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A Basketful of Home-based Businesses
Summary: Here are some of the many fascinating projects people who are blind or visually impaired have successfully developed as home-based businesses.
Author: Nan Hawthorne
Yes, You Can Marci's Avon Business Ardis Communicates The Internet Is Marsha's Transcription Tool "XYZ Construction, James Speaking" Get Wired With Marti Lisa Paints A Brighter Future Craig Is Out Standing in his Field.. Well, Yard Blinksoft Gets Lots of Action Related Links Yes, You Can A home-based business may seem like a dream. Control over your work environment is only one of many advantages. Those advantages include short commutes to your work, flexible working hours largely determined by you, no need for an elaborate work wardrobe, no negotiating with the boss over access, the pride of making money with your own two hands and so forth. Home-based businesses can be a win-win, if you're blind and partially sighted. Some of the extra challenges you may face in standard employment are no longer factors to consider. Travel is either not needed or less of an issue. You don't have to deal with a boss and co-workers who may not understand your disability. While you probably have to finance your access tools, at least they're yours and you can choose what works best for you. Many disabled people also have one advantage over non-disabled people in starting a home-based business. As I pointed out in the earlier article, Yes, You Can Operate A Home-based Business it can take years before you (or your non-disabled counterparts) can make a living in any startup business. But many of us receive some sort of monetary support, such as Social Security Disability benefits, that we can live on until we can. So long as we are careful to research and comply with any requirements or earnings caps which are conditions of that monetary support, such benefits provide an additional boost during those lean startup years for those of us with employed spouses. Is it a dream? No. If you have "the right stuff," you can make it happen. In researching this topic, I have met several visually impaired people who have successfully established home-based businesses, and I'd like you to get to know them, too! Go to Top of Page Marci's Avon Business Marci loves fragrances and has a special spot in her heart for the Avon fragrances so familiar to most women in Avon's domain. Earlier this year, she decided she would become "an Avon Lady" and soon discovered that Avon was ready for her! Avon's phone-in order system for representatives (as the "Ladies" are now called) means that Marci can minimize paperwork. She has developed her own order tracking system with her computer and finds the receipts (and bills) she produces a great source of pride. Go to Top of Page Ardis Communicates Communication, in its many forms, is Ardis' forte. She is a sought-after motivational speaker about goal setting, dealing with change and building a strong self-image. More recently, Ardis has shifted from oral to written communications. She is writing books as well as preparing procedure manuals and documents. She has also begun combining oral and written communications by producing a line of recorded materials. A communicator through and through, Ardis networks effectively. She has joined her local Chamber of Commerce and other groups where she can make valuable connections and always has brochures and business cards on hand to keep her in her contacts' minds. You can visit her business, Bazyn Communications, online. Go to Top of Page The Internet Is Marsha's Transcription Tool Marsha and fellow "blindbusinesspeople" subscribers Kathy and Debbie have thriving medical transcription businesses. Each receives her assignments by digital telephone transmission and uses a special dictation player with a foot pedal. Marsha makes use of several standard software applications to create the finished documents. In addition to several electronic physicians' desk references and dictionaries, Marsha finds several medical web sites helpful because they quickly add new but obscure medical terms to their glossaries. She also uses the Internet to turn in her assignments. But her computer is not her only tool. She has honed her people skills and uses them in dealing with her clients. And she knows the importance of discipline. She cautions others to remember, "You are the only one who can make that cash register ring." Go to Top of Page "XYZ Construction, James Speaking" Marsha's husband, James, has just started an answering service. His first customer was a building contractor who needed someone to take and triage phone calls while he is off building. A full-time receptionist would not be economical for the builder, but paying James is. And, with several clients, James can make a living taking messages and fielding requests. He enjoys the work but, like Marsha, cautions that even answering the phone takes discipline. "You can't let yourself get caught up in the story of Aunt Julia and the vampire. You have to stay focused on building your business." Go to Top of Page Get Wired With Marti Marti's background with computers was a great start for Agassa Technologies, her home-based web site services company. She hosts web sites and produces "back end" programming for them as well as some web site design. The company also provides consulting services for web site accessibility and does the "fix" to make other business' web sites accessible to disabled visitors. Marti has several part-time employees, who mostly work from home themselves, making Agassa Technologies "a true virtual company," she says. One of the company's proudest achievements is SETI, a highly accessible search engine. Go to Top of Page Lisa Paints A Brighter Future Lisa had never been interested in art before she lost her vision. After becoming blind, she spent years in depression. Finally, in desperation, she picked up a watercolor set. Now, although she has never seen the work she creates in watercolors and oils, she is an internationally