Business Not as Usual

By Lynne Swanson

"Wow! Entrepreneurship!" Pam Langille of Dartmouth remembers that reaction to the Network of Entrepreneurs with Disabilities booth at the People in Motion Show in Toronto. Several Ontario residents expressed interest, and the group, which originated in Atlantic Canada, plans to expand across the country.

A video produced by Ability Network Publishing features two Nova Scotia members of the network: Bilingual Adrienne Drake, who is blind, converts French and English printed materials to Braille and large print, and consults on adaptive technology; and brothers Derek Smith and Douglas Brown -- co-owners of Douglas Enterprises with their parents, and both with intellectual disabilities -- grow bean, alfalfa and specialty sprouts for Nova Scotia grocery stores.

Newfoundland member Elizabeth Ryan, who has a spinal injury, has designed cat Tarot cards. Ryan is now seeking financing for production and to expand into calendars and posters.

The "new economy" presents opportunities and challenges for people with disabilities, who are often excluded from the workplace due to individual and societal attitudes, inaccessibility, lack of accommodation, and transportation difficulties.

Entrepreneurship may offer solutions. Deborah Gardner of Toronto’s Project Work, which provides services to people with cognitive disabilities resulting from brain injuries or strokes and people with other intellectual disabilities, says, "How do you take a life shattered by injury or illness and rebuild it? Often, it’s through self-employment."

Gardner stresses that accommodation to "level the playing field" is critical, including technological aids and human supports. Gardner explains that while many people with intellectual disabilities may not become totally self-sufficient, self-employment reduces social assistance dependency and costs, while increasing dignity and self-worth.

"More Canadians than ever are commuting downstairs, rather than downtown," according to "The Globe and Mail." Entrepreneurs with disabilities are part of that growing trend, although their "commute" may mean a ramp or stair lift, or may be in a barrier-free, one-level home.

Some "homepreneurs" with disabilities have identified gaps in products or services for consumers with disabilities and have established businesses to address those needs.

Debbie Willows, who has a significant level of cerebral palsy, holds Canadian and world records in back stroke and has won several world and Paralympic medals in swimming, boccia and soccer.

Willows’ business, DeWill Products, imports modified sports equipment for people with disabilities from Denmark and ships throughout North America. Half of Willows’ imports are used for competition, and half for recreation. Clients include national and local teams, individuals, schools, retirement homes and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and Paralympics.

DeWill Products originated after Willows set a Canadian record in 1990 for wheelchair slalom. Her required wheelchair was provided through corporate sponsor, Union Gas. "Because everyone liked" hers, Willows began importing these. Soon, she expanded into adapted sports equipment.

DeWill soccer and goal balls emit sound so athletes who are blind can hear them. Leather boccia balls are lighter than standard wooden ones. Volleyballs are softer, to reduce injury risk and for wheelchair play. DeWill hand weights have velcro so "people with no grasp can work out."

After having served as boccia referee and networked at the Barcelona and Atlanta Paralympics, Willows hopes to expand into more sports products and markets since modified equipment "seems to be the thing that’s selling."

Willows, who lives in London, Ontario, finds some drawbacks to homepreneurship. She "can’t get away from it" unless she leaves home, she says. "Family and friends come and go when they want. They don’t really understand it’s your workday." But Willows finds significant advantages for accommodating her disability in a home business. She has no transportation problems. Willows works at her own pace, which is critical because of her disability. An accessible washroom adjoins the office.

And, Debbie, along with her special skills dog, Lego, "watched the Olympics while [she] worked."

Oriano Balusic "always loved working with gadgets." In 1983, while studying economics and computer science in university, he began a business for "pizza money" providing devices to people who are blind or have low vision.

Balusic, who himself has been blind since age seven from a leftover World War II bomb in his Croatia homeland, knew technology could benefit someone without sight.

In 1988, Balusic incorporated PC (Personal Computer) Systems and rented office space in downtown Victoria, B.C., until he moved to his home during the 1991 recession to reduce overhead.

PC Systems provides talking computers, laptops, scales and calculators, as well as large-print software, reading machines and other items.

Although Balusic was concerned about losing "professional image" by moving to his home, long-time customers remained. When Balusic built a new home two years ago, he included suitable business space.

"There is nothing like it in terms of the freedom," Balusic asserts. "Maybe I’m not making $80,000, but the freedom and the enjoyment are worth it."

Like many small-business owners, Balusic is frustrated at government paperwork. His situation is compounded by the lack of Revenue Canada forms and other forms in anything but print, which means he requires someone sighted to "help out" with documents.

Balusic thinks home businesses provide options for people with disabilities, given their significant exclusion from the workforce. "Most people are quite shocked if they hear an unemployment rate of 15 per cent... We’re talking 80 to 90 per cent among the group I deal with... sometimes people with university degrees."

Balusic thinks it is critical that home businesses not exploit people. He is especially concerned about subcontracting, which may result in income below social assistance.

When giving advice to someone thinking of starting a business, Balusic suggests: "If you love what you’re doing and you’re really keen on it, then it’s obviously the right thing to do. But, if you’re doing it just for the sheer sake of making a living and you don’t enjoy it, it’s not the way to go."

