Episode 31: Be Your Own Boss

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0:00 Carers Queensland announcement: Sport is for everyone.  Whether you’re playing for fun, competing seriously, watching from the grandstand or volunteering in the canteen, there’s a place for everybody and every ability in the sporting community.  Carers Queensland is running discussion groups and surveys to find out more from people with disability, families and carer.  Their experiences, thoughts, opinions and insights into making sport more inclusive and accessible – because that’s a great goal.  Find out more, get in touch or look for events and opportunities coming up near you.  Visit our website at carersqld.com.au or call our enquiries line on 1300 999 636. 

0:53 Introduction: Choice and Control, a podcast celebrating people with disability, brought to you by Carers Queensland NDIS Local Area Coordination Partner in the Community.   

Self-employment can be a great option for people with disability.  It means you can be flexible with your time and energy, work around your access needs, and it’s a way around the barriers people with disability sometimes face when looking for employment.  It’s a way of harnessing your skills and talents and sharing them with the world, and along the way earning some income, increasing your confidence and achieving greater independence.   

But starting a business on your own is a big task.  And that’s why Carers Queensland is supporting people with disability who want to become entrepreneurs through the Be Your Own Boss Microbusiness Program. If you’re in the Ipswich region you might remember the Be Your Own Boss Marketplace on the International Day of People with Disability last year.  Well, there’s more events like that to come, as well as an ongoing series of workshops and linking with mentors from the business community.   

Bec Dougan is one of the budding business owners who took part in that event in Ipswich.  The mum of four is a former aged care worker who acquired chronic pain and disability in a workplace back injury.  It was only after acquiring disability that Bec discovered her love of diamond painting. 

2:13 Bec Dougan: It was my escape; it was my way of escaping reality.  What would normally take someone days, weeks, months to do, I can do quite quickly because I just get straight into my diamond paintings and just let myself be free of the demons that are inside. 

2:39 Jodie van de Wetering: Taking part in the Be Your Own Boss Marketplace was a big step not just for Bec’s business, but personally as well. 

2:46 Bec: The night before and even the morning of, I wasn’t going to go because I was having extreme anxiety.  It was making me feel sick and honestly I didn’t think anything would sell.  But I did sell a lot of bookmarks, which was good, and I sold one painting which was excellent.  I felt great afterwards. 

3:12 Fiona Stutz: Yeah, I was going to say what gave you the confidence?  Because your son was there with you? 

3:19 Bec: Yeah, he was like ‘no, you’re going, I’m making sure you’re going’.  And then my husband said the same thing, ‘you’re going, that’s all there is to it, you are going’.  They really put their foot down and pushed me to go.  Even getting there I was like ‘I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to do this’ and my son Bailey was like ‘no, you’re doing it’. 

3:43 Fiona: It’s good to have that family support isn’t it? 

3:46 Bec: Yes.  

3:47 Fiona: And so you were there, like you said you’ve sold a few things, has that given you a bit more confidence now in your abilities in your artwork? 

3:56 Bec: Yes and no.  I didn’t really think about selling my artwork until just before the Be Your Own Boss Marketplace.  Over the years I had stocked up but I just hadn’t done anything about it, which I still haven’t but it was Sarah from Be Your Own Boss who actually went ‘how are your diamond paintings?’ and yeah, it just went from there. 

4:21 Fiona: How else did Carers Queensland, and Sarah as the Local Area Coordinator in Ipswich, how did they help you  make sure you could sell your artwork? 

4:34 Bec: She gave me tips and ways to go about it, and a little bit more confidence.  You know, she understood that my anxiety levels were through the roof, which I’m sure everyone’s were, but she understood where I was coming from.  So it wasn’t like she was pushing me, and as she said if you don’t sell anything it doesn’t matter, you’ve got your name out there.  And that’s the whole point of this, like you don’t need to sell anything, but just getting the confidence to show your artwork instead of just putting it away. 

5:15 Fiona: Why do you think it’s important for people with disability to be able to access this? 

