How to turn your special knowledge into a profitable business.
By Craig P. Kennedy
When I broke my back and was told that I would probably spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, I never imagined that my disability would provide me with the opportunity to start my own business.
Just like most people, I never paid attention to all the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from getting around independently. But after spending several years using a wheelchair and showing friends what they needed to do to make their business more accessible to me, I realized that I was becoming an expert in their eyes.
If you are in a similar situation and are thinking about becoming an “expert” of your own, the first thing to remember is that starting your own business is a lot of work. I don’t want to sugar coat it for you. Just having a disability is not enough to make you successful. You also have to know the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). There are several ADA Technical Assistance Centers (www.adata.org) located throughout the United States that can help you get started and some of the training is even free.
Starting Point
When I got started with CK Consulting, LLC in 2004, my idea was to focus on the local ski resort and other businesses in Steamboat Springs, CO that wanted to become more accessible. I started with the businesses that I knew the owners of and patronized most often, because most of them knew of their accessibility issues and wanted to change. This is a good starting point for anyone wanting to get into this business. These are the places that you really care about because your friends will listen to you where strangers may not. These may not be paying jobs at first, but at least you are starting to do the work and getting an idea of what you are going to encounter along the way.
Within a few weeks I landed a job with the local ski company to assess immediate needs for accessibility improvements. In the long run, Steamboat ended up with a brand new accessible gondola car, new ramps and curb cuts, accessible shuttles, better signage, and more accessible parking spaces.
Your first big success, as this job was for me, will be a great confidence builder!
The next step is to start building your platform, or your reputation. If people don’t know who you are or what you are doing, your business will not grow.
The first thing I did to get my name out there was to start writing a column in one of our local newspapers. At the time this was not a paying job, but it was very instrumental in getting the word out. The column was called “Steamboat Adapts,” and it focused on local accessibility improvements and businesses that were making strides to become more accessible.
My first column talked about the new improvements at the ski area and was one of the reasons that I started to get phone calls from other businesses. Writing articles for newspapers, magazines, and other publications, including online, is a great way to start building your platform without ensuing the cost of expensive advertising.
Some additional ideas for your platform growth include joining local networking groups, such as a LEADS group, getting involved with your local Chamber of Commerce, and attending City Council and Planning Committee Meetings. I joined Steamboat Relay, a local business networking group first and it was very rewarding, and then I joined the Steamboat Chamber Ambassadors as a volunteer shortly after starting my business. Both provided great opportunities to network with other local business owners and employees. Just by talking with other locals and telling them about my new business, I picked up jobs both locally and statewide. Remember that your local Chamber is connected with other chambers around your home state.
Finally, I began attending city planning meetings so that every time a new building or improvements to sidewalks, parks, and open spaces were being proposed, I could speak up and make sure they were also planning for proper access according to the ADA.
Master Business Administration
Once you have begun to build your platform, it’s time to learn “how” to do business. And by this I do not mean crunching numbers, although that is important. After years of working in this industry, I finally realized that there is an inherent fear associated with the ADA. It scares people to think about access and the costs associated with proper access. So when you do approach a business about ADA improvements, be sure to tell them how you can help instead of pointing out what is wrong, following that old adage, you do indeed get more with sugar. If you sound like you are threatening a business owner or are angry about the barriers that exist at their business, you will scare them out of working with you. If you approach them as a friend who can help in a cost-effective manner, then you will have their support more easily.
While using sugar will get you in the door and at the very least a friendly conversation about access, the real secret of this business is learning how to get people to actually take action. For the first year or so I played to the emotions and morality of the issues involved with barrier removal. Unfortunately, people rarely wanted to become more accessible just because it was the right thing to do. It is important to remember that ultimately business owners want to see how much money they can make by becoming more accessible.
Until the Open Doors Organization (www. opendoorsnfp.org) started providing us with statistics on how much money people with disabilities spent on travel, recreation, and daily goods and services while on vacation, there was no way to gauge the benefit of improved access. Now we know, however, that the 55 million people with disabilities in the United States have a disposable income of more than $220 billion and spend more than $13.6 billion per year on travel. These numbers can really open the eyes of the business holder, and using them is an important tool in advocating for access and change.
My ultimate goal when I started my business was to be “that guy” that people could call when they had an accessibility issue or question. I can honestly say that after only two years, when anyone in Steamboat Springs, CO had an issue or question associated with accessibility and the ADA, I was the guy that they called. After four years in business I am now the Steamboat “expert,” and I am “that guy” in all of Colorado.
Craig Kennedy is a published author, motivational speaker, and President of Access Anything, LLC, a nationally recognized leader in adaptive sports and adventure travel for people with disabilities. He has more than ten years of adaptive travel experience and more than 20 years of tourism and service industry expertise and has a unique insight into the world of living and traveling with a disability. Craig lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado with his wife Andrea, a freelance writer, holistic healer, and cofounder of Access Anything.
Craig P. Kennedy, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
