Thank you so much to Lilly for inviting me to write to you today. I really hope it inspires people to do some incredible things!

Who Am I?

My name is Dr Nikki Ramskill and I run a blog about my experiences with personal finance, because I started to notice how my patients were being affected by poor money management skills through no fault of their own! I write about ways to save and make money, as well as how to get on track with investing and building up wealth for the future. If you want to come and find me, I have a website: https://thefemalemoneydoctor.com and you are more than welcome to take a look!

The Inspiration For This Blog Post

Anyway, my piece today begins one lunchtime when I thought I’d go out and sample some lunch from the surrounding cafes, just to try somewhere new for a change.

I then came across a cafe that had the most unique selling point – providing jobs and opportunities to people with physical and learning disabilities. After ordering my chicken salad baguette I watched as the shop owner supervised the person on the till, pointing out the buttons to press and how much change to give me.

Next, I watched as someone else was making the sandwich, being gently guided and helped in the process. Finally, in the background, I could see several others washing up cups and plates and clearing tables. It was a happy, busy environment and I was so impressed with the care and consideration that was taken to ensure that everyone could help and do something.

I also noticed that the way the waiting staff took orders was by using a wipe clean picture board of the types of things people could order, so that it would be easy to use and then easy to translate back to the kitchen staff. It was such a wonderful thing to see! So much so that I went back the next day too (and probably will again in the foreseeable future!).

Big Business Needs To Do More

It got me thinking- why aren’t more businesses running initiatives like this? People with physical and learning disabilities want to work. They want to contribute to our society, so why not enable them to?

I believe that more could (and should) be done by the bigger corporations to help more people into work.

In one of the hospitals I once worked in, a man with learning disability was employed as a cleaner. He was well known and loved by everyone who worked at the hospital, and he was very happy to be independent through his work. When I was at medical school, there was a fellow colleague who used a wheelchair and he is now a fully qualified anaesthetist. If the NHS can do it, why not other companies too?

How Can You Help?

This is where YOU can get involved. If you are a disabled person, then you have a UNIQUE VOICE.

Only you have the perspective to see how a company can change and adapt their working environment and practices. With more companies allowing working from home, the physical barrier of getting into work is no longer present – so why not employ people who find it difficult to use public transport?

The workplace needs more diversity, and disabled people can bring this into a business.

Entrepreneurship For All

The UK is now also becoming a nation of entrepreneurs. According to the financial times https://www.ft.com/content/6b27babc-607a-11e7-91a7-502f7ee26895, female entrepreneurs in particular are growing rapidly as a group in the UK. I believe that women with disabilities should definitely be among this surge because they have the personal experience to improve the lives of others with disabilities. You could work as a consultant for businesses and advise on accommodating wheelchair access, or providing equipment that is needed for people to do their job. You could develop a product or service that would improve someone’s independence.

Lilly does amazing work inspiring others through her blog, raising awareness so we can see what is happening in our communities. Blogs can be monetised and have the potential to bring in a decent income. So I think it’s a brilliant example of the type of work that can be done that fits around you (and which helps others in the process!).

Is There Help Out There?

Grants are available if you’re worried about making this leap – you could try disabilitygrants.org https://www.disability-grants.org/business-grants-for-the-disabled.html to look into this. There is also a dedicated site for entrepreneurs with disabilities https://www.disabledentrepreneurs.co.uk/ which is packed full of useful resources.

In truth, if you can dream it, you can do it. The only thing holding you back is you. Don’t take no for an answer and go for it!

Good Luck! I can’t wait to see what you get up to….

Love,

Dr Nikki