Diverse Marketing Strategies for Those Living with Disabilities

Imagine yourself as the only means of financially supporting you. A little scary isn't it? In today's economy, it is difficult living on a single income. This is especially true for individuals living in Howard County, although what a great place to call home. People will gladly exchange dollars, for the exceptional quality of life, provided by a county, tucked away in the middle of the beautiful State of Maryland.

Now imagine, still you are the only one financially supporting yourself, but suddenly you are faced with a disabling medical condition, which ultimately is the demise of your ability to work outside of the home, providing your only source of income.

What are you going to do to support yourself? And what does this all mean as you begin to question your life? Do you move back in with your mother? Do you crawl under a rock or bury your head in the sand? Or do you spend the next several months crying, hoping it will all get better on its own?

As a rational human being, you realize none of these are realistic options. So the question goes back to, how are you going to support yourself?

While you are still of this earth, you must continue to market yourself to fulfill your desires no matter the situation. How do you market yourself to find the best medical care when faced with illness? How do you market yourself to seek Mr./Ms. Right? Or, most importantly, how do you market yourself to provide an adequate income?

I am a person who lives with a disability. I also realize I must continue work in order to support myself. And beyond that I still want to work because I feel I have something to contribute to society.

Over the years I have discovered creative ways of marketing myself and obtaining exposure to a large number of people without ever leaving my home office. With the invent of the Internet countless doors have been opened to those who are not able to otherwise attend networking meetings or pound the pavement in search of new clientele. One sure fire way of establishing credibility is to create a website and utilize search engine optimization. Networking with other link-minded websites is key, writing articles for their newsletters and obtaining linkage to each others sites for added exposure is essential. Blogging ? the creation of an on-line personal diary - is fast becoming a way of creating additional exposure. The good news is much of this, aside from the development of your website, is that it can all be done for free; the only cost is the use of your time. You must be willing to commit the time in order to secure new business, while never having to leave your home office.

Typically, when someone is initially faced with a disability, streams of income become scarce. One is forced to rely on savings, borrowing, or potentially collecting disability benefits. However, if none of these are options, there are avenues to turn to in order to jumpstart your business and financially support your endeavors.

Terese Reamer, Employment Specialist for the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS), a state agency comments "DORS is available to assist people with disabilities in becoming self-sufficient and independent. We provide services such as Career Decision Making, Vocational Training and Medical Rehabilitation. For those who wish to be self-employed, we provide guidance in writing business plans and in some cases will grant funds for start up costs for small business ventures. DORS has had a positive economic impact in Maryland because it helps support people by getting them back to work."

In conjunction with DORS, the Rise Project helps individuals reach independence through self-employment. Morris Tranen, President and CEO of Rise states "We strive to remove some of the obstacles that challenge agencies and individuals with disabilities as they pursue self employment. We provide training for counselors and training for individuals with disabilities so they understand self-employment. We assist in developing viable business plans and business expertise and consultation to both the counselor and the consumer throughout the process of planning, opening and operating a small business."

Linda Furiate is a personal coach, astrologer and talk show host helping individuals with disabilities achieve their goals despite any and all obstacles. She can be reached at http://www.portraitsindetermination.com or (410) 964-1303.

---

Dont Be Jealous - Be Inspired

When we see people do things we cannot do, or have things we don't have, it might be tempting to be a little jealous. But, jealousy doesn't... Read More

Fear Is Nothing To Be Afraid Of!

What do you do when fear shows up? Do you hide under the covers of life, shivering as you anxiously wait for the moment to pass or... Read More

How to Quickly and Easily Deal With Rude People

Where I live there seems to be a a growing population of rude and vulgar people. And no matter how hard I wish for things to change... Read More

Self-Defense Within Martial Arts Training Demands a Real-World Perspective

This story is being offered in response to a request made by my teacher, Soke (Grand Master) Masaaki Hatsumi, during a recent training visit to Japan. During... Read More

Successful Change Starts With A Shift In Perspective

Like so many in corporate America today, Susan needed more balance in her life-but she did not know how to get it. Faced with a 60-hour work... Read More

Business Coaching - Ten Ways of Dealing with Mistakes You Made

You can either choose to dwell on what happened and get stuck in the past or you can choose to start using your energy to build your... Read More

Words That Inspire - PEACE

WORDS THAT INSPIREA monthly quick shot to motivate you, in less than 45 seconds, from Julie Cohen CoachingHow might your PEACE impact the world?Dictionary*says:State of tranquility or... Read More

Priorities: Are You Living Yours?

In the Charles Dickens classic, "The Christmas Story", Scrooge is given the opportunity to examine his life and his priorities before it is too late. Upon being... Read More

Hows Your Self-Talk?

You know, what are you saying to yourself? There's always something going on in there. Do you make positive statements about yourself to yourself or are you... Read More

So Why Are They Really Here?

It does make you wonder sometimes, doesn't it? You know the folks I'm talking about. The ones who seem to be wandering around in the middle of... Read More

Coaching is Asking the Right Questions

Have you ever known anyone who asked themselves "Why me?" over and over every time something happened they didn't like? Or how about, "What did I do... Read More

Discovering Your Passion and Purpose

"I can't seem to discover why I'm on the planet.""What is my purpose here? I know there's something I'm supposed to be doing, but I don't know... Read More

Coaching: The Art of Putting Yourself In Somone Elses Shoes

COACHING STEPS: The following are five (5) steps a coach can take to change behavior and performance. The goal of this process is to create the context... Read More

Gullibles Travels

A journey by a web-footed gull through a sea of sharks.Definitions:Gull - a dupe, a fool; vulnerable to deceive; to trick; to defraud.Shark - voracious marine fish;... Read More

Take a Chance, Win a Prize

I think that we're all probably familiar with the fairground rant 'take a chance, win a prize'. Whenever I hear this call to action, I immediately break... Read More

Are You A Work Addict?

Work addiction is very common in our society today, yet it is not one that is not highly recognised.An interesting article in the March edition of The... Read More

How Does Sports Coaching Differ from Corporate Coaching?

Athletes Versus EmployeesMost athletes are young, open to improvement, eager to learn and anxious to receive what a coach can provide. For the athlete, there is a... Read More

Mentors and Coaches: How to Find a Great Mentor

A career coach or mentor is a person who can guide you with the benefit of their experience. He or she may be someone more senior from... Read More

How Can Sceptics Get the Proof They Need

Are you one of those folks that needs to figure-it-out all the time? Are you one of those Law of Attraction students who catches yourself saying things... Read More

Addiction to Blame

Allen consulted with me because his wife of 18 years had threatened to leave him if he didn't stop blaming her all the time. He admitted to... Read More

Boost Your Self-Esteem

What Is Self-Esteem?Self-esteem literally means to esteem, or respect, yourself. Having high self-esteem means that you have a positive image of yourself. Let's look at where such... Read More

Nourishing Your Network

It takes less effort to keep an existing customer than to gain a new customer.This is Business 101. Corporations focus on acquisition, but they must also focus... Read More

The Rewards and Risks Of Personal Freedom

We all need to decide whether to "play it safe" in life and worry about the downside, or instead take a chance, by being who we really... Read More

Are YOU a Dreamer?

This morning I watched a news article about a young woman who had just set a world record for sailing across the English Channel. What was special... Read More

Theres Gold in that Silence

Can you recall a time where you utilized silence to make a point? If you can consciously recall, you probably know your silence made more than just... Read More

How to Create Your Ideal Life - Excerpt from Individual Power

When I lost it all, I felt powerless. During my darkest hours, I wrote letters to God asking "why?" I received answers in writing.If you have either... Read More