For the past two years, I’ve been working with  Gangplank, a Chandler-based collaboration space, to figure out what Arizona needs to be come a successful entrepreneurial hub. Derek Neighbors and Jade Meskill, the entrepreneurs who conceived Gangplank, took a big risk when they decided to sign a lease for a much larger space than their company, Integrum, needed, in order to encourage others to congregate around them. As Gangplank heads into its next phase, which will be a substantial expansion, here are the ingredients they’ve decided are the way forward for Arizona (and probably for anywhere else.) 

Read the rest…

The growing ubiquity of e-mail means that everyone in business, from lords of finance to programmers who dream in code, needs to write intelligently. By using simple, clear, precise language–and following a few other basic writing rules–you can become a better communicator and improve the prospects for your career.

"Clarity is the most important characteristic of good business writing," says Mignon Fogarty, creator of the "Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing" podcast. "Often businesspeople will use big $10 words because they want to sound intelligent. Instead, they end up sounding like they’re trying too hard."

Start by using short, declarative sentences. Never use a long word where a short one will do. (No need to write "utilize" when "use" works just as well.) Be ruthless about self-editing; if you don’t need a word, cut it.Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or any kind of jargon if you can think of an English equivalent. Regardless of how many times your managers ask you to "circle back," or "move the needle forward," take a stance against painful business jargon. These expressions may sound important–and like the official language of a club you’d like to join–but they make no sense.

When you’re composing an e-mail, say what you need to say, and move on. If your big idea isn’t in the first paragraph, move it there. If you can’t find it, rewrite. "Simplicity doesn’t mean simplicity of thought," says Kara Blackburn, a lecturer in managerial communication at MIT Sloan School of Management. "Start by asking yourself what you want the person to do as a result of this e-mail. Just asking yourself that question can make your communication much clearer."

Use plain English, and be specific. Instead of mentioning "the current situation," explain exactly what it is, whether it’s low company morale, or an SEC investigation.

Beware of common grammatical mistakes, like subject-verb agreement. The number of the subject (whether it’s singular or plural) determines the number of the verb. Use a singular verb form after nobody, someone, everybody, neither, everyone, each and either.

Know when to use "that" and "which." "That" introduces essential information in what’s called a "restrictive clause." "Which" introduces extra information in a "nonrestrictive clause." Here’s an example: "I’m interested in speaking with you about our new product, which has the potential to increase sales." The second clause provides extra information, and it isn’t essential to the first clause. Therefore, "which" is correct. In a sentence such as "Computers are the only products that we sell," the clause "that we sell" is essential to the meaning of the sentence, so the correct word is "that." You can’t remove the "that" clause without changing the meaning of the sentence.

Another common error is confusing "affect" and "effect." Affect is a verb meaning "to influence." "Effect" is a noun that means "result." The weather affects our ability to travel, and it had a terrible effect on my flight to New York.

For more writing tips, consult the classic books on writing and grammar, such as The Elements of Style, by William Strunk and E.B. White, The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style. On iTunes, download the "Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing" podcast. Happy writing.

In the short term, this leaves you with an interesting challenge that there just isn’t much advice for – the moment when you realize that you still need to promote your business despite having a website that you hate and which you know is less than ideal. Can it really be possible to use the Internet effectively for marketing without a good website?  Yes, definitely.  Here are a few ideas on how to do just that.

1. Announce a non-existent redesign. The first thing you need to do with a subpar website is to give customers the impression you are working to improve it. The only thing worse than a bad website is one that seems like it will be bad forever. So put a note on your homepage in some way sharing that your redesign is “coming soon.” If you think about it, this is exactly what retail destinations do when they hang those signs saying “please pardon our progress.” Progress takes time, but the first important lesson is that your customers need to know that it is coming … even if you have no idea when.

2. Create other homepages. The nice thing about the web today is that you can get up and running on a host of other sites to create a branded presence for your business in less than an hour. What this means is that your website doesn’t need to be the only place that you share information about your business.  Need a page telling people where you are located? Populate that information into Google Maps and use that link. Want to tell people about your business and share some images? Create a Facebook fan page for your business. There are lots of sites out there where you can share information about your business without needing to just point people to your site.

3. Fix your homepage first. The homepage of your site is the gateway to your business and the first impression someone is likely to have. While a full redesign may be some time away, getting some help to recreate your homepage can be a good investment to start people with a positive experience of your site and then potentially drive them to other homepages as mentioned in #3.

