Starting your own business is difficult for everyone, but disability doesn’t have to be a barrier to entry.
The 9-5 working day isn’t suitable for everyone and neither is the busy commute into the office every day so, for many people with disabilities, entrepreneurship is often the best option.
It’s estimated that there are over ten million disabled people in the UK and about half of these are working age. Statistics show that 24% of disabled people in employment were self-employed and 45% of those chose to be self-employed because they could not find alternative employment.
Happily, there is now a lot of help available for disabled entrepreneurs including:
The Federation of Small Business which has teamed up with a disability charity in order to provide free training and support.
Disabled Entrepeneurs who are a group of disabled people that support business growth through networking, news, ideas and inspirational stories.
Access to Work is a government grant that doesn’t have to be paid back. It is available to those with disabilities or health and mental conditions and can be used to pay for things like specialist equipment and travel costs.
Do you know of any other assistance that disabled entrepreneurs could benefit from? Share your knowledge and experience below.