5:21 Bec: It gives us something that we can do.  I think it’s really important for people with disabilities to be able to show what they can do in society, like you’re not just someone who can’t do anything and just constantly needs care, it’s not like that.  We’re still human, we still want to get out there and work and do what we can.  But a lot of the time, for me, I can’t physically work. I used to be a workaholic, so it’s given me that opportunity to, okay, well I can’t work for someone else but I can work for myself. 

6:07 Fiona: And you said you do want to learn a little bit more about developing your business, even having your NDIS funded support worker there to help you with your business, so what do you think business success will mean to you? 

6:20 Bec: It would mean extra income, it would mean that I can stand on my own two feet again. 

6:31 Jodie: Another person you might have seen at that Ipswich event for International day of People with Disability is Sue Kirk.  She was there with her recovery coach, Precious, because she’s also turning a creative hobby into a business. 

6:43 Sue Kirk: I have tried to learn to crochet on and off over the years, the last time was with a pain clinic, but it just never clicked.  I found a Facebook group and asked if they knew of any crochet groups in the Ipswich area, and they connected me with a group that meets Sundays at the Walloon pub.  It took me months before I actually went.  Just anxiety, you know, it’s just walking into a place by myself where I don’t know anyone. So it took me a while before I actually went.  And the ladies were all so lovely and welcoming, it’s a fun crochet group.  So they taught me how to crochet, and then I saw these windchimes on You Tube.  I started making those and I just thought they were kind of quirky so I just thought I’ll make lots of them and sell them. 

7:32 Fiona: And how have you been selling them so far? 

7:36 Sue: I did the Be Your Own Boss, that was my first market and the best one.  Then one of the crochet ladies and I did one at the Mulgowie Markets and then one at Laidely, and the country markets are just different.  It was good to experience it, but it’s not for what we are selling.  The other lady sells scarves and bags, different things like that she crochets.  So the next one we’re going to try is the Ripley market, it’s a twilight market so we’re going to try that.  But yeah, Sarah told me with Be Your Own Boss there’s going to be some workshops throughout the year with a market at the end of the year, so I’m looking forward to doing that. 

8:18 Fiona: And it was your first marketplace as you said, first time selling your crochet windchimes, how did it feel to be able to go there and sell your artwork? 

8:28 Sue: It was good.  A bit nerve wracking at first, but I had Precious with me so she sort of helped calm me down.  It was good, it was a successful market. 

8:40 Fiona: How many windchimes did you sell? 

8:43 Sue: Twenty-one. 

8:44 Fiona: Oh, that’s excellent.  Do you want to tell me, where you want to sort of take this craft business, and what you might need to do to get there? 

8:52 Sue: Well, it’s not just the crochet that I want to do. I just like all sorts of craft. Papier mache is something that’s on the agenda, I’ve been getting people to save newspapers for me.  I want to do these papier mache torsos, paint them or cover them with different fabrics and paper, or glass tiles, I don’t know. 

9:14 Fiona: Why do you think having a marketplace like this is important for people with disability? 

9:18 Sue: Well it supports each other, because on our own it’s tough to just go out and do something, and having the support of the Be Your Own Boss we’re not on our own.  We’ve got people helping us, guiding us in, you know, the direction that we need to go for whatever we’re doing.  I think there’s always power in numbers. 

9:41 Carers Queensland announcement: Want to know more about the National Disability Insurance Scheme?  A chat with a Local Area Coordinator can help you understand the NDIS, whether it’s right for you, and how to apply for access.  Book a stop at LAC in Community, a free service from Carers Queensland.  Find out more, check for events coming up near you, and book your spot online at carersqld.com.au.  You can also call us on 1300 999 636. 

10:12 Jodie: Bella Parisi is a Special Olympics equestrian, and loves horses and everything to do with them.  And that’s turning into her career.  Bella has three equine related businesses as her mum Emma explains: 

10:27 Emma Parisi: So she’s doing three businesses.  She’s got Clean as a Bell rug washing-  

10:31 Bella Parisi: That’s my rug wash. 

10:32 Emma:  Bella’s Beautiful Bites, which hare horse treats, and then agistment.  So, she can have horses and look after them on a daily basis. Her first client, Bundy- 

10:45 Bella: Bundy, yes 

10:46 Emma: -stayed for a week. 