4. Use more direct communications. When you can’t rely on your website to reach your customers, you may want to consider a more direct model. Email marketing certainly fits into this category – but starting a Twitter account and sharing updates directly can also be a way of offering a more consistent stream of content or information without relying on your website to do it.

5. Leverage your other materials. I have seen more than a few small businesses struggle to create a quality website while at the VERY SAME TIME they have an expanse of good printed materials such as brochures and other collateral they use in the real world to promote their business. If you have these kinds of materials, work with someone (or buy a relatively inexpensive scanner yourself) to digitize some of the best of your content. Then you can upload to your site or post it online in another location to make it available for customers and prospectives.

Source: Open Forum

When I was in the process of launching my internet business, The Simple Dollar, I was under a great deal of stress.  I was working a full time job while at the same time giving a ton of my time, emotion, and energy to making my new business take off.  On top of that, I also needed time for my wife and my children.

For more than a year, I was a complete overstressed wreck.  I didn’t sleep enough.  My anxiety level was quite high, causing me to overreact to every little thing.  I got sick several times, causing me to both miss time at my full time job as well as vital business startup time.  I also often felt like I was letting someone or something down in my life because there simply wasn’t enough hours in the day.

That period taught me several vital lessons about the dual difficulties of launching a business while still trying to maintain some semblance of personal finance security and a normal home life. 

First, recognize that you can’t do everything.  The more you try to take on everything, the more likely you are to begin letting people down – and letting yourself down.  That can be a downward spiral of failure and overcompensation that becomes difficult to escape from.

What can you do instead?  Spend some time honestly figuring out what the real priorities are in your life.  Many people will tell you that their family is a priority – and they may even believe that – but they’ll find themselves making other choices when it comes to crunch time, letting their family life suffer at the expense of a business.  If your true priority is your business, admit it to yourself and focus your energies there.  If your true priority is your family, admit that as well and accept that you may have to let your business lag a little.  If your true priority is maintaining your full time job, accept that your business will probably grow very slowly at first.  Once you have your priorities straight, it becomes much easier to determine which elements of your life deserve priority over others.

Another key step is to reduce your personal spending and financial burden.  Many people, when their lives are overfull with demands but their wallets are flush with income, will choose to commit to a much more expensive standard of living because of the convenience.  It’s easier to go out to eat – where you can relax for a bit before eating your meal – than to prepare something at home, right?  It’s also more expensive, which means that you’re more attached than ever to the very difficult personal balancing act you’re taking on.

That’s why a fresh commitment to personal frugality can be so vital as you balance full-time work and the launch of a business.  The less you require for your own personal spending, the easier the transition to a full-time businessperson can be.  Look into ways to reduce your personal spending without much pain.  Install a programmable thermostat and program it to have your air conditioner or furnace not run when you’re not at home.  Hold off on upgrading that car.  And, yes, eat at home as often as you can – learn how to prepare simple, tasty meals with inexpensive ingredients and remember that the slow cooker can really be your friend.

What finally happened with my own situation, you might ask?  Eventually, I made the difficult choice to walk away from my full time job, even though I was earning more from that job than I was from my business.  The reason?  I realized that my family was the highest priority in my life, more than my job or my burgeoning business.  This put my business and my full time job into conflict and I chose the one that made family choices easier for me.  Of course, the path to that decision was made much easier by a strong commitment to reducing my personal spending.

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month. Let’s look at blogs out there by women about disability and work! Patricia E. Bauer hits right on target as usual: President urges employers to welcome workers with disabilities. I’m all for that. Here’s a quote from President Obama’s Proclamation:

In the past half-century, we have made great strides toward providing equal employment opportunities in America, but much work remains to be done. As part of that continuing effort, we must seek to provide oppIortunities for individuals with disabilities. Only then can Americans with disabilities achieve full participation in the workforce and reach the height of their ambition.

My Administration is committed to promoting positive change for every American, including those with disabilities. The Federal Government and its contractors can lead the way by implementing effective employment policies and practices that increase opportunities and help workers achieve their full potential. Across this country, millions of people with disabilities are working or want to work. We must ensure they have access to the support and services they need to succeed.

Right on. Well, how do we get to that culture of fostering and encouraging employment opportunities? What’s blocking people with disabilities right now from having jobs?

How about all the disabled people I know who are working incredibly hard. Doing fantastic, great work.