collected and shown artist. One observation helped make this possible. Lisa noticed that different watercolor hues have different textures -- blue is thick and red is smooth. Lisa uses this insight and her photographic memory to produce street scenes and still life paintings that fetch high prices. Go to Top of Page Craig Is Out Standing in his Field.. Well, Yard A building contractor, Craig's experience working with building materials led him to a new business after he lost his eyesight. He obtained some oversize molds and began making concrete lawn ornaments. Geese are his most popular product, and he sells them at a brisk pace not only to individuals who learn of his work but also to local nurseries. Go to Top of Page Blinksoft Gets Lots of Action Pam Jackson Retzloff has experience with technology and a facile way with people. Recognizing an opportunity, several adaptive technology companies asked her to help distribute their products. She now owns Blinksoft Technologies and has a first look at some of the amazing adaptive tools which are becoming available for those who are blind and visually impaired. She uses the global positioning system that has been developed for blind people to get to her clients. And she has her pick of other access hardware and software for her business. After all, she needs to use the items before she can recommend them or train someone else to use them. Use the dialogue board accompanying this article to share your thoughts about home-based businesses! Go to Top of Page
Related Links: Note: Accessing a link will bring up a new browser window. Close this new window to get back to this article Agassa Technologies eSight's Site Accessibility Review: By Robert Brown Usefulness: Five stars Accessibility: Four stars Navigation: Four stars Included on Agassa's site are accessible web site reviews, product information and Marti's well-known SETI search engine. Agassa Technologies offers web site design and hosting as well as consulting services for making existing sites accessible to people with disabilities and compliant with federal accessibility guidelines. This site is accessible. The description of the Agassa services is well presented. Its links are adequately described. Keystroke navigation of the site's home page is simple enough. The only serious drawback is the lag time on its newest fast search facility, seti-search.com, which, by Agassa's own admission, is not yet fully compliant with its own accessibility standards. Avon eSight's Site Accessibility Review: By Robert Brown Usefulness: Three stars Accessibility: Three stars Navigation: Three stars This site would appear to be of some value to anyone wishing to know more about the Avon Company, its products and services - as Marci did. The site contains a wealth of information about this well-known direct sales company, but the design and presentation of the site leaves much to be desired for access devices. Unfortunately, the site is unnecessarily graphical and obtuse. I'm not referring to the pictures of product lines but rather to the overall presentation of the site itself. There are alt tags for the sections of the site, but they are not well written. They convey very little information about where each hyperlink will take the user. It is also necessary to jump from link to link to get an overall picture about the site's purpose. Keyboard navigation of the site leaves a great deal to be desired as well. The user has to scurry from link to link, trying to find a comprehensive statement of what this online service is all about. In fact, the home page contains almost no useful information about Avon. Bazyn Communications eSight's Site Accessibility Review: By Robert Brown Usefulness: Three stars Accessibility: Four stars Navigation: Four stars Here's a site about Ardis' communications consulting business for religious, non-profit and business organizations. The site is accessible. The home page could perhaps describe the services Ardis offers more clearly and succinctly. Right now, it's necessary to follow the links to the resume and mission to get a clear picture of the site's purpose. Navigating the site is simple enough. There is a text-only version of the site that facilitates both access and keystroke navigation. blindbusinesspeople eSight's Site Accessibility Review: By Robert Brown Usefulness: Four stars Accessibility: Four stars Navigation: Four stars This is a Yahoo e-mail list for blind business owners -- an online support group for entrepreneurs who are blind. The site and its offerings are accessible. Past exchanges among subscribers are clearly labeled by date and other hyperlinks, making it easy to judge the level of cooperation and shared knowledge among the group's members. Navigation of the site is simple enough, especially for anyone who has previously delved into a Yahoo e-mail group. Blinksoft Technologies eSight's Site Accessibility Review: By Robert Brown Usefulness: Four stars Accessibility: Four stars Navigation: Four stars The Lilac Blind Foundation offers a variety of adaptive technology products and services for those in the blind community, . Located in Seattle, it's rapidly acquiring a fine reputation in the blindness field. The site is accessible. It proudly displays its Bobby approval. Keyboard navigation, taken seriously by the site's web master, should pose no problems for screen readers. Lisa Fittipaldi eSight's Site Accessibility Review: By Robert Brown Usefulness: Four stars Accessibility: Four stars Navigation: Four stars Artist Lisa's own web site. This site includes the personal story of Lisa Fittipaldi, who learned to paint from memory after she became blind. The site is accessible. This dramatic story is in a text format that adaptive screen readers can easily read. The user will encounter no difficulty navigating around this site. Thoughtfulness and care in the preparation of the site make it fully accessible through normal scrolling and use of the cursor.
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A Basketful of Home-based Businesses

Author: Nan Hawthorne