Pre-episode Intro Heather: Blind and visually impaired individuals have just as much freedom in the choices that they make for how they earn money, and how they live their life, as anybody else does. Liz: This is the Penny Forward Podcast. A podcast about blind people building bright futures one penny at a time. I'm Liz Bottner, ... MOe: I'm MOe Carpenter, ... Liz: And today, we have Heather Miller, from World Services for the Blind, to talk to us about the Small Business Professional Microcredential program. Welcome, Heather. Thanks for being here. Heather: Thank you for having me. Liz: Tell us about yourself, and your connection to the blindness community. Heather: So I'm the director of Education and Training here at World Services for the Blind. We are an agency that primarily provides vocational training for adults with visual impairments, in addition to independent living and blindness adjustment training. So, I work in that role, managing our programs and supervising our instructors here at World Services for the Blind, but I myself also have a visual impairment, and first came to WSB as a client myself after losing my vision. So that's how I first got introduced to this world. MOe: Could you tell us more about the Small Business Microcredential Program? Heather: Absolutely. So this is a new program that we just started offering in February of this year, and this is done in partnership with the Lighthouse Chicago's Forsythe Entrepreneurial Center, and this program is geared for people who are interested in starting, and running, and managing, their own small business. So, for someone who might be interested in this program, you need to already have an idea of exactly what you want your business to be, or what product or service you would want to offer. In this program, clients will go through two different courses through the Lighthouse Chicago. Those courses start out as kind of an introduction to small business, where you work through a workbook with your instructors, and this is all centered around whatever your business idea is. So as you go forward through this program, you're actually working on the plans and things that you will need for your own business, not just some generalized business that you may or may not actually get into. But in the first part of the program, you work with your instructor at Lighthouse Chicago, to go through a workbook, and start at the very beginning. With your idea for your small business. Then you will look into the different types of businesses that you may want to open, whether it's a sole proprietorship, a limited liability corporation, or a partnership if you're working with other people, um, you'll also work on drafting your business plan and figuring out what your overhead is gonna be, and your expenses, and what other, paperwork or costs you need to anticipate, just as you're getting started. Then in the second part of the program, clients will get the chance to actually start working on the finances of their business. So again, you'll have a workbook that you work through with your Lighthouse Chicago instructor, and in this workbook, you will actually go through the accounting, paperwork, balance sheets, invoices, and things like that, that your business is actually going to use once it gets started. So again, you really have the opportunity to work specifically on what your idea is and see how things are going to work for you as you go forward with your plan to open your own business. And then finally, the third part of the course is an introduction to marketing class, that you would actually be taking through Miami University in Ohio. They have partnered with Lighthouse Chicago to form this microcredential, so the marketing class is a college level course, and that will be done online through Miami University Ohio. So once you've completed all three portions of this course, then you will be eligible to receive the small business professional microcredential. Liz: For someone who might be listening to this podcast and have an idea that they do want to start a business, but they don't really know what that looks like, what is your advice to that person? They're not yet maybe ready for this program, but they, they want to get there. How can they do that? Heather: I would recommend that you research other types of business that are maybe similar to the business that you're wanting to open. So, maybe first decide, is your business going to provide a service, or is your business going to provide a product? Is it a product that you yourself are going to be making, or are you looking to be a vender or a distributor for a larger company, who actually is the one who makes the product? And so, that’s the kind of information you're gonna need to know to be able to decide what kind of business you want to ultimately run, and how you're gonna set up your business plan for that business. MOe: How long do you anticipate the program to take for a student? Heather: It should come in at right around twelve months total. The two portions of the program that are run through Lighthouse Chicago are self-paced in the sense that, while there is a recommended time period, um, for completion of those two portions of the program, clients will be able to work with their instructor at their own pace, but we would anticipate that someone be able to finish those two portions of the program in roughly six months. Then that third class, the Introduction to Marketing class through Miami University, that's going to be a full college semester. So, you'll register to take that class in the semester following your completion of the two portions of the Lighthouse Chicago course, so you could potentially take that class in a fall semester, spring semester, or summer semester, and the time frame would correlate to those semesters. Liz: When someone enrolls in this program, are they an enrollment of one, are they, is there a cohort, how many students are currently enrolled in the program, how does that all