Who’s paying them? Often, no one. I’m a wheelchair user and have a full time job. Universally, people are surprised to hear that, even people I know as colleagues in social media.

As I wrote and deleted drafts of this post — mostly angry, despairing, bitter , soul-searching rants — I asked myself, "Who do I know who’s disabled, and has a job?"

Not a lot. I know few people, mostly online. My friend Haddayr, a advertising copywriter and science fiction author. Denise, for example, from Dreamwidth. Rivka from Respectful of Otters. Katja Stokley from Broken Clay. Mel Chua. They’re bloggers and writers who represent as well as doing their day jobs. And people I don’t know, but hope to meet someday, like Laura Hershey and Kathleen Martinez and Simi Linton.

But who do I know who’s doing fantastic work? I can name so many.

We can’t work, often, because working risks our benefits that are essential to survival. Working denies us health care. We can’t own more than $2000 of assets, or we don’t get Medicare or Social Security benefits. We are trapped in a cycle of poverty. Programs that promise to help or employ end up tickets to exploitation. So we end up working for free.

I look at this grant to Cornell University and you know what? Great. But I’m not holding my breath. They just got 1.6 million dollars. How much of that is going to actually go into the pockets of people with disabilities? NOTHING ABOUT US, WITHOUT US. I hope they hire some people with disabilities, with that grant, and that, when they interview disabled people about their actual experiences working, that they pay them for their time.

You want to know what would help people with disabilities get jobs? How about asking them what they think would help?

My message back to President Obama is to look for some of the people doing amazing work. Then, ask why they’re not being paid. And pay them. Change the policies of health care and benefits so they can be paid without risking their lives or their already precarious ability to live independently.

Hire them. Don’t exploit their labor.

If you can’t hire them without screwing up their benefits and health care? Get in there and navigate the maze of policy and bureaucracy that blocks them. How about this radical idea. Hire people part time, and give them insurance. Enable all people at your company to live a life in balance that doesn’t drive their health into the ground.

Better yet, you as a company, as an employer, can say, "We want everyone in this country to have the health care they need to survive day to day, without it being tied to their employment."

Here are some of the people who are not just working, but who are great writers and thus, advocates who benefits all of us with disabilities. They mean a lot to me and have made a huge difference in my life. The solidarity I’ve found in their keeps me going in my own daily work.

Wheelie Catholic, advocate, thinker on human rights and social justice, and a fantastic writer.

Glenda Watson Hyatt from Do It Myself blog.

Jen Cole and Alejandra Ospina who run GimpGirl, an organization with a 15-year history, for women with disabilities.

Wheelchair Dancer writes about performance and physically integrated dance.

UberGeekChick, who does a podcast about computer programming and self-expression, is an open source contributor, and who takes Twittering to great heights.

CripChick, a fierce outspoken activist and talented writer!

Eva from The Deal with Disability who shares her point of view of how people see her in daily life and the assumptions they make.

FridaWrites who argues beautifully for universal design, access, and human rights.

Book Girl from Falling off my Pedestal.

Nick Dupree who is an advocate for Community Choice.

Barriers, Bridges, and Books talks about some of the complexities behind work, life, and disability. Now for example, if you have a disability , you may need some extra health care. But to get Medicare, you cannot own more then $2000 in assets. This is part of what traps people with disabilities into a cycle of poverty.

In Falling, Terri describes her fears for her teenage daughter’s future.

Gayle DeVilbiss ‘s video of her story of misdiagnosis, chemo, and then being denied Social Security benefits, on Disability Information and Resources blog.

Wheelie Catholic reports on the Sears discrimination case.

Katharine Ganly on Global Voices Online talks about people with disabilities trying to survive, get an education, and work in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Read on into a great analysis, in Disability and Employment in Argentina: The Right to Be Exploited?

Being disabled, physically, may mean being deaf, having mobility impairments, being blind, being exhausted or in pain, having a chronic illness or mental illness, and so on. Those are differences or impairments. Personally I use the word disability as a cultural and political affiliation. But being "disabled" doesn’t mean we can’t work. It means we might need to work differently. And it means we have a harder time defending our own rights and asking for accommodations.

What can you do as employer?

- Don’t make assumptions. Ask what you can do, and mean it. Don’t then subject your disabled employee to a backlash.

