Minding My Own Business

By James Walker, Community Employment Services Coordinator
Ravalli Services Corporation

"Nobody is going to hire me because I'm too old, besides I don't like working for other people." "I only like to work out of my house. Change scares me and then I get depressed." "I don't know when I will be hurting, I can only work when I feel okay." Some of the obstacles people with disabilities face when trying to re-enter the workforce seem insurmountable. As service providers, we are faced with the realities of the working world, which do not easily accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. We have to be extremely creative with the resources at our disposal, and we have to pursue new resources in a highly competitive market. Sometimes ideas and the courage to try something new are all we have to work with. The more flexible we are in how we help people become employed, the more resources we utilize, the more we will improve the outcomes for the people we serve.

Self-employment for people with disabilities is a growing concept we are utilizing at Ravalli Services Corporation. In October of 1999, we received a grant through the Rural Institute's Montana Rural Employment Initiative to implement a self-employment program for individuals with severe disabilities. Since October, we assisted three people with planning for their respective businesses and helped four people secure the capital they needed to get started. We raised the capital through several sources: State of Montana Vocational Rehabilitation, Job Training Partnership Act funds (through a project with the Montana Job Training Partnership and the Rural Institute Training Department), Ravalli Services Revolving Loan Fund, and through the consumers' own resources. Bob and Sarah are two of the people that now have plans and the resources to start their own businesses. Here are their stories:

Bob

When we started working with Bob, we were simply trying to find him a job through Vocational Rehabilitation. Bob has many physical limitations that make it difficult for him to work on a regular job. His attitude about finding a job was understandably negative. He told us that he had literally been through the wringer and felt pretty hopeless about getting anything started. We looked for a job for him for several months. We actually found a position for him making deliveries. The job lasted one day. The outlook was not positive. Bob was informed that we were trying to help people start their own businesses and he came to us with an idea. He told us he wanted to start his own interior/exterior painting business. Bob attacked the planning of his business with a motivation that we had not seen before. He got all of the information together and, with the support of Melina Tripp of Summit Independent Living Center, we helped him write his business plan. Any doubts we had about Bob's motivation or abilities were dispelled by his raw enthusiasm and persistence in achieving his goal of owning his own business. With Bob's own resources and financial assistance from Montana Vocational Rehabilitation and Montana Job Training Partnership, Bob acquired the equipment and resources he needed to begin giving estimates and starting jobs. He began by practicing on his own home. By the end of August 2000, he had completed two jobs and submitted several others bids.

Sarah

When we started working with Sarah on her business plan, we had already tried many things to help her become employed. She was originally referred to us by Vocational Rehabilitation. Her case was closed because it was felt that her physical disability was so severe there was little hope she would ever become competitively employed. Sarah, however, did not give up. She was allowed to continue working at Ravalli Service's thrift store until something better could be developed. Initially, she wanted to start her own Retail Food Supplement Business. This venture was not successful for many reasons such as: it cost too much; Sarah needed the flexibility to take a day off with no notice due to pain; and it was unclear whether or not such a venture would be well received in Hamilton. The second idea Sarah pursued was her own Mini-Storage business. This idea was discarded because it was cost-prohibitive. Another idea was for her to manage rental properties, but we were unable to put a feasible plan together. Through the grant, we decided to put together a plan for her to own and operate her own vending machines, offering healthy lunch alternatives to people unable to leave their offices to eat out. When we were almost finished with the business plan, Sarah said, "I don't want to do this, I've got a better idea." She wanted to sell Mary Kay cosmetics. Her idea was met with a lukewarm reception at best. Sarah was asked to do research and find out if this was something she really wanted to do. Not only did she research the idea, she contributed some of her own very limited resources to purchasing a display inventory. Her persistence and willingness to take a chance herself sold us on the idea. Ravalli Services committed money for her to purchase her sales inventory from the revolving loan fund. She is now conducting Mary Kay classes and has begun making sales.

These two businesses are in no way guaranteed successes, but the people who own them chose them and they have an opportunity to make them succeed.