Entrepreneurship as a Means to Employment First:

How Can it Work?

October 25, 2017 CT APSE Conference

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 Session participants will:

1. Compare and contrast social enterprises,

microbusinesses, and self-employment as forms of
entrepreneurial opportunity.

2. Learn how entrepreneurial education can facilitate

employment first.

3. Learn about resources and considerations for self-

employment

Agenda
Learning Objectives 2
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 • Flexible process
• Personalized relationship between employee and
employer
• “Win-win” for both
• Specific match between what employer needs and
individual’s strengths, preferences, interests, talents,
and what works/doesn’t work
• Approach must be individualized for employment
planning and job development
• Based upon your relationships with local small
businesses

Proposed Organizational Objectives

Nice tie in to Customized EmploymentFY 2017
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 • Opportunity Driven Entrepreneurship – recognizing
opportunities in the market and assembling
resources (assets, knowledge, and relationships) to
capitalize on those opportunities

• Necessity Driven Entrepreneurship – pursuing

entrepreneurial activities as a means of survival
because there are few or no other alternatives. In
developing countries, can be symbolic of
empowerment and democracy.

• You Tube Video – Necessity Driven Entrepreneurship Talk,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2AUD6acjpc

Proposed Organizational
Entrepreneurial Context Objectives FY 2017
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 • A business that responds to market and public policy failures with transformative and financially
sustainable innovations aimed at solving social problems.

• Impact driven business.

• All activities and proceeds are organized around the business’ social mission.

• Business can take several forms, either delivering the social mission in the course of business
activities typically with an employment focus or by donating a portion of proceeds to social causes.

Employment Oriented Social Enterprises

• Models Employment First! Provides venue to identify strengths, preferences, reasonable

accommodations, etc., and build a diverse network

• People prosper in productive work environments. Experiential learning is the best learning.

• The business is part of the labor market providing an integrated environment hiring employees who
can provide natural supports to individuals with disabilities

• Social enterprise is part of the local community. Numerous opportunities for interaction with other
local businesses, civic organizations, schools, etc.

Proposed Organizational Objectives

What is Social Enterprise? FY 2017
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• While the notion social entrepreneurship is romanticized in mainstream media, these organizations are
particularly challenging because social missions and business ventures are associated with divergent
goals, values, norms and identities. Attending to them simultaneously creates tensions, competing
demands, and ethical dilemmas. (W. K. Smith, Gonin, & Besharov, 2013)

What is right for my business? What is right for my mission?

• NPO’s need to embrace entrepreneurial thinking and understand the potential risks and rewards such
opening unrelated businesses endeavors.

Risk of dedicating scare resources, financial and people, to risky ventures

• Managers and entrepreneurs must create viable business models based upon market principles while
also benefitting social causes.
• Organizations need to make investments in marketing infrastructure and figure how to package and
sell their goods and services, as well as their identity and mission, in a compelling way that is not for
charity alone.
• Emphasis on sales and profits to sustain the business.
• Knowledge gap in social services of knowing how to manage a small business
• Challenge of effectively integrating the employment program into the small business
• Double of Triple Bottom Line of people, profits, and planet

Delancey Street values economic development and entrepreneurial boldness to solving social problems

Proposed Organizational Objectives

Challenges of Social Enterprise FY 2017
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 • A Micro Business can be described as a business that has only one owner, with a total of up to five
employees including the owner.
• More and more people of every age, particularly women and minorities, are starting their own
Micro Businesses because of the upward mobility and flexibility that they provide.
• According to Small Business Bank,

• microenterprise represents 92% of all U.S. businesses.