- Provide deep information. A map of your office complex with elevation changes, level or ramped paths and handrails marked, elevators, bathrooms, and parking. That will be useful, and appreciated, by more people than you would predict. We might have to plan. We might have limited energy. Deep access information gives people what they need to make informed decisions.

- Work out technological solutions. Telecommuting!

- Try to educate yourself. Read some blogs, some books, and so on. I’m a little skeptical of diversity training. I recommend the WisCon feminist science fiction convention‘s guide to disability access at events. It applies to many physical environments and events.

- Be flexible. You know what helps me most – beside telecommuting half the week – in my work at BlogHer? This:

A couch! Thank you, BlogHer, for the glorious, amazing, couch in my cube. And for not minding too much when I’m lying on the couch on my back, computer on my stomach, my back and my leg experiencing awesome pain relief.

- Be inclusive socially. Plan your office social time with everyone in mind. (I swear, many places, they might as well have had special events underwater. Oh, there’s no ramp and you just realized and "wouldn’t mind carrying me up the stairs"? Thanks for the pain and loss of human dignity. Now let’s party. Or get to work. Or now that I’m completely pissed off and discombobulated, how about I give an hour long public speech.)

- Don’t be a jerk. I mean this nicely. Joking about a person’s disability is rarely cool. Pressure is on that person to get along, to be a supercrip, to show they can "do it all" and can tolerate whatever gets thrown at them.

- Actually help people with their paperwork situations. Defend your employees. Help them fight their fights just as you might help your employee from outside your country with a visa situation.

Thanks for listening.

What do you think about my suggestions for employers? Do you have thoughts as a person with a disability or impairment? What work do you do? Do you get paid? Are you self-employed?

Or, as a friend, family member, ally, co-worker, or employer of a PWD, what in your opinion could be helpful to remove obstacles, and to decrease the huge unemployment rate for people with disabilities? We have a lot of moms of kids with special needs here on BlogHer and in the network. I would challenge all of you in particular to radicalize politically beyond support groups or cures, to connect with adults with disabilities who are advocating for social change, to look ahead to the future.

Originally published at BlogHer.

Most of our work happiness comes from our relationship with ourselves. For example, I recently started working on  a proposal for a non-profit human services organization. As I’m reading and putting all the research together, roughing out each section and making it all coherent, I hit walls that stall my progress.

Last week I actually flopped into my recliner, let out a loud groan and sputtered out in frustration. Why did I do this?  I hadn’t written a proposal like this in several months. It was no good. I didn’t have the handle on it I wanted. It wasn’t flowing. Fortunately, my boyfriend was home and he listened to my self-deprecating rant and cajoled me back into life with a few hugs, a popsicle, and a couple of well-timed  jokes. My creativity was zapped by my own thoughts of inadequacy, fear, and anger. The person from whom I needed the most encouragement was myself, and I was being ugly.

I took a look at the internal problems I was having and how they were affecting my work. By addressing a few weaknesses, I discovered how I can use them to work for me instead of against me.

1. One Project At A Time

Almost always, I have several things that I am trying to do at once. I could be writing an email, in discussion with someone in an instant message client while I am thinking about an upcoming task or project.  The distraction puts a strain on my attention and ultimately affects the quality of my work no matter how good I think I might be at multitasking.

From a long line of procrastinators, if I’m not forced to produce I don’t . Often my attention darts from thought to thought and thing to thing because there’s no deadline looming over my head like a black cloud of angst. So when I need to focus, I’ve started setting a timer. A little tension can be good when it brings focus to a person’s life.

Depending on the task, I may set the timer for 30 minutes and try to finish the task within that time frame. If the timer dings and I need more time, I reset it for the appropriate amount of time and go back to work. This allows me to focus on this one task without letting all the other “musts” distract me.

2. Break The Project Down

The length of my list on any given day would give even Gina Tranpani pause. I expect too much and never feel like I’ve gotten anything done.

Instead of getting lots done, there are times when my brain just shuts down in response to my overwhelming list. I needed to figure out a way to reduce those negative thoughts. I have tried bullying and forcing myself  but it never works. I only feel worse and do even less.

I’ve created a routine that allows me to handle my work load. When I realize that I have overextended my task list, I stand up, breathe deep, and let the air out with a slow breath. Then, I get comfortable at my desk and whittle my first big task into 20 minute spurts. As the project becomes less unwieldy, I find I’ve let go of the negative thoughts and boosted my confidence.I’m in the moment and enjoying the process. I’m not feeling overwhelmed by a mountain of work and I’m feeling good about my progress and the quality of work I am putting out.

