UKSEABLE
DISABLED
ENTREPRENEURS PROJECT
Update 19th September 2011
In the initial two months of the UKSEABLE project a lot of
background
work has been done, laying the foundations for the
infrastructure which
will enable UKSEABLE to be developed over the coming year.
Specific work which has been carried out has included:
a) the basic UKSEABLE
web site;
b) the UKSEDP email
discussion group for entrepreneurs with disabilities;
c) the UKSEPRO email
discussion group for entrepreneurs with disabilities who provide
specialist services and
d) a lot of making new
contacts
and refreshing of existing ones.
WEB SITE
The internet domain name ukseable.co.uk has been registered and
the
basic structure of a web site has been created at www.ukseable.co.uk.
At present the web
site contains background information about UKSEABLE, including
how to
join the email discussion groups. The site will be further
developed as the UKSEABLE project progresses.
UKSEDP EMAIL GROUP
UKSEDP is an email discussion group for business owners who have
disabilities or long term health conditions which impact on
their
work. Membership of this group is open to anyone
interested in
disability and entrepreneurship. It is hoped that UKSEDP
will be
a useful forum for sharing ideas and experiences and for raising
issues
which impact on us and our businesses.
To find out more about UKSEDP and how to join the group, please
visit www.ukseable.co.uk/ent/uksedp.html
or contact Brendan Magill by email at info@ukseable.co.uk.
UKSEPRO EMAIL GROUP
UKSEPRO is an email discussion group for disabled business
owners who
provide specialist services to other disabled people in
work.
Membership is open to entrepreneurs with disabilities who offer
these
services to other disabled entrepreneurs. The services
offered
may include assessment of support needs, supply of products,
training,
mentoring, coaching and specialist consultancy.
To find out more about UKSEPRO and how to join the discussion
group,
please visit www.ukseable.co.uk/pro/uksepro.html.
Alternatively,
please
contact
Brendan
Magill by email at info@ukseable.co.uk.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
During the past couple of months I have done a lot of
networking
and have attended events including Sight Village
Birmingham and
the first meeting of the Disability Resilience Network. I
have
spent a lot of time on the phone and reading and writing
emails.
This has all resulted in me being able to catch up with old
contacts
and make a number of new ones, so as to spread the word about
UKSEABLE. There seems to be a strong disability community
on
Linkedin and I am developing a network there.
I am keen to get UKSEABLE seen in the mainstream business
community and
have been using contacts in the Federation of Small Business, in
Chambers of Commerce and in local government to achieve
this.
I have also provided direct support, advice and guidance to
several
entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs with
disabilities. This
work has been done via telephone and email communication and
will
continue as one of the core activities of UKSEABLE.
NEXT STEPS
The initial activity over the coming months will be to grow the
Entrepreneurs and Professionals networks. This will be
done by
encouraging existing contacts to join the appropriate group and
asking
them to pass on the word amongst their contacts. In
addition, I
shall publicise the UKSEABLE web site and ensure that it starts
to
appear in search engine results. This is a process which
has
already been started, but it will take a little time to gain the
necessary momentum.
In parallel with the online activity of the two email groups, I
shall
seek opportunities to engage with more and more other
organizations
which provide support to entrepreneurs who have disabilities or
long
term health problems. Again, this is going to require a
lot of
networking. In addition to attending relevant events, I am
hopeful that Linkedin will prove to be a useful resource in this
respect: I have already identified and connected
with a
number of professionals working in related fields who have a
presence
on LInkedin.