#does this administration care and will give me any benefits for it? nope

[tugoslovenka]

bureaucracy is so fun because you get to have such romantic conversations with your partner about getting married such as “so if we do this now, then the residency status can be permanent 3 years from now?” simply because nobody likes dealing with immigrants. i get to be the epitome of an eastern european man stealing whore. i am the joke. i have become the stereotype.

[disabilityandeconomicjustic-blog]

Pollitto: Hello, listeners! My name is Alexis Pollitto and I’m a disability rights activist and ILR student. Today on this podcast we will be discussing a topic that I find to be very interesting and also pertinent to the disability community. We will be discussing what it means to be an entrepreneur with a disability.

First I'd like to define some terms to clarify entrepreneurship. Nowadays, it seems like entrepreneurship can really mean anything. It has many different connotations, and a lot of people consider themselves to be entrepreneurs.

But, the textbook definition of entrepreneurship is the activity of setting up a business, taking a financial risk, and hoping to profit.

Based on this definition and because it can be viewed so widely, I don't see any reason why a person with disabilities cannot become an entrepreneur.

But to demonstrate this, I’d like to do a little bit of an activity that involves a few quotes from someone who owns their own business. Joining me today for this activity is my friend Kim Herbert.

Hi Kim, how are you today?

Herbert: I'm good, thank you for having me.

Pollitto: Of course!

So the name of this activity is “Can You Spot the Difference?” As you can tell by the name, what I will be doing is stating these quotes from the person who owns their business and you will tell me if you think the person who said it might have a disability, if they might not have a disability, or if either person could have said it. And please feel free to explain why you think so, or why you don’t think so.

Any questions?

Herbert: Nope.

Pollitto: Great, are you ready to get started?

Herbert: I am.

Pollitto: Awesome. Here is the first quote: “I wake up at 5:30, take a shower, and go about my regular routine to work.” What do you think?

Herbert: You know I think that would be someone who might have a disability because it seems like, you know, they give a lot to their daily routine, and I think that someone who is stereotypically abled, really that's something that they sort of take for granted a little bit.

Pollitto: That's a really good point. Sometimes people who do have disabilities definitely need to stick to a straight routine. And other times people who don't have disabilities just like to do that as well, but it is common with certain disabilities to want to stick to a routine. Okay, thanks.

Herbert: The next one is: “I am so excited to go to work, so I do a dance off in the parking lot.”

You know again I think that might be someone who does have a disability because again sort of taking regular things for granted is sort of a hallmark of people who don't consider themselves to have a disability.

Pollitto: Right. I really like that quote. I think that it's just fun. I wish I could have a dance off in the parking lot before work.

The next one is: “Have you been here before? Well, I’m Tim I’m the owner.”

Herbert: You know I think that could be either. I think that could either be someone with a disability or without a disability.

Pollitto: Ok, great.

The next one is, sort of imagine it in a managerial role, so the person says, “You guys are doing a great job back here.”

Herbert: Again, I think that could be either one.

Pollitto: Great. The next one, again sort of in a managerial role, “I love you guys. You guys are the best cooks ever.”

Herbert: I think either one again.

Pollitto: The next one is: “Since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to own a restaurant. I asked my Dad to help me out.”

Herbert: I think I would have to say probably someone who does not have a disability, because sort of the you know, people who don't have disabilities are sort of told that they can have hopes and dreams in the way that a lot of times people with disabilities are not.

Pollitto: That's a really good point, wow. Just a couple more here. So, the next one is, “My favorite part of all is the people coming through that front door.”

I think that could be either.

Okay. This one is sort of simple, but put this way, “Food is food.”

Herbert: I think that's maybe someone who does not have a disability because, you know, I think that if you don't have disability, it's easier to think that food is something that simple as food.

Pollitto: Sure, that's a good point. And, finally, and my personal favorite,“People with disabilities can do anything they set their minds too. They are special.”

Herbert: I would think that someone who has maybe a disability, because I hope they would have that sort of self-confidence.

