Self-Employment: Discovering What Was Always There (Part 2)

In a previous post, I discussed how we began to discover Neil's many skills, talents, and interests and also mentioned how he had been running a hobby business most of his adult life. We ended the post with the statement, "(W)hy not try to support Neil to take his hobby business and, by using existing supports and relationships, step by step, turn it into a "proper" business?"

As mentioned in the post, we started by engaging in Discovery, a structured process that seeks to answer questions such as "Who is this person?", "What are there personal geniuses?", and "What are the ideal conditions of employment." These questions cannot be answered without engaging the local community; we must explore neighborhoods, relationships, activities, interests, and skills. Questions such as "Who is this person?" may seem overly abstract and nebulous and it also may be obvious that employment and community must go together. However, job seekers are very rarely really "known" by those around them. Also, professionals providing support with employment have historically done a very poor job of integrating themselves into the "real life" of their local communities.

We learned that, although Neil had never been an employee of a business, he does provide various services to those in his community for pay, such as lawn mowing (using neighbors equipment and gas), snow shoveling, and other jobs. I spoke with those who spent the most time with Neil, his customers, and others who knew him well and, after a series of conversations, Neil decided to pursue the most obvious theme: "Lawn Care Services."

Neil arranged a series of lawns to mow (for pay), using borrowed equipment, while staff and I would observe. I was able to watch Neil mow a sizable lawn--it took him about 2 hours and took note of the quality of his work (very good) and support needed (not much).

A series of challenges were also noted:

1. Neil did not currently have any equipment and did not have the means to purchase equipment to add some flexibility and options to his self-employment explorations.

2. Neil does not have access to his own transportation. WV's topography is very difficult to hike or bike for any distance with heavy equipment in tow. Without his own transportation, Neil would need to rely on his staff to take him to and from jobs.

The next post will discuss how these challenges are being addressed.

Program helps high school students with disabilities learn employment skills

Program helps high school students with disabilities learn employment skills

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Linking Educational Experiences with Careers

A survey commissioned by the National Organization on Disability found that only 29% of working aged people with disabilties are employed full or part time. In comparison, 79% of those who do not have disabilities are working. Of the people with disabilities who are not currently working, 72% report they would like to be working. Many of our youth are leaving high school without the skills and supports they need to work in the community. It is imperative that students with have access to work-based learning before they graduate to prepare them for employment in the community. There are two acts that address this need: the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA-PL 103-239) passed by Congress in 1994 and the The Individuals with Disabilties Education Act of 1990 (PL 94-142), revised in 1997 (PL 105-17). Both of these acts assist students to transition to further education and work. However, the STWOA was designed for all students, regardless of abilty.

The STWOA was designed to increase work-based and school-based learning opportunities for all students. The act creates a national framework to assist states and communities create comprehensive systems to helap all students apply classroom learning to high-wage, high-skill jobs or further education, and advocates work-based learning and college preparation. States and communities and developing programs to meet the transition needs of all students. Colleges are also offering a wide variety of work-based learning options for students.

What is a Work-based learning experience?

"A work-based learning experience is any activity that gives a person an opportunity to witness or participate in typical tasks that take place in an employment setting" (http://www.thefreelibrary.com)

Examples of work-based learning:

Job Shadowing-this involves visiting a place of employment and observing employee during their typical duties of a job the student is interested in. This allows them to learn the specific duties required and the working enviroment of a specific job and specific workplace. This experience usually lasts from an hour or two to a full day of more, depending on student interest and the employer

Internship-this is an intense work experience for a specific time period. This enables students to actually perform duties involved in a position. The participant (student) develops skills and performs job functions under close supervision. Some programs offer academic credit for participation in internships.

Cooperative Education-these programs extend the classroom experienc to an employment environment. These are usually offered as part of a specific degree program. These are sometimes paid positions and students typically earn academic credits. An example of this would be a student working as a trainee in a software development company as part of a cooperative education experience in computer science.

Service Learning-in this experience, students gain job skills in community service in non-paid, volunteer service learning experiences. The job skills they gain often help students in obtaining full-time paid employment. An example of service learning would be a student seeking employment developing and maintaining Web pafes could gain experience by volunteering to develop a web page for a place of worship.

