1. Self-employment in Telework Presented by: Andrea Dimond Washington Assistive Technology Foundation

2. Where we’re going  PART I: Who is the Telework entrepreneur  PART II: Reaching the Telework entrepreneur  PART III: Funding the Telework entrepreneur

3. PART I: Who is the Telework entrepreneur  Thousands of people with disabilities have been successful as small business owners.  The 1990 national census revealed that people with disabilities have a higher rate of self-employment and small business experience (12.2 percent) than people without disabilities (7.8 percent).  The Disabled Businessman’s Association estimates that 40 percent of home-based businesses are operated by people with disabilities  The Federal Reserve Board’s report, “National Survey of Small Business Finances (1995),” found that small businesses were home-based 53 percent of the time

4. First National Study of People with Disabilities Who are Self-Employed Conducted by Research & Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities  Research Goals 1. Gather information on the self-employment experiences of people with disabilities. 2. Use this information to improve services for current and future entrepreneurs with disabilities and the agencies supporting them.  Research Process: They sent a 51-question survey to 1,059 individuals. 203 surveys were undeliverable and 390 completed surveys were returned. Of these returned surveys, 330 were usable (45 percent response rate).

5. What professional back grounds do entrepreneurs with disabilities have?  Variety of educational backgrounds (see chart)  More than half (67%) of entrepreneurs were between the ages of 40 and 59

6. Why choose entrepreneurship? 4 out of 10 respondents chose the entrepreneurial route because:  They "needed to create their own job."  They wanted flexible hours and working conditions "to accommodate a disability."

7. Other reasons to choose self- employment  #1 Reason: Wanted to “work for myself”  Wanted to make more money  Identified need for product or service

8. What business sectors do microentrepreneurs represent? The RTC did not ask this question in their study, but a survey of MDOs in WA performed by the WSMA showed these results.

9. Annual gross income of businesses owned by people with disabilities

10. PART II: Reaching the Telework entrepreneur  WATF’s experience with Telework Loans  Partnerships & outreach to the small business community  Workshops  Tabling Events

11. WATF’s Experience with Telework  Loaned $38,700 in 9 loans  6 self-employment: -Wildlife Photographer (Vehicle) -Landscaper (Tractor) -Mobility Specialist (Vehicle) -Embroidery Digitizer (Computer & software) -Notary (Notary equip.) -Online clothing retail (Computer & camera equipment)  3 employment: Primarily computer equipment & accessories

12. Our Experience in WA  Establish Washington State Microenterprise Association  Referral Source  Opened doors Lesson Learned: This relationship was not enough to get the results we wanted. We need to better leverage our Telework funds.

13. Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs)  Microloan programs are typically non-profit entities and partnerships that assist individuals in starting microenterprises. MDOs provide hands on technical assistance.  MDOs offer a variety of training and funding products depending on their focus. Many are limited geographically by funding.  MDOs want to reach out to people with disabilities but may not know how Microenterprise: a business with start up costs of $35,000 or less and employing 5 or fewer people.

14. Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)  These centers provide free business counseling to entrepreneurs for both start- up and existing businesses.  Many SBDC clients fall into the category of microenterprise, and an increasing number are home-based.  SBDCs do not offer funding but offer referrals to funding sources and help business owners prepare loan applications

15. Other potential partners Small Business Administration Office of Minority and Women Owned Businesses SCORE Others? All of these entities can provide:  Marketing opportunities -Publications -Workshops -Newsletter  Networking opportunities -Source of other funding to combine Telework loan with  Client resource -Clients can use SBA business library -Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE)

16. Workshops  Small Business  Assistive Technology  Financial Literacy Lessons Learned: 1. Workshops are an opportunity for partnership with MDOs, Housing authorities, VR, Independent Living Centers, etc. 2. There is a high demand for self-employment workshops 3. It’s a long trip from workshop participant to borrower: include benefits planners, VR, microenterprise, and other small business resources to get a borrower ready for a loan

17. Tabling & presenting  Small Business Fairs  Employment fairs Lesson Learned: Give a presentation—don’t just table

18. PART III: Funding the Telework entrepreneur  Startup Funding Needs  Tiered Funding Strategy  Putting together a full funding package

19. Startup Funding Needs  Supplies  Inventory (for a product business)  Licensing & Insurance  Equipment Lesson Learned: 1. It takes more than equipment to start a business 2. No one knows what Telework is, but they do know that they need business equipment

20. Tiered Funding Strategy  Evaluate a need vs. a want  Challenge business owners to think of business in stages  Plan on providing multiple small loans to start up businesses Lesson Learned: Borrowers learn a lot in the first year of business and will spend money more wisely once they have some experience under their belt

21. Business Loan Requirements  Business Plan with 12 months of financial projections  All local & state licenses and insurance requirements necessary to be legal  Borrowers who require funding greater than $10,000 must have personal health insurance and key person insurance if they are a business owner  Business Checking Account Lesson Learned: You won’t necessarily get the insurance reimbursement check just because you’re an additional named insured

22. Putting together a full funding package  Business Funding Resources  Partner with other funding sources (MDOs, VR, PASS)  Help clients leverage funds Lesson Learned: Providing multiple loans from various agencies to one client can be difficult when collateral comes into play.

23. Thank You Andrea Dimond Washington Assistive Technology Foundation 100 South King Street, Ste. 280 Seattle, WA 98104 andrea@watf.org 206.328.5116 Study referenced: First National Study of People with Disabilities Who are Self-Employed Rural Disability and Rehabilitation Research Progress Report #8 February 2001 This Research Progress Report was prepared by Nancy Arnold, Tom Seekins, and Diana Spas © RTC: Rural, 2001. This publication is available in Braille, large print, and ASCII DOS text formats.