Larry Boden, who has been quadriplegic since an automobile accident a few years ago, understands the importance of technology.

A graduate of BCIT’s (British Columbia Institute of Technology) Building Technology program, specializing in architectural design and construction economics, Boden provides accessibility design and consulting services through his Delta, B.C., home-business, Access Design.

A voice-activated computer and a "joust" operated with a breath switch allow him to access all mouse-driven software. A computer mounted on his wheelchair controls his environment -- lights, doors, security and telephone.

Boden believes home businesses are "tailor-made for people with disabilities. You can work at home. You can work your own hours."

Cindy Weir of Mississauga, Ontario, agrees that setting one’s own hours is an advantage if one has a disability.

And WeirComfees’ slogan, "The secret’s in our pocket," indicates not all disabilities are visible.

Company owner Weir’s philosophy is that "none of us have a right to complain about anything unless we have first done our best to remedy that situation."

Following colon removal in 1993, Weir was frustrated at the discomfort and unattractiveness of an ostomy pouch. Knowing that others shared her concerns, Weir "decided to design something that would eliminate that discomfort."

Relying on advice from others with ostomies and enterostomal therapists, Weir spent a year designing, sewing, evaluating and test-marketing special lingerie and pyjamas. By April, 1995, WeirComfees was in business. "Swimwear naturally followed," she says. Next were men’s boxers, jockeys and pyjamas.

Weir didn’t realize how important her lingerie was until a young woman called in tears, saying, "Thank you for saving my marriage."

While Weir modestly won’t take credit for anything so significant, she says hearing those comments makes her job worthwhile, because she understands that intimate products serve a "psychological purpose."

WeirComfees combines her name and the products’ goal. When customers say, "We’re comfee, " Weir knows she’s achieved her aim.

Products are available in home health centres in southern Ontario and through direct order. Weir plans expansion into retailers across Canada.

Weir hopes to develop a clothing line which addresses the needs of people with physical disabilities. "My main goal is to do everything I can to make life more comfee for people with special needs," she says.

Because family finances funded WeirComfees, the low overhead of a home office was a big plus. So is being able to watch her two young children grow.

Always athletic, Weir pushes herself at work and at fitness. But operating a home business allows her to "lay low" for a day or two when she needs to.

Although home businesses represent an option for people with disabilities, there are barriers. Brian Oulton, Manager of Creative Employment Options for people with significant disabilities at the Vancouver office of the Neil Squire Foundation, advises that workplace obstacles can perpetuate when establishing a business.

People with disabilities who have never found employment usually do not have the financial resources or work experience required for a business. Even a telephone headset for an individual unable to use his or her hands may be too expensive if the person has been on social assistance for years.

Oulton says that entrepreneurs with disabilities, like many owners of small businesses, find it difficult to obtain bank financing. But he is encouraged by the cooperation his organization has received from financial institutions and other corporations for initiatives such as "mentoring" to acquaint people with disabilities with business.

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) offers Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) for people in receipt of Employment Insurance who wish to start a business. Because of the low participation of people with disabilities, a pilot project was undertaken in St. John’s, Montreal, Winnipeg and Calgary in partnership with the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work.

The resulting study concluded that self-employment offers viable options for people with disabilities, but the study also made numerous recommendations to remove barriers to this choice. An HRDC official advises that those recommendations are being reviewed and considered. One recommendation -- extending participation from the standard 52 weeks to up to 78 weeks to accommodate people with disabilities -- has been implemented.

At Self-Employment Development Initiatives in Toronto, the participation of people with disabilities is low (three per cent, but manager Bob Wilson says their success is high. Up to $10,000 for specialized equipment is available to participants to accommodate disabilities.

Ray McIssac promotes business ownership for people with intellectual disabilities through Bay St. George Community Employment Corporation in Newfoundland. Through individualized supports and career planning, along with linkages with the private sector and community economic development, the Corporation meets specific needs for entrepreneurs with intellectual disabilities.

McIssac’s publication, "Everybody’s Business," reports: "People from all over the world have come to Bay St. George to exchange ideas and to witness the innovation of persons with intellectual disabilities... It is not the nature of the businesses themselves that create this interest, but the spirit and determination of the people within them."

Business, government services, agencies, and people who "dare to do something different" are what McIssac thinks have created success for businesspeople with intellectual disabilities in an area of high unemployment.

It is that very zest and perseverance which entrepreneurs with a range of disabilities need, and exhibit, as they venture into the unique rewards and challenges of self-employment. Dare to dream!

(Lynne Swanson is a freelance living in London, Ontario.)


Resources For Starting A Business:

Bay St. George Community Employment Corporation
Telephone: (709) 643-3470

Neil Squire Foundation
Fredericton Office: (506) 450-7999
Ottawa Office: (613) 723-3575
Regina Office: (306) 781-6023
Vancouver Office: (604) 473-9363

Network of Entrepreneurs with Disabilities
Telephone: (902) 461-9009

Project Work
Telephone: (416) 481-2211

Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) Program
For more information: contact your local Human Resources Development Centre of Canada

Self-Employment Development Initiatives
Telephone: (416) 504-8730