Benefits of Work-Based Learning

Work-Based Learning Experiences assist students to:

*Clarify academic and career interests

*Gain academic credit

*Select future courses of study

*Pay for a college education

*Develop skills in relating to supervisors and co-workers

*Test Skills in a job setting

*Build a resume

*Develop a network of potential employers

*Develop relationships with people who can be used as references when applying for jobs

*Students with disabilities gain valuable practice in disclosing their disability and requesting appropriate accommodations


Benefits for employers include

*gaining practice in working with an individual to create a work environment that maximizes productivity and minimizes the impact of the disability

*Confronting and overcoming fears regarding hiring employees with a disability


Full employment of people with disabilities can save billions of public dollars that are now used to support unemployed people with disabilities (Profit from Our Experience, 1995).

Evidence supports the idea that our nations schools are doing a much better job of preparing students for post-secondary education and training than in preparing students for careers. Work-Based learning enables students to link what they learn in school with the work world and gives them the skills and connections they need to gain employment.

A Blogger's Perspective: Part II

West Virginia Developmental Disabilities Council
Employment Projects Meeting
January 14, 2010
[Disclaimer] Never having attended a WVDD Council meeting, nor having a background in social services, the impressions recorded are admittedly written on a blank chalkboard.
If you missed Part I of this blogger's perspective, you may read it here.

In Part II, we'll see the direction the discussion took regarding the viability of self-employment and customized employment in West Virginia. The principle of self-determination and person centered services and supports were also addressed. What do jobseekers want, and what works?

So how viable is self employment? One participant said to Mr. Hammis: "Don't small businesses have a very high failure rate?"

He observed that studies actually showed that, while small businesses may not generate a lot of profits, a significant number were still in business after ten or more years.

The latest statistics from the Small Business Administration (SBA) show that "two-thirds of new
employer establishments survive at lease two years, and 44 percent survive at least four years." This is a far cry from the previous long-held belief that 50 percent of businesses fail in the first year and 95 percent fail within five years.

Brian Head, Economist with the SBA Office of Advocacy, noted that the latest statistics are a much more accurate assessment of new business success rates, and that "as a general rule of thumb, new employer businesses have a 50/50 chance of surviving for five years or more."

Rhonda Abrams, writing in the Money section of USA TODAY did a little investivigative reporting on small business failures and here is what she found out:
.
The other morning I was listening to the radio when I heard a distinguished professor from a distinguished university quoted, saying that 90% of new businesses fail.

Now, when I hear something like that, it's like hearing fingernails scraping on a blackboard; it gives me the creeps. I know those statistics scare people away from starting their own businesses, but I've looked at statistics of business births and deaths closely, and I know of no credible study showing anything close to a 90% failure rate.

So I picked up the phone and called the good professor. He couldn't remember where that number came from, and he quickly backed away from it.

"How do you define failure?" said Professor David Blanchflower, Professor of Economics at Dartmouth University, explaining that failure didn't really mean failure. "Failure usually includes companies that change their name or ownership or a person who is self-employed who moves to employment."

That's the rub...statistics you'll hear about business "failures" are likely to mean business "closures." In some cases, not even closures, just business changes.

Overwhelmingly, businesses don't die or fail; the owners close them for reasons unrelated to whether the business is making money.

So what is your chance of success? I think Birch's statistics are probably as accurate as any. His
survival rates:

• First year: 85%
• Second: 70%
• Third: 62%
• Fourth: 55%
• Fifth: 50%
• Sixth: 47%
• Seventh: 44%
• Eighth: 41%
• Ninth: 38%
• Tenth: 35%

"Once you've hit five years, your odds of survival go way up," Birch said. "Only two to three percent of businesses older than five shut down each year."

So … what about that 90% failure rate cited on the radio? I went to the station's Web site and replayed the story. Listening closely, I realized they didn't mention any time period. So, perhaps the professor is right after all. I think it's safe to assume that within some period of time — oh, let's say 50 years — 90% of all businesses will close. I can live with those odds.

Dave Hammis mentioned that nationally, statistics show earnings for wage earners is on a par with persons who are self-employed.



There were also comments on the importance of adapting to realities of the 21st century, such as embracing technology.