Women with disabilities don’t have it easy in the workplace. The gender wage gap is still very much present, and women with disabilities face even further inequality; According to the UN’s WomenWatch, it’s harder to get a promotion, achieve equal pay, and finding a job in the first place is also more challenging.

If you’re struggling to find your place in the workforce, starting your own business can be a (very profitable!) alternative. The following ideas will help you go from ‘I don’t know where to start’ to making things happen.

3 Small Business Ideas

We’ll start with several small business ideas that are somewhat general. In other words, you don’t need any specific training or qualifications, and your own experience and expertise can be used to carve out your own version of the following paths.

Virtual Assistant

This is a bit of a tweener idea, which makes it ideal for those that need to make money straight away and/or don’t have much experience. You can start off as a freelancer and built it up into a business over time.

Virtual assistants (VAs) help business owners achieve tasks, of which there can be a range: updating WordPress sites, adding blog posts, doing outreach, working on spreadsheets, the lot. It really depends on the business you start working for.

To find a VA role, I recommend UpWork. It’s a platform that connects freelancers with business owners. The beauty of starting off as a VA is that you’ll learn the basics of tasks that businesses are looking for. Refine your craft over time and you can start offering these as a business.

For example, become an expert in managing social media platforms for other companies. Or provide expert blog posts content. What about designing logos for small businesses? The opportunities are endless. Once you pick an avenue, you can hire your own VAs to expand your business. And it can all be done from the comfort of your own home.

Accessibility Consultant

In simple terms, accessibility consultants ensure disabled rights are respected in the workplace. This can take many forms, whether it’s ensuring businesses accommodate members of staff, to helping widen access to products and services. 

For example, you can help companies achieve an accessible environment. Businesses often don’t understand how to do this, acting with the right intentions but making a bit of a mess of it. The thing is, companies don’t quite get that there’s no cookie cutter approach one can take to making a workplace truly accessible.

You can also work entirely online by helping websites adhere to accessibility standards. Companies will focus on ensuring their websites can be accessed on cell phones and iPads, but will ignore the visually impaired, for example. You can help bridge that gap.

Affiliate Marketing

Another opportunity that can be done entirely from home. All you need is a PC and internet connection. Affiliate marketing is simple: you sell or recommend someone else’s product or service, and you get a small commission for every sale.

The best way of doing this, in my opinion, is to do this via a blog. Think about any hobbies where you’re an absolute authority. It could be movies, gardening products, or even things that have made your life as a disabled woman a little easier. Tell genuine stories about what you care about, recommend products you own or would back yourself, and you can make a very decent income.

Franchise Opportunities

Don’t want to start from scratch? Franchises offer an excellent way of starting your own business based on a successful model, with the backing from an already existing framework. For example, Tim Horton’s is a successful franchise that offers opportunities to business owners with disabilities.

The clear advantage of going for the franchise option is that a lot of the groundwork has already been done: you have the marketing materials, training, branding, and a template for success.

Inspiring Small Business Stories

We’ve given you some actionable ideas. But maybe you’re still asking yourself: can I really do it? We’re here to tell you that you can. And that others with disabilities have also started some very successful businesses. Here’s one example that will not only inspire, but perhaps give you an idea of what you can do.

easyTravelseat

Funded by Sir Stelios, founder of the airline EasyJet, easyTravelseat is the brainchild of Josh Wintersgill. He has spinal muscular atrophy type 3, which is a disease that progressively wastes away the muscle. He was finding it difficult to travel, with the reliance on airport staff resulting in an awkward and uncomfortable experience.

Using the £30,000 awarded to start his business, he started Able Move Ltd. The flagship product, the easyTravelseat, is a sling and seat combined, allowing airport special assistance to easily transfer the user from their wheelchair to a seat on the airplane.

Your takeaway: It seems like a simple solution, but most successful ideas are. They’re often the kind where you go, ‘why didn’t I think of that?’. In this case, you can see how Josh’s very personal experiences led him to think about simplifying the boarding process. Is there anything in your life as a disabled person that truncates daily life? Can you think of a product or service that would help?

Your disability can put you at a disadvantage in an economy that often doesn't think about you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t succeed. There are opportunities out there, and people who will help you along the way. If you arm yourself with a passion to succeed, you’ll get there.