News Release Archive
ECONOMIC RENEWAL--ENTREPRENEURSHIP ABILITY ------------------------------------------------------------------- Spencer Bevan-John knows first-hand the merits of self-employment for people with disabilities. The publisher of the non-profit Ability Network Magazine is not kidding when he says production of the publication is done in-house. "I have two rooms set up as office space. I'm not restricted in the way I would be if I was faced with the problems of going to and from work, like in the winter...it's not always the easiest thing travelling around in a wheelchair." As changes in the economy continue to eliminate many traditional jobs, Bevan-John wants to encourage his colleagues to consider self-employment and entrepreneurship as a viable or practical supplement to low paying, part-time positions. Thanks to assistance provided through the entrepreneurship program of the Canada-Nova Scotia COOPERATION Agreement, Ability Network Publishing Inc. has launched the Entrepreneurship Awareness and Promotion Project for Persons with Disabilities to spread the word. The project has allowed the organization to initiate a number of activities, promoting entrepreneurship among people with disabilities. Regular readers of the Ability Network will have already noticed the magazine's increased commitment to related articles and profiles. Internet users have probably checked out the LISTSERV for entrepreneurs with disabilities. Now the organization is laying the groundwork for what may be its most important initiative: the establishment of an association for entrepreneurs with disabilities. Bevan-John says the association will provide members with an unprecedented opportunity to talk and network. "Other groups, like the Atlantic Association of Women Business Owners, have demonstrated there are definite benefits that come from networking. Also, I think there are various services we could access in the same way," he said. "Other groups have arranged workshops and other events for their membership. If members express a need for that, then certainly we can facilitate workshops and other information sessions that would be useful." The association will also address the concern expressed by entrepreneurs with disabilities over the lack of a level playing field in business. "For persons with disabilities there are often more kinds of additional costs to doing business...I would see the organization probably being a very effective lobby group to try to bring about changes in policy." Bevan-John is optimistic that this project will encourage more people with disabilities to start their own businesses and advance the interests of entrepreneurs with disabilities, particularly through the association. "What this will mean is that they can speak for themselves and I think that's always important. Even people with the best intentions in the world who act on behalf of other people are not going to do nearly as good a job as if the people themselves have a voice and input into everything." The entrepreneurship program of the Economic Diversification COOPERATION Agreement supports entrepreneurial education and promotes awareness of entrepreneurial development in Nova Scotia by partnering with organizations such as regional development authorities, chambers of commerce, school boards and non-profit agencies. The program supports entrepreneurship as a career and employment option. -30- Contact: Linda Laffin 902-424-6810 trp Oct. 20, 1995