Overview
About Your SBDC
Working With Your SBDC Consultant
- Explain Your Disability
- Focus on Your Business Goals
- Partner With Another Entrepreneur
- Be Prepared
- Be Proactive
Conclusion
Contacting Your Local SBDC
What SBDC Tips Do You Have to Share With Us?
Related Content
Share your opinions with eSight Careers Network
Overview
Starting your own business is no small task and
starting one with a visual impairment makes the
undertaking formidable. Last year, I embarked on the
journey of starting a small business. Despite my
visual challenges, The Woolford Group has had a
successful beginning with the help of my local SBDC.
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About Your SBDC
SBDCs have a statewide presence. There are 16 college
and university-based centers and 95 community-outreach
offices. The services they provide are free. Your SBDC
is a rich source of small business information,
consulting, and education. They can play a pivotal
role in helping you start and maintain your business.
The SBDC serving my region is the Kutztown University
of Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center. Its
mission is described below:
"Our mission is to increase the economic health of
each business we serve. We put our time, talents and
resources to work for you because your success is our
mission.
"With a small business development center to help
you, your business can become everything you want it
to be, and more. We can help you survive the trouble
spots, defy the odds and thrive with growth rates five
times more than national averages."
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Working With Your SBDC Consultant
I have found SBDC business consultants to be
knowledgeable, professional, and dedicated to my
success. However, having a visual impairment adds a
complexity to this professional relationship.
Within that context, how do you make the working
arrangement with your local SBDC most productive?
Here are some tips, based on my experience:
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Explain Your Disability
It is important that your SBDC consultant have a
general understanding of your disability. You and your
consultant need to develop your business in accordance
with your limitations.
During the initial meeting with my consultant, I
explained the nature of my visual impairment. I
provided documentation from Blindness and Visual
Services to clarify my disability and the impact it
has on performing work. I made it clear that the
business I develop must give me the flexibility to
rest my eyes frequently throughout the day.
Furthermore, I explained that I could not spend much
time under fluorescent lights and had to be mindful of
how I handled any on-site client meetings.
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Focus on Your Business Goals
Although it is important to explain the nature of your
disability and clarify challenges that come your way,
it is essential that your meetings focus on the
development of your business. Your consultant will
have limited understanding of blindness or visual
impairment issues. They will, however, have
considerable expertise in starting and maintaining a
business.
On several occasions, I have attempted to discuss and
develop strategies for coping with work-related visual
challenges. This has rarely been a wise use of my
time. SBDC consultants are not trained to deal with
disability issues, and these are better discussed with
a rehab professional.
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Partner With Another Entrepreneur
Develop professional relationships and friendships
with local entrepreneurs. As a small business owner,
you have a unique set of challenges that will only be
understood by a fellow entrepreneur.
I have developed a working relationship with a small
business owner who is equally interested in engaging
the support of SBDC. We share monthly meetings with a
consultant and provide each other with valuable
insights and feedback about our businesses.
I have also instituted a monthly "entrepreneurial
lunch" with a professional writer and experienced
small business owner. As a colleague who is in my
field of business, he has been an impressive source of
information, inspiration and support.
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Be Prepared
At the conclusion of each meeting, you and your
consultant will agree on action steps to be performed
before the next meeting. Do your best to complete
these action items. Prepare for the next meeting with
a written agenda. Include the status of your action
items as well as additional points to be discussed.
On some occasions, I have been unable to complete all
of the action items I committed to. This has often
been related to my visual impairment and is a source
of considerable frustration for me. However,
completing even the simplest tasks on time is an
essential part of running your own business. Whatever
the task, it is an opportunity to develop new skills
and sharpen old ones. If I'm experiencing time
management and productivity issues, I need to stop and
apply patience, planning, and organizing techniques
(see "Finding Productivity Through Patience, Planning,
Organization" here on eSight).
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- Be Proactive
Your SBDC consultant is working for you, providing
expertise and support to develop your business. He
will need guidance about how to best support your
professional development and the growth of your
business. Establish an atmosphere for giving and
receiving feedback.
I think there is a tendency when one has a disability
to be less proactive, and I am no exception. Since my
vision changed several years ago, I have noticed my
propensity to let others be the driving force in
meetings. It is important for me, and all workers with
disabilities, to find that source of strength within.
Just because my eyes are weak does not mean that I
have to relinquish my strength as I do business with
others.
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Conclusion
I cannot imagine starting a business without the
support of my local SBDC. Starting a business is an
enormous undertaking; starting one when you have a
disability makes the undertaking formidable. There is
considerable information to be assimilated and many
new skills to be developed. With the expert guidance
of your SBDC consultant, you can develop and maintain
a successful business.
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Contacting Your Local SBDC
The following web sites, hosted by the Small Business
Association, provide important information about the
statewide network of SBDCs in the United States:
Small Business Development Centers (Graphic version)
Small Business Development Centers (text only version)
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What SBDC Tips Do You Have to Share With Us?
What other tips do you have for making the working
relationship with an SBDC most productive during the
startup of a small business? Send me your comments (or
questions) by using the "Share your opinions with
eSight Careers Network" you'll find below.
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