Morgan’s first job was at a sandwich shop, acquired through vocational rehab, the summer she left high school. She was there for four years, maintaining her position, until the shop shut down during the pandemic. While waiting for things to open back up, she began delivering Meals on Wheels as a volunteer. She has found this more meaningful and fulfilling, seeing first hand what she is doing matters to the people she serves. We love seeing her contributing to community and enjoying it. She says, “I’m doing a good job!”

The path to success looks different for everyone. Appreciate Ed Carter from Able Futures offering this article on employment possibilities for disabled entrepreneurs.

Home Business Opportunities

“My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you from doing well and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit as well as physically.” Stephen Hawking.

According to The World Bank, approximately 15% of the world’s population is living with a form of disability, either visual, hearing, mobility, or any number of health conditions that prevent them from being able to work at 100% capacity. But the desire and need to work doesn’t go away when the disability is there. It’s just that the conditions of that work will require some out-of-the-box thinking~~the traditional box, that is.

Here, blogger Tammy Vice and her daughter Morgan, who lives with autism, suggest job opportunities that people with disabilities may find interesting and lucrative. Then they offer tips on how those new entrepreneurs can structure and manage their own home businesses.

Visually impaired persons, like The Blind Cook and Master Chef winner Christine Ha, have more opportunities for home-based work than ever before. Thanks to the great strides in innovations to assist the blind, the opportunities for owning their own home-based businesses have grown significantly. Working from home as a researcher is a job that’s not only in demand but where the income can average about $60,000 annually, while a research assistant will make about half of that. People who are visually impaired might also look into at-home jobs like podcast or radio broadcasters or creating their own YouTube channels that can be monetized

People who suffer a partial or total hearing loss like Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin might find they can mix their love of painting, photography, sculpting, or mixed media with a home business. Sales platforms like Etsy and Shopify are popular for selling homemade goods and crafts, while Artfinder and Redbubble are good for selling art. These sites are extremely popular for shoppers who are looking for something unique. Rideshare drivers are always in demand and the Uber and Lyft apps let riders know their driver is deaf and will make sure all instructions are printed.

For someone with mobility limitations like film and television actor Micah Fowler, opportunities to work a home-based business with jobs like a professional translator, customer service representative, tutor/teacher, or graphic designer can be quite lucrative. It’s also a great mood lifter because it allows a person who may spend a great deal of time at home an opportunity to interact with others regularly. Many novelists, video producers, political advisors, fundraisers, and social media managers have become successful despite having limited mobility.

People with autism spectrum disorder, like screenplay writer and television producer Dan Harmon, are finding a wealth of opportunities in working for themselves from home. Animal care businesses like pet sitting or dog walking are in high demand, as are careers in engineering and information technology, fields where remote work is becoming the norm.

Marketing and creating a business financial structure from home DIY style has never been easier with an abundance of software and apps to do things like creating business cards and logos to targeting audiences on social media sites like Instagram and TikTok. Free financial software is available to help track sales, taxes, income, and expenses.

Getting a business off the ground will take a bit of forethought and planning, but with some expert advice into the step-by-step process, it can be done entirely from a home computer. Starting with preparing a business plan, choosing how to structure a business, and tips on smart marketing, people are finding they can, with the help of smart online tools and tutorials, create their own businesses themselves right from home.

One last thing to keep in mind. Starting a business can be challenging and rewarding for anyone, and maybe a bit more so for those living with a disability, but finding what you love doing and letting that be your starting point means knowing that no matter how tough the obstacles may seem, it will make success all that much sweeter when it happens.

Ed Carter

**Disclaimer: **The views and opinions expressed in this blog are the those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official views or opinions of Autism Tennessee. The author and the blog are not be held responsible for any misuse, reuse, recycled and cited and/or uncited copies of content within this blog by others.