achieve those goals. A vocational rehabilitation counselor may be a good person to help work on goals, ideas, and potential life barriers that could impede progress. A career counselor might also be a good resource. The Career Key Web site provides valuable information about career counseling.

There are generally fees for career counseling services. If someone chooses to pursue career counseling, there are some strategies to consider that may offset the expense. One strategy is, if a case could be started with a vocational rehabilitation program, a vocational rehabilitation counselor may agree to pay for career counseling services as part of the employment plan. Another consideration is to locate career counselors who might offer pro bono services (services for free). Or determine if there is any type of insurance that may cover counseling. Some people may have personal insurance coverage that might pay a percentage of the expense. Others may be dependents on someone else's insurance plan. For those people that receive Social Security benefits, Medicare or Medicaid may help with costs. Here are some resources to explore for those who would like to research insurance options.

Health Insurance Resource Manual: Options for People with a Chronic Disease or Disability, by Dorothy E. Northrop, MSW, ACSW, and Stephen Cooper. Demos Medical Publishing, Inc., 2003, 208 pp.

Insurance Solutions-Plan Well, Live Better: A Workbook for People with Chronic Illnesses or Disabilities, Laura D. Cooper, Esq. Demos Medical Publishing, Inc., 2002, 192 pp.

Demos Medical Publishing, Inc.
386 Park Avenue South, Suite 201
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (800) 532-8663
E-mail: orderdept@demospub.com
URL: http://www.demosmedpub.com

Note: These books are available through local and online bookstores (you may need to special order). You can also check at your local library to see if they are available. If they aren't, you can ask your local librarian to request copies for you through their interlibrary loan program. This service is available free of charge.

Summary

By learning more about self-employment and the small business development process, by learning more about one's own attributes, and by learning more about outside resources that are available to tap into, a potential entrepreneur puts themselves in a better position to make an informed decision about self-employment as a viable option and about the type of business concept to choose.

For additional information on self-employment services, you may want to explore the Small Business and Self-Employment Service Resources page.

URL: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/SBSES/TABLEOFCONTENTS.HTM

For additional information on employment tips, you may want to read the Job Accommodation Network publication on employment tips.

URL: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/EMPLOYMENTTIPS.html

REFERENCES

Cooper, Laura, D. Insurance Solutions-Plan Well, Live Better: A Workbook for People with Chronic Illnesses or Disabilities, (2002)
URL: http://www.demosmedpub.com

Doyel, Alice Weiss No More Job Interviews: Self-Employment Strategies for People with Disabilities, (2000)
URL: http://www.trninc.com/nomoreinterviews.htm

Griffin, C. & Hammis, D. Making Self-Employment Work for People with Disabilities, (2003)
URL: http://www.pbrookes.com/store/books/griffin-6520/

Jones, Lawrence, D. The Career Key, (2004)
URL: http://www.careerkey.org/

Northrop, Dorthy, E. Health Insurance Resource Manual: Options for People with a Chronic Disease or Disability, (2003)
URL: http://www.demosmedpub.com

RESOURCES

Small Business Self-Employment Service Listing of State Economic and Development Resources
URL: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/SBSES/ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT.HTM

• "These listings represent a variety of state resources related to economic development, funding assistance, and growing a small or home-based business. It is worthwhile to spend some time on the website(s) for your state. Many have regional funding programs listed as well as links to resources related to business development at the local, state, national, and international levels."

Small Business Self-Employment Service Listing of State Vocational Rehabilitation Offices
URL: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/SBSES/VOCREHAB.HTM

• "By contacting your local vocational rehabilitation office, you will tap into a wealth of resources related to employment options for people with disabilities. Vocational Rehabilitation, a state-supported division of services, assists individuals with disabilities who are pursuing meaningful careers. VR assists those individuals to secure gainful employment commensurate with their abilities and capabilities through local job searches and awareness of self-employment and telecommuting opportunities."

United States Department of Labor
Occupational Information Network (O*Net)
URL: http://online.onetcenter.org/

• "The O*NET database can help employers, workers, educators, and students make informed decisions about education, training, career choices, and work."

United States Small Business Administration
Office of Small Business Development Centers
URL: http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/

• "Mission: To provide management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. SBDCs offer one-stop assistance to individuals and small businesses by providing a wide variety of information and guidance in central and easily accessible branch locations. The program is a cooperative effort of the private sector, the educational community and federal, state and local governments."

United States Small Business Administration
Office of Women's Business Ownership
409 Third Street SW, Fourth Floor
Washington, DC 20416
Phone: (202) 205-6673
E-mail: owbo@sba.gov
URL: http://www.onlinewbc.gov/

• "The Office of Women's Business Ownership promotes the growth of women-owned businesses through programs that address business training and technical assistance, and provide access to credit and capital, federal contracts, and international trade opportunities."

University of Montana Rural Institute
RTC: Rural, The University of Montana Rural Institute:
Center for Excellence in Disability
Education, Research and Services,
52 Corbin Hall, Missoula, MT 59812-7056
Phone: (888) 268-2743 or (406) 243-2469
E-mail: rural@ruralinstitute.umt.edu
URL: http://rtc.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/SelEm/RuSelfEm.htm

• "We have worked closely with Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies, Client Assistance Programs, and consumers to develop model state policies, counselor training programs, regulations for funding self-employment efforts through vocational rehabilitation, to identify successful entrepreneurs with disabilities, and to understand the self-employment experience."

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