10:48 Bella: So cute. 

10:49 Fiona: Your business is just pretty new, but where do you see your business in the future?  

10:55 Bella: Way successful and a lot of money! (laughs) 

11:00 Emma: And we’re hoping with the agistment that we can in time install a proper arena, and hopefully we were thinking that we could have clinics, or RDA days and things like that.  And Bella could get some further education in being like the lead handler and working alongside the coaches who could come and have clinics and things like that.  So therefore, it would be more of a drawcard for people to agist their horses here, that they could use a proper arena, and then Bella would then obviously mainly help maintain all that as well.  Big plans, but we’ve got to crawl before we walk. 

11:38 Bella: Yeah, we’ve got to crawl. 

11:40 Fiona: And what do you think you need to do to be able to get there, you know, to get those resources, a bit more training or skills? 

11:48 Bella: Put it out on Facebook and stuff. 

11:50 Fiona: A bit of marketing? 

11:52 Bella: Yeah, I have done that already. 

11:54 Emma: We’re in the process of getting a website done for Bella, and I think marketing is probably going to be our big thing to really push it.  That’s how I see the business going, because pretty much in the horse industry it’s word of mouth, but then again that’s more the agistment side.  But for the rug washing the beautiful bites, I think small markets would be a place for that. 

12:17 Bella: Like Laidley and stuff like that 

12:20 Emma: Yeah, and it’s also finding the targeted markets too, because obviously going to a craft market really wont suit Bella’s business. 

12:31 Fiona: And so now we’re talking about the Carers Queensland Be Your Own Boss Marketplace in Ipswich in December.  Why did you, Bella, decide to take part in that? 

12:41 Bella: Because I just want to be my own boss, and not have to work for other people.  You know, just be me: I like horses, and that’s my job.  It was a good opportunity, too. 

12:52 Emma: Yeah, it was great.  It was all a bit quick, but we got it together.  It was a really good opportunity for her to get an idea what a market was like- 

13:01 Bella: It’s not easy. 

13:02 Emma: No, it’s not easy, but it was good and it was in a great position.  We got really good exposure and I really enjoyed the day, I thought it was fantastic. 

13:11 Bella: Me too.  Just more the experience, with my anxiety and stuff like that, a lot of great things. Like, I now realise that crowds aren’t that scary.  So if any of you want to go out there, just do it.  It’s great,  

13:25 Fiona: Why do you think having the Be Your Own Boss Marketplace is important for people with disability? 

13:33 Bella: Because you always have a chance, you can always make the most of opportunities.  It’s great, I recommend going there, it’s a one of a kind of thing. I really do like it and they’re really friendly people.  

13:45 Emma: I think it’s really important because it gave Bella a safe place to go, and try, and be supported, not just you know being thrown out to the wolves in a normal market.  You guys were fantastic, you were there, you gave us advice, ideas on what to do, and it’s something that I think they need.  It’s great that Bella doesn’t want to just sit at home and not do anything.  For us, we need a bit of a guidance in it too, because as I say we’ve never done markets and so yeah, it’s a bit daunting for us at times as well.  So yeah, your support has been amazing. 

14:23 Bella: Especially all of you, your amazing support. 

14:27 Jodie: If you’d like to find out more about the Be Your Own Boss Microbusiness Program head to our website at carersqld.com.au.  Whether you’re a person with disability looking to start your own business or find out if it could be a good option for you, or you’re from the business community and potentially interested in becoming a mentor for the program: we’d love to hear from you and have a chat about how Carers Queensland is supporting people with disability to become their own boss.   

Thanks for joining us at Choice and Control, a Carers Queensland podcast.  For more information about the National Disability Insurance Scheme or Carers Queensland, contact us online at carersqld.com.au.  You can call us on 1300 999 636, or head to Facebook and look for Carers Queensland NDIS. 

Mentioned in this episode 

• Be Your Own Boss Microbusiness Project 
• Carers Queensland website 
• Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops 
• Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook

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