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Post by Ms. Kathy on Dec 21, 2004 11:04:57 GMT -6
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Post by Ms. Kathy on May 3, 2007 19:16:04 GMT -6
APH Newletter--MayYour monthly link to the latest information on the products, services, and training opportunities from the American Printing House for the Blind. **Please visit our May issue, now posted on our web site: www.aph.org/advisory/2007adv05.htmlClick on the above link or copy and paste it into your favorite web browser **This Month's Headlines: " Annual Meeting Theme Selected " Braille+* Mobile Manager Training Announced " Evaluators Needed for New Brailling/Thermoforming Material " Field Testers needed for new "Lots of Dots" " Easy Ways to Expand Your Hundreds Boards Kit " APH Flea Market " News from the Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field " APH Travel Calendar " New Products from APH " *and much more!
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Post by Ms. Kathy on Jan 23, 2008 9:58:43 GMT -6
Blind and visually impaired entrepreneurs get the tools they need to make their business dreams a reality
Tracy Cook
The Guardian, Wednesday January 23 2008
Contact usClose Contact the Society editor
editor@societyguardian.co.uk
About this article
This article appeared in the Guardian on Wednesday January 23 2008 on p7 of the Society news & features section. It was last updated at 23:43 on January 22 2008.
John Charles runs his own catering firm. Photograph: Martin Godwin
In the busy kitchen of a factory canteen John Charles and his team are cooking roast beef and yorkshire pudding for the 70 or so workers due to pour through the doors in an hour or so. Nothing too unusual, except that Charles and half of his 15 staff are blind or partially sighted.
It is Charles's own catering company - he cooks, manages the staff and does the paperwork. One of four businesses set up two years ago with the help of Action for Blind People, it has been independent and profitable since July. For Charles, running a business is a dream come true: "It was a huge relief that at last there was a way to realise my goals."
Because of Charles' success, Action for Blind People is launching a new initiative, Enterprise in Sight, which seeks to help blind and visually impaired entrepreneurs with good ideas to get started in business. Targeted at women and people from ethnic minority communities, it aims to help visually impaired people into self-employment and give advice to businesses already running. With £386,000 from the London Development Agency, it will also help small businesses capitalise on commercial opportunities from the 2012 London Olympic Games.
In the UK, 66% of blind or partially sighted people of working age are unemployed. Andy Taylor of Action for Blind People, who coordinated the setting up of Charles's catering company, says: "We wanted to find a way to lift blind or partially sighted people out of poverty. Jobs are now more service-based. We need to address that and train people to have those skills."
Enterprise in Sight offers a structured process, from business-plan preparation through to the start-up of the company. Its business experts will give practical advice from tax and book-keeping to finding funding bodies and dealing with retailers. Instead of the booklets usually offered, they will use talking computers. They will also provide mentoring and ongoing support once the businesses are up and running. Business adviser Mark Causton, who runs the project, says: "Self-employment can be a great way forward for blind or partially sighted people, as it gives them flexibility to accommodate their disability. If someone is ill and losing their sight, they often end up losing their job too and can get trapped on benefits. But although they lose confidence, they still have their skills. We can show them how to adjust to their visual impairment and adapt those skills."
Enitan Ajayi is setting up her company, Computer Care People Help, with advice and funding from Enterprise in Sight. Born with nystagmus (involuntary eye movement), she has a master's degree in computer science. She decided to take the plunge and become self-employed as she wanted to give something back by helping the visually impaired community.
She advises individuals and employers on installing assisted technology, such as large-text software. She is grateful for the opportunity Enterprise in Sight is giving her. "Their business advisers have helped me immensely. I don't think I could have got going without them."
The success of Charles's company, Catering2Order, shows that the model works. Before Action for Blind People stepped in, Charles had been unemployed for eight years. He went blind after finishing a business degree, following months of headaches. (He has cranial hypertension and the pressure crushed his optic nerve). "Social services turned up and gave me a stick and a dog, but I knew I wanted to cook and run my own business," he says. He put together a business plan and tried to get a bank loan. "I was turned down," he says. But at Action for Blind People Charles found faith in his idea.
So far, Action for Blind People has helped some 40 businesses with advice and training. Its Enterprise in Sight programme now aims to help 30 more visually impaired entrepreneurs into self-employment or business start-ups.
"We just want to find people who wouldn't normally get this sort of help," says Causton. "It can change their lives."
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