|
Interviewer: What role do rehabilitation
personnel, employment consultants, and school transition staff play
in supporting self-employment as an option for people with disabilities?
Nancy: They are very valuable members of
the support team for the individual. The vocational rehabilitation
folks have a lot of power in approving business plans which are critical
to getting the funding to start up the business. The school system
is very key in helping identify early on and helping the individual
get some experience in the world of work that can further define what
their interests might be. The One-Stops are very key in that they
also are a potential funding source for individuals who are looking
to start their own business. It is vital that those entities work
in an integrated way. The Department of Labor has several initiatives
and grants that are promoting the integration of those entities to
blend funding, to maximize resources, and to work together so that
individuals are able to achieve their dreams.
Interviewer: When you and your staff first
started doing self-employment, what was the education process for
you? We have talked about writing a business plan; marketing to a
niche; and looking at the labor market to find what a niche might
be and whether it is a viable option. What type of education process
did you and your staff have to go through? Was this information with
which you felt pretty comfortable and just started doing with people
with disabilities?
Nancy: No, it actually was not information
that any of us knew how to do. When we first started out, we were
very limited in the resources that we could put into staff training.
We started with books based on the gurus: Paul Wehman, Cary Griffin,
Dave Hammis, Pat Rogan, and Michael Callahan. These are the big names
in Systems Change. It just cost us the purchase of the books. We began
weekly training sessions going through those materials. We began seeing
outcomes through staff, based on weekly expectations. In other words,
between today, our staff meeting, and next week, this has to be accomplished.
The outcomes were such that we were then in a position to apply for
grants. We were awarded some grants that enabled us then to have money
to bring in [experts] on an on-going basis. Cary Griffin, Dave Hammis,
Melinda Mass, Steve Hall, and Mark Hill further refined the training
that folks were able to receive. The training included how to write
business plans and marketing analysis. All of those business tools
that anyone would use in looking at a small business endeavor.
Interviewer: I suspect that your learning
is ongoing? It sounds like initially you had a whole bunch of information
that you all were trying to figure and to learn. Is it fair to say
that you are still learning and still developing in the area?
Nancy: Definitely. Initially we focused
on values, the concepts of customized employment business within a
business, resource ownership, and self-employment. Now we are focusing
on how to write PASS plans and how to work with VR to ensure funding
by making sure you have a very solid business plan. They are little
bit more stringent in what they require. We have moved from the concept,
the philosophy of those employment choices, to the financial piece
of writing really solid business plans.
back to top |