employment of presons with disabilities
Encouraging Future Innovation:
Entrepreneurship for People with Disabilities
E
ntrepreneurs drive America’s
economy, accounting for the
majority of our nation’s new job
creation and innovations. According to
the U. S. Census Bureau’s 2002 Survey
of Business Owners, self-employed
individuals who have no paid employ-
ees operate three-fourths of U.S. busi-
nesses. The U. S. Small Business
Administration reports that America’s
25.8 million small businesses employ
more than 50 percent of the private
workforce, generate more than half of
the nation’s gross domestic product,
and are the principal source of new
jobs in the U.S. economy.
Benefits of Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is an employment
strategy that can lead to economic self-
sufficiency for people with disabilities.
Self-employment provides people with
disabilities and their families with the
potential to create and manage busi- Entrepreneurship education offers a Children and Youth Investment Corpo-
nesses in which they function as the solution. It seeks to prepare people, ration, other positive outcomes
employer or boss, rather than merely particularly youth, to be responsible, include:
being an employee. Oftentimes, people enterprising individuals who become square6improved academic performance,
with disabilities are eligible and entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial school attendance; and educational
receive supplemental supports (techni- thinkers by immersing them in real life attainment
cal and financial) which can serve as a learning experiences where they can square6increased problem-solving and
safety net that may decrease the risk take risks, manage the results, and decision-making abilities
involved with pursuing self-employ- learn from the outcomes. square6improved interpersonal relation-
ment opportunities. ships, teamwork, money management,
Nearly 80 percent of would-be Advantages of and public speaking skills
entrepreneurs in the United States are Entrepreneurship Education square6job readiness
between the ages of 18 and 34! A 2005 Through entrepreneurship educa- square6enhanced social psychological
poll from Junior Achievement (JA) tion, young people, including those development (self-esteem, ego devel-
found that 68.6 percent of the teenagers with disabilities, learn organizational opment, self-efficacy), and
interviewed wanted to become entre- skills, including time management, square6perceived improved health status
preneurs, even though they knew that it leadership development and interper-
would not be an easy path. In spite of sonal skills, all of which are highly Ongoing research commissioned by
this overwhelming interest, however, transferable skills sought by employ- the National Foundation for Teaching
youth rarely receive any information ers. According to Logic Models and Entrepreneurship (NFTE) to evaluate
about entrepreneurship as a career Outcomes for Youth Entrepreneurship the effectiveness and impact of its pro-
option. Programs (2001), a report by the D.C. grams found that when youth partici-
24 Celebrating over 15 Years of Embracing Diversity WWW.HNMAGAZINE.COM
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