Person-First Considerations for Generating Small Business ...



Person-First Considerations for Generating Small Business Ideas

START-UP/USA



Many people come to their business idea as a natural evolution of their working life. They learn a trade or experience an industry segment for numerous years, or they grow up in a family business, and the time comes for them to launch their own enterprise. But what about individuals with little life or employment history, in particular people who might only get one or two chances to make a career decision that includes support from the disability system? Choosing the wrong business idea or business approach can be disastrous in terms of lost confidence, resources, and future opportunity, so refining the employment pathway is important. A few ideas, certainly not an exhaustive list, are presented below to help guide individuals, family members, rehabilitation counselors, small business development personnel, and employment specialists:

1. Use Discovery to set the direction. Discovery is a functional and structured real-time evaluative process that reveals currently available information about the employment seeker. There is no testing; no norm referenced comparisons with others; no interest inventories. Instead, through interviews with key individuals close to the consumer, work try-outs, informational interviews and tours with employers, and other community explorations, a profile is developed that channels employment development that aligns with the “ideal conditions of employment” (Callahan & Condon, 2007).

2. Funnel Discovery information into person-centered employment planning. Discovery yields a profile of the individual employment seeker as they are now; it is not predictive of future success. Within a Customized Employment (CE) framework, the information derived from functional assessment drives a plan to find, sculpt, or create economic opportunity. The planning team enlists all the tools of CE, including non-comparative job development that circumvents traditional application and interviewing processes, job carving, resource ownership (i.e., buying tools, equipment, or specialized skills that increase an individuals value in a workplace) job creation, and small business development (Griffin & Hammis, 2003; Griffin, Hammis & Geary, 2007).

3. Do not think in Job Descriptions. As job developers, we find ourselves wondering, “what job could this person do?” Too often under this scenario, a process of whittling down the job based on the perception that there are too many task steps or insurmountable skills mastery issues, eventually has us abandon higher level or creative employment for work more easily attained and taught. Using the tools of CE, including business ownership as a way of generating income, moves us away from the confines of job descriptions and towards the creative edge of facilitating those ideal conditions of employment. In the case of small business development, the individual matches their interests and ideal conditions to a sustainable market niche.

4. Get beyond stereotypical self-employment. Thinking in job descriptions leads us to custodial, fast food, and other entry-level positions. There is nothing wrong with these jobs, but looking for more complexity, higher pay, and a better match that anticipates personal and professional growth moves greater numbers of people from poverty, and provokes the disability system to think more deeply about what vocational success should mean. Businesses such as paper shredding, vending, and printing greeting cards may indeed reflect one’s ideal conditions of employment, but they are fast becoming stereotypical businesses. Just as getting jobs bagging groceries reflects a certain amount of stasis within our job development ranks, so too do these ubiquitous business ventures reflect perhaps our inability to teach complex tasks, to leverage business and community supports essential in many enterprises, and to think more creatively about opportunity and economic development. This is not simply a matter of community rehabilitation personnel not having business experience; it is more a reflection of a system hobbled by a quick-fix mentality, a paucity of social capital, and the weak investment in staff development.

5. Invest in Systematic Instruction. Previous generations of rehabilitation staff learned systematic instruction, a behaviorally based approach to teaching complex tasks, from such innovators as Marc Gold, Paul Wehman, and Tom Bellamy. Knowing systematic instructional strategies arms us with tools that break down barriers to learning. Applying these techniques with individuals with complex learning styles and disabilities often disproves our assumptions about what people are capable of learning. Knowing that as professionals we can teach higher-level skills, we are liberated in our thinking about jobs and businesses individuals can conquer (Griffin, Hammis & Geary, 2007; Callahan & Garner, 1997).

6. Go where the career makes sense. If Discovery reveals that someone has an affinity for horses, make a list of specific places in their community where people who enjoy horses work, gather, and learn. A list of at least 20 such places is critical to thinking beyond the most common clubs, occupations, and events. Because people connect over shared interests, visiting these places, interviewing key people in positions of ownership and management are essential. A career seeker lighting up over the proximity of horses during an informational tour can go a long way towards breaking down the hiring walls so often erected when someone is simply seeking a job. The visits that take place may reveal wage job opportunities, but should also reveal opportunities to serve as a supplier, a competitor, or a complimentary business to what already exists.

7. Ask about the future. During this exploration phase, one key area of conversation with existing businesses revolves around growing technology, growing competitiveness, and the growing restlessness of customers. These circumstances lead the way for resource ownership; business within a business; or new enterprise creation. Identifying and examining the gaps between what customers want and what’s available, how fast it’s available, the quality of what’s available, and the convenience of acquiring the product or service may evolve into a new business idea.

8. Use a Business Design Team. A BDT derives from the person-centered model most of us are familiar with, except that it concentrates on matching the individual with the business idea. A true team is focused on a precise outcome and works to achieve that goal by getting lots of ideas, paring them down through research and outreach (i.e., going where the career makes sense), and assisting in the development of the business model and plan. The BDT assists with feasibility testing and advocating for the individual owner. The team also identifies sources of funding, support, and on-going assistance to the enterprise. Throughout the process, the BDT is critical of ideas, staying focused on matching the person to the venture while identifying and addressing each critical step along the path to self-employment.

9. Think Abundance. There are unlimited ways to make a living in this world. Gathering information about the individual and combining knowledge, skills, potential, and interests in unique combinations generates creative options for exploration. People and the marketplace only reveal about 20% of their depth and complexity to us. By digging deeper, visiting an array of businesses, using Discovery to probe an individual’s life more thoroughly, we uncover the opportunity concealed in the remaining 80%. Prior to moving forward on a business, assemble at least three solid ideas or business concepts. Explore the possibilities, concerns, and potential of each before selecting the best path. Too often a paucity of ideas leaves people grasping at what they believe to be their only opportunity or calling. Having only one workable idea is a sure sign that more creative thinking is necessary.

For more guidance on Discovery, Systematic Instruction, Informational Interviews, Business Design Teams, and Creativity explore the references below and visit: start-up-; ; ; ; ; and

References

Callahan, M. & Condon, E. (2007). “Discovery: The Foundation of Job Development.” In Griffin, Hammis & Geary, The Job Developer’s Handbook: Practical tactics for Customized Employment. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.

Callahan, M. & Garner, B. (1997). Keys to the Workplace: Skills and Supports for People with Disabilities. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.

Griffin, C. & Hammis, D. (2003). Making Self-Employment Work for people with disabilities. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.

Griffin, C., Hammis, D. & Geary, T. (2007). The Job Developer’s Handbook: Practical tactics for Customized Employment.

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