Pollitto: That's great. Yeah, I would hope so too.

So, thank you for participating. Those are all of the quotes we have for today, but part of the reason why I thought of this activity was to emphasize the fact that people with disabilities and people without disabilities can be equally successful as entrepreneurs.

And, I'd like to mention that all of the quotes from the activity come from a video, about Tim’s Place, which to date, I believe, is the only restaurant in the United States that was owned by a person with Down’s Syndrome.

Herbert: Wow!

Pollitto: Yeah, it's really amazing. So, if you look on our blog, Disability & Dollars, I posted a video all about Tim's Place, and I'll tell you just briefly what the story is, because in sum, I think a lot of your explanations for the quotes were really important. And so, Tim is a person with Down's Syndrome, who actually studied at a university, and always dreamed of owning his own restaurant. So the quote, that "Since I was a kid, I wanted to own a restaurant. I asked my Dad to help me out." I thought it was really interesting that you said that that might be a person who doesn't have a disability because oftentimes, people with disabilities are told that they can't necessarily achieve the same things that someone without a disability would. But, Tim was fortunate enough to have a really supportive family that really pushed him and urged him to achieve his dream. So ultimately, he opened the restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that's where he lives, and the menu is also posted on our blog, and it's really good. It looks like it's an awesome place to eat at, and it's very family-oriented. Tim's signature thing that he does at the restaurant is give people hugs. I think in the video he's up to about 19,000 hugs given. So, it's an incredible story, in my opinion, the fact that this man, who has a disability, didn't let that hold him back, and he was able to open his own restaurant and achieve his dream. And unfortunately, Tim has moved on to bigger and better things, and he decided to close the restaurant in Albuquerque to move to Denver with his girlfriend that he met at a Down's Syndrome convention. And maybe he'll end up opening a restaurant there, but time will only tell.

So, I just wanted to share that story with you and provide a little bit of background of where these quotes came from. But, I'd also like to mention that according to the U.S. Department of Labor, many people with disabilities have already created job opportunities for themselves by being entrepreneurs. Furthermore, people with disabilities are twice as likely to be self-employed as people without disabilities, and the actual statistics are 14.7 percent compared to 8 percent.

And so as you can see from the activity there are few differences between someone who has a disability and someone without. As you so eloquently displayed Kim, by showing that a lot of the quotes could be stated by either a person who has a disability of doesn't have a disability. Both can be entrepreneurs, and both should be encouraged to do so, in my opinion.

For both of these groups, the benefits to owning your own business are very vast, as you could imagine.

So some include independence of your work and your career, as well as the opportunity to make your own business decisions, the ability to set your own hours and schedule, and the reduction of transportation problems when your business is home based, which could be a really strong benefit for someone who has a disability that may inhibit from traveling outside of their a home.

And a person with a disability, as an entrepreneur, they will receive continued support from Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), including health care, when income and assets are within the programs' requirements.

And so just to wrap things up, if you or someone you know is listening and has a disability and would like to be an independent business owner, or entrepreneur, I'm happy to report that there are many resources available to you. So, for example, the Small Business and Self Employment Service provides advice and referrals to entrepreneurs with disabilities who are interested in starting their own business or exploring other self-employment options.

Also, the Small Business Administration sponsors a variety of programs and resources to assist entrepreneurs with disabilities to start and grow their own businesses, including a nationwide network of that offers free or low-cost one-on-one counseling to help potential entrepreneurs with planning, financing, management, technology, government relations, and other business-related areas that are necessary.

So all in all, these are just a few things that are available to entrepreneurs with disabilities, so don’t be afraid to take a risk if it really is your dream to own your own business. That's all what being an entrepreneur is about, and that's ultimately what will make you successful as an entrepreneur, regardless of whether or not you have a disability. Thank you, Kim, for joining us today and thank you everyone for listening, and don't forget to check out the rest of our blog on Tumblr called, Disability & Dollars.