3. Split Your Tasks List

I usually feel overwhelmed as a result of my own expectations. I expect to get too much work done. I’ve never been able to accomplish a massive task in one day. So when my task list gets too big I often split it into two lists.

I create a main list that’s simple to complete. If I have four hours for work, I make the list equal to about two hours. Typically these are the tasks and projects that need my attention first during the day. The second list is the extras list. This list contains the less time sensitive issues and tasks that require my attention that day.

Whenever I get to my extras list, I feel really good about my what I’ve been able to complete. Anything on the extras list that doesn’t get done today, is prioritized and put on tomorrow’s main list. Guidance and sense of accomplishment is the main reason for a list, so make your list achievable. And don’t forget to roll those unfinished extras items over to your main tasks list for the following day!

4. Take a Break

I can get stalled because I get tired and can’t focus on what is right before me. There are too many options. If I have to write an email, create a blog post, and work on a newsletter then I start to feel over-anxious and foggy. My overwhelmed brain simply wants to shut down. So I  usually get up and take a break to clear my head and let things simmer.

Since I work from home, there always some mindless household task that needs to be done. If negative thoughts are mucking up my progress, I take out the trash. If worry is hounding me, I do the dishes and think about those worries running down the drain with the soapy water. Maybe I’ll pop over to some favorite blogs that have nothing to do with work for some laughter and gratitude.  If the weather is okay, I might sit out on the backs steps and listen to the birds and watch my dog snore in the grass for awhile.  Almost always after one of these breaks, I come back renewed and refreshed; my creativity is moving again.

There are so many ways we can pull ourselves out of a stressful state if we just take a break and let go of what’s bugging us.

5. Check Out The Positive

Like many of us, I get preoccupied in how the present moment makes me feel. I create mountains out of molehills. I can create a torturous thought process by magnifying the bad things that are happening to me instead of focusing on all the good things that are there if I just take the time to see them.

If I’m feeling particularly ugly about a project, I write down of all the things that I’m learning from the project in my Good Things journal. I keep this by my desk and whenever I am gloomy about work, I haul it out and take a peek.

Big projects and unexpected demands on my time almost always push me outside of my comfort zone. By meeting these challenges as they come, with as positive an attitude as I can muster, I can  manage stress properly, compose clearer, better emails, and continue to develop more meaningful working relationships with my clients and bosses.

The bonus is I am getting paid to learn these lessons. That’s a gift.

By working at shifting my perspective to the positive, I’m better able to let go of my negative thinking more quickly and realign myself with the good things in and around me.

What do you do to stay happy during a stressful project or day?

Attendee/Sponsor-driven sessions will include: Using Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook as Lead Generation devices, Expanding Your Professional Network, Living on an Extreme Budget, Building Your Personal Brand, Freelance Consulting 101, Starting Your Own Business and more! Other sessions will be conducted by HR and resource professionals. We’ll have companies onsite who can provide resources for the unemployed as well as some hiring. Losing your job is a unique opportunity to gain new perspective and reinvent your career. By attending Pathways to Success Richmond, you’ll be able to network, promote your marketable skills and exchange resources and expertise with others.

This event exists to provide an environment for community members to help steer each other in the right direction during these trying times — whether that direction is looking for a new job, starting a company, finding freelance work or becoming an independent consultant.”

NOTE: General admission is $12. You do not need to be unemployed to attend + all ticket types Alcohol and Non Alcoholic Beverages, hors d’ouevres, coffee, etc. between 5PM – 8PM

Host: The Dominion Club, 6000 Dominion Club Drive, Glen Allen, VA 23059

I spent the weekend mulling over my decision. It turned out the opportunity wasn’t right for me and I wasn’t right for it. However, if I hadn’t been willing to give it a shot, I wouldn’t have learned as much as I did. I frequently enjoy the flexibility to make mistakes because I work for myself. Mistakes have taught me a great deal in life, whether they were mine or someone else’s. We all make mistakes, whether we like to admit it or not.

It seemed the Universe was in agreement yesterday as I read Ari Markenson’s post on Dumb Little Man:

We are all afraid of making mistakes. Humiliation, embarrassment, censure and lots of other nasty things can come from simple or significant mistakes.

We would all love to be perfect and do it all right. However, life simply doesn’t work that way (if it does for you, please share your secret!). One person’s right can be another person’s wrong and the absolute pursuit of perfection can stress the body and mind to its limits.