• They’ve had a profound impact on American job growth, contributing to the creation of over
26 million jobs, the most of any industry.
• As a result, they’ve also contributed to the creation of 1.9 million indirect jobs and 13.4 million
induced jobs.
• In fact, if each Micro Business owner in America hired just one person, we would reach full
employment in America.
• Employment First – Microenterprise allows us to teach employment and business management
related skills in the context of a real business
• Allows for more individualized and more skill specific instruction
• Less risk because microenterprise requires less resources, i.e. flexible hours, limited overhead,
limited inventory and supplies
• Less profits due to the small nature of the business
• Concern about reliance of knowledge of one or two key people

Case Study: Printability

Proposed Organizational
Microenterprise Objectives FY 2017
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 • Self - Employment: Someone who is self employed is the
owner of a business, an individual who earns a living by
working for himself/herself and not as an employee of
someone else.
• Poppin Joes -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=2vhBSqnG
DZU
• Side Gig – Deriving side income based upon talents, skills
and hobbies. Eventually develop into full self-employment
• Vioude Designs
• Two Canes Comics
• Ty’s Bath Salts

Proposed Organizational
Self-Employment Objectives FY 2017
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 • Road to Self-Sufficiency, A guide to Entrepreneurship for Youth with Disabilities -
http://www.ncwd-youth.info/road-to-self-sufficiency

• Explorations In Entrepreneurship – 8 Week Proprietary Curriculum taught as part of our

Transition Services Summer Program

• Intro to Self-Employment
• Blue Sky Thinking (What Kind of Business Could I Start?)
• What is a Business Plan?
• The “Creatives” and 5 P’s of Marketing (Product, Pricing, Place to sell
products/services, Promotion, Packaging)
• The Financials: How to Make Some Money? (Pricing, Costs of Doing Business,
Profitability)
• Challenges of Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment
• Cool Trends and Maker Spaces
• Making the Pitch

• Pitch Panel –
• Justin’s Just Fresh Lemonade - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBNhFRI9TEQ

Proposed Organizational Objectives

Entrepreneurial Education FY 2017
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 • Creating a viable business model
• Financing the business
• Family or personal investment
• Crowdfunding
• Sales and Marketing
• Sales opportunities
• Network
• Direct Support Staff
• Job coaching
• Handling the business responsibilities
when the individual can’t
• Administrative Oversight
• Who runs the show?
• Managing Entitlements
• Maintaining SSI
• Blending entitlements to pay for
support staff

Proposed Organizational Objectives

Self-Employment, Real Challenges FY 2017
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 • Conduct a SWOT or similar analysis before making a commitment. (Don’t just assume there will be a
market because there “should be” for charitable purposes.)

• Avoid sunset or already closed businesses. Consider successful franchises or a well-established business
with aging owners looking for successors. Have a business plan with solid financial backing before making
an investment.

• Plan for flexibility in products/services provided. Your product/service must be able to compete in the
market in terms of quality and pricing. Today’s market may also be tomorrow’s dinosaur.

• The leadership of your social enterprise must be able to make balanced business decisions that honor
your social mission.

• Devote time and resources to marketing the business.

• Hire former trainees only when there is a legitimate business interest to do so. Avoid the “$50 brownie
syndrome” necessary to stay in the black.

• Crises and failures are opportunities to reassess, redesign, and move forward with new knowledge and
assurances. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Only 50% of start-ups survive 5 or more years.

Proposed Organizational Objectives

Social Enterprise - Lessons Learned FY 2017
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 • Connecticut Economic Resource Center
• Small Business Administration
• SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives)
• Chambers of Commerce
• Incubators (e.g., RESET and Innovate Hartford)
• Maker spaces
• University of Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Dept. of Economic and Community Development
• Dept. of Labor, DDS, DORS
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• The JAN Network (Job Accommodations Network)
• Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)

Proposed Organizational Objectives

Resources to Get Started FY 2017
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 Maintained by

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8rSCXoAIsM

Clerical Services

Proposed Organizational Objectives

Others Who are Self-Employed FY 2017
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 Thank You!

Michelle Ouimette, Managing Director of Roses for Autism and

Ability Beyond Transition Services
Michelle.Ouimette@abilitybeyond.org
203.948.2812
Linda Rammler, Research Associate II
University of Connecticut Center for Excellence in
Developmental Disabilities
Linda.Rammler@uchc.edu
860.679.1585

Proposed Organizational
Questions? Objectives FY 2017
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