work? Heather: So through World Services for the Blind right now, we have our first client that's being admitted into that program right now, and we're very excited about that. Lighthouse Chicago has been offering this program themselves to those consumers that they can provide services to on their own for some time now, but clients who come in through World Services for the Blind, it will be open enrollment, similar to all our other vocational programs, so you will start the first two portions of the Lighthouse Chicago program kind of on your own time frame, and while, yes, there may also be other people going through those classes at the same time as you, everybody potentially has started at different times, and so are not necessarily moving through the program together assignment by assignment. Now when you get to that third class, we would anticipate that there would be multiple people in each semester's marketing class, at each time, since those classes are only gonna be available three times per year. MOe: How would an individual start with World Services for the Blind in order to get registered for the program? Heather: The first thing you want to do is make sure you have an open case with your state's department of rehabilitation, or vocational rehabilitation office, um, make sure you talk to your counselor, and that they are willing to support you in this, as you will need their support, both for admission, and to go forward throughout the program, and then all you have to do is get online and fill out the application for World Services for the Blind. You can choose the Small Business Professional program as your program of interest, and then someone from our admissions staff will reach out to you. Now this program is available fully online, so students from any part of the country are more than free to participate in this course. Since it is an online program, we do require all of our potential online clients to take an online skills assessment, and that's just to make sure that you have those base level assistive technology skills to be successful in this program and be able to access your course materials in ... management system that you'll be using through Miami University. Liz: In addition to this being another program offering that World Services has for students, is there something else that it is hoped to gain from adding this to your cohort of programs? Heather: Well our goal here at World Services for the Blind has always been to promote sustainable independence for blind and low vision people across the country, and the world. So, in this situation, I think what we would like to see is that blind and visually impaired individuals have just as much freedom in the choices that they make for how they earn money, and how they live their life, as anybody else does. Just because you're blind or visually impaired doesn't mean that you are not fully capable of running a business, of operating your own partnership, designing your own products, or providing your own services, just like anybody else, and just like anybody else, you need training, and understanding of the business world to be able to do this effectively. So really, this credential would serve anybody well, no matter the status of their visual impairment, or whether they have another disability, and this just makes it a program that we know is accessible for someone with a visual impairment, that they will be able to get a lot out of, and hopefully, be able to live the life they want in the future. MOe: Say if someone doesn't have the state services to go through. Is there a cost to the program? Heather: So there is a cost to the program, tuition, um, payment for textbooks and things of that nature, um, and then tuition also to Miami University. Um, it would be potentially cost prohibitive for someone to pay out of pocket, but if you're willing to rejoin the work force and that is your goal, then more than likely, you would qualify for rehabilitation services from your state, and they would, hopefully, be more than happy to assist you in getting into this program. Liz: Heather, thank you for being here, and sharing with us. Where can people go to find more about World Services, and/or the Small Business Professional Microcredential Program? Heather: You can go to our web site, which is www.wsblind.org we have links to all of our programs and services on that web site, and if you go under the small business professional course, it will actually link you to Lighthouse Chicago's web site for the Forsythe Entrepreneurial Center, where you can get full course outlines and course descriptions for this program. If you have questions, you can also send an E-mail to training@wsblind.org or call 501-664-7100. Liz: Thanks again, Heather. Thank you for being here. We really appreciate it. I would also like to take this time to thank the Penny Forward sponsors, those being the American Printing House, or APH, Connect Center, Thrivent, Wells Fargo, and World Services for the Blind. You too can become a sponsor, by visiting www.pennyforward.com/sponsorships and choosing a sponsorship package that will work for you. Penny Forward is a nonprofit organization founded and led by blind people. Together, we help each other confidently navigate the complicated landscape of personal finance through education, mentoring, and mutual support. To find out about our accessible online courses, weekly and monthly workshops, one on one financial counseling, and more, visit our web site at www.pennyforward.com The Penny Forward podcast is produced by Liz Bottner and Chris Peterson, with assistance from MOe Carpenter. Audio editing and postproduction is provided by Brynn Lee, transcription is provided by Anne Verduin, and the music is both composed and performed by Andre Louis. As an aside, all of those people I just mentioned, happen to be blind. For all of us at Penny Forward, I'm Liz Bottner, ... MOe: I'm MOe Carpenter, ... Liz: Thank you for listening and make it a fantastic week.