Important Considerations for Potential Entrepreneurs with Disabilities

Self-employment offers many benefits for people with disabilities:
• The freedom, flexibility and independence that come from working for oneself
• The opportunity to work in a disability-friendly environment
• The ability to reduce the need for transportation
• The ability to accommodate changing functional levels
• The ability to create an accessible work environment
• Individuals with disabilities who receive income support, such as Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability payments, can increase their income while staying within the income and asset requirements of those programs.
But anyone considering entrepreneurship must also be aware of the challenges involved in starting a business. There remains an array of obstacles ranging from attitudinal barriers to lack of coordination among Federal programs:
• The possible loss of cash benefits from SSDI or SSI disability programs
• The possible loss of health care benefits such as Medicare or Medicaid
• The inability to get credit because of poor credit ratings
• The lack of assets to use as collateral
• The lack of access to programs promoting self-employment and small business development
• Government disability programs that overlook entrepreneurship as an avenue from the public rolls to self-sufficiency.
The 1999 passage of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act addresses some, but not all, of these issues.