So, should we all run out and purposefully screw something up? No, although, it might sound like fun once in a while. What we can try to do is not be fearful of making mistakes. We can take calculated risks and suppress our natural ability to be afraid to make mistakes.

Read the rest…

What have you learned from mistakes in your life?

Twenty-five year-old businessman, Arran Smith, set up his IT company five years ago to provide computer services and support to local businesses and individuals. Diagnosed as severely dyslexic at eight years-old, Arran’s condition historically prevented him from reading and processing information.

Now managing director of a successful business, Arran spends considerable amounts of time on the road, so has invested in CapturaTalk v2, the UK’s first mobile phone software which converts text to speech, enabling him to access to emails, digital documents and proof read vital documents on the go. With Oxford English Dictionary definitions at his fingertips, Arran is able to access and make sense of difficult information from one handset quickly and discreetly.

Arran began his IT career at Bosworth Community College in Leicester, where he studied for an IT GNVQ, which he then furthered with an advanced GNVQ at North Warwickshire & Hinkley College. “When I was diagnosed as dyslexic, technology was no way near as advanced as it is now, so I struggled immensely with my reading, writing and spelling. Moving on to college, I was given much better support which enabled me to get to grips with computers and discover my passion for IT. I find typing a lot easier than writing by hand, so using a computer gave me a lot of confidence to try new things and further my career.”

Fresh out of college, Arran’s first job as Project Officer for a local charity involved designing and managing the charity’s web site and designing a mobile computer project. Arran comments: “As a very imaginative and creative person, web site design and branding was a dream job, however, my dyslexia meant that I relied heavily on my friends and family to proof read all my web copy which is incredibly frustrating. Assistive technologies such as text-to-speech and speech-to-text have really changed my life; I no longer feel like a burden to people as I can check my own work.”

Arran’s work with the charity then inspired him to set up his own business, Azco Services. As managing director, Arran spends considerable amounts of time travelling to and from jobs; so much of his communication with clients takes place on e-mail. Perfect for accessing information on the move, CapturaTalk enables text-to-speech for Pocket Word, Notes and tasks, SMS, e-mail and Pocket Internet Explorer applications. Arran said: “As I am out and about a lot, I need a quick and effective way to keep in touch with clients. As I still often rely heavily on pictures and colours to understand information, having a solution which will instantly read out my e-mails, texts and even Word documents is invaluable. The fact that it is on my mobile is ingenious as I always have my phone on me and never need to worry about lugging a laptop everywhere I go. As my phone’s got Windows Mobile, I also don’t have to worry about being without my calendar and simply sync my phone up to my laptop when back in the office.”

Read more… ]]> http://activegreymatter.org/2009/06/entrepreneur-uses-latest-mobile-assistive-technology-to-compete-in-the-business-world/feed/ 0 http://activegreymatter.org/2009/06/economy-makes-finding-a-job-harder/ http://activegreymatter.org/2009/06/economy-makes-finding-a-job-harder/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:53:41 +0000 Krishanna http://activegreymatter.org/?p=460 Continue reading →]]> From Profoundly Yours

This is a question I am often asked: Does the shaky economy make it harder for people with disabilities to find a job? Undoubtedly, yes. The job marketplace is more competitive, and frankly, it’s easier for an employer to hire someone who doesn’t need an accommodation.

Though the American with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination of the disabled, it still happens indirectly — and more so when the hiring pool is larger. Just look at U.S. employment rates from the past year. Only 46 percent of working-age people with disabilities held jobs, vs. 84 percent of non-disabled people. The national unemployment rate for people with disabilities was 12.9 percent in April 2009, compared to 8.6 percent for non-disabled Americans.

And here’s a little-known fact: It takes someone with a disability 10 times longer to land a job than the average person. “Employers want to hire people with disabilities but they’re often not trained on how to find, interview or manage this group,” says Sheridan Walker, founder of consulting firm HirePotential.

The good news is assistive technologies can level the playing field. Many of these accommodations are already in use in the workplace, and most cost less than $500 or are free to use. For instance, a screen reader for the blind is built into both Windows and Mac computers. Speech-recognition software, around $200, is used by both busy CEOs and workers who are dyslexic. Instant messaging programs, free and used in offices everywhere, are also very useful for the deaf and hard or
hearing.

Read the rest…