I spent a hugely inspiring night at the launch of Enabled4Enterprise (E4E) at the British Library Business and IP Centre on Monday.
Launched by charity Leonard Cheshire and the London Development Agency, the initiative is aimed at raising awareness among enterprise agencies about the barriers preventing disabled people starting their own business.
E4E launched with a Barriers report which identified London’s 800,000 disabled people – of which 57% are unemployed and struggle to find suitable working environments – face difficulties getting business advice that considers their specific needs, and are often not taken seriously by advisors or banks too preoccupied with ticking boxes.
What impressed me most was Leonard Cheshire and LDA left the majority of the talking to the people who know best: the disabled entrepreneurs who’ve faced these barriers.
Some such as Phil Churm of Securit GB, who lost his lower leg at three months old but went on to use his sheet metal trade to build and sell secure metal sheds for bikes and scooters, don’t even consider themselves to be disabled. For him it’s more about casting off the perception of ‘disability’ and focussing on ‘ability’.
In Debbie Reynold’s case her deafness prompted her to start The School of Sign Language to provide accessible and affordable sign language courses and employment for people with hearing disabilities.
Stephen Collins, who has cerebral palsy, was also inspired by his own disabilities in starting, Lazarus Mobility, which sells well-designed yet affordable mobility equipment.
“My disability is now an advantage not a disadvantage as it has been most of my life and just because my legs don’t work it doesn’t mean my business can’t.”
Stephen has mobility and speech difficulties and has struggled to be taken seriously. “It took me seven months to open a bank account and the bank just said, ‘why do you want to open a bank account?’ It was very demoralising and they wouldn’t put faith in me without the security of my house. I asked if it’d be the same for an able bodied person and they couldn’t give me an answer.”
Amar Latif scooped last year’s inaugural Leonard Cheshire Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year sponsored by Sir Stelios. Losing his sight in his late teens left Amar with a determination to prove his disability wouldn’t dampen his ambitions.
“They said I couldn’t become an actor… so I did. They said I couldn’t climb mountains… so I trekked up a 5,000ft volcano,” he said. And of course, he started Traveleyes, a travel company specialising in holidays for both visually impaired and sighted individuals.
It struck me while the message of the night was directed at business support organisations, the speakers delivered a message relevant to all budding entrepreneurs.
If you have the passion and belief, no obstacle is insurmountable. Every entrepreneur I’ve ever interviewed has told me that, and it’s perhaps telling that the only person to return a call after being handed Stephen’s business plan was Dragons' Den's Duncan Bannatyne.
Entrepreneurs, able-bodied or otherwise, by nature don't tick many boxes. So don’t get hung-up if someone doesn’t share your dream. Instead, as Stephen is now, ‘enjoy proving them wrong’.
Amar summed things up nicely with his parting shot: “I can cope with being blind, but I’d hate to be short-sighted. If you face hurdles, become a hurdler."