How to Get a Small Business up and Running as a Parent With Disabilities
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For parents with disabilities, starting a business can provide the dual benefit of financial independence and flexibility in working at your convenience. While you will face some challenges along the way, no entrepreneurial journey is complete without overcoming barriers. In this article by Artificially Intelligent Blog, we’ll explore a host of useful strategies you can implement to get your business up and running, in addition to some use cases for including new-age technologies such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality to make your business accessible and easier to manage.
Create a Solid Business Plan
A business plan serves as the foundational document for any business. Your plan will need to lay out all important aspects of the business including - your mission statement, details regarding product offerings, funding avenues, growth projection, and more.
While your plan does need to be optimistic, it’s best to set achievable and time-bound goals. Setting goals not only provides you with something to aim towards but achieving them as expected leads to some much-needed encouragement and confidence when you’re in the midst of managing numerous responsibilities as an entrepreneur.
Explore Funding Avenues
Your funding requirements will depend heavily on the size and type of business you choose to run. Here are the various funding avenues to consider:
● Personal Savings: Entrepreneurs having significant savings can consider investing their own money into the business. However, it is important to consider the impact this can have on your other financial responsibilities as well.
● Grants & Scholarships: While these might not cover all your funding needs, they can help reduce your dependence on private funds or use your savings.
Here is a great guide provided by the U.S. Department of Labor that provides a host of helpful resources and grants opportunities for entrepreneurs with disabilities.
Be Dedicated Towards Marketing
As reported by BusinessDIT, 81% of shoppers conduct online research before making a purchase. Hence, it comes as no surprise that 96% of small businesses regularly use social media as part of their marketing strategy.
When it comes to catching customer’s attention as a new business, promotions are the way to go. Here are some simple steps to follow, to run successful promotions:
● Choose specific days or months for your promotions, aligning them with holidays or special events relevant to your business.
● Contact local media outlets - news/radio channels, newspapers, and other media outlets to promote your offers to their viewers.
● Once you start making sales, start analyzing the data to ascertain the days when your promotions work best, along with the highest-performing messaging, and use it for future campaigns.
Leverage The Power of AI and other Interactive Technologies
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a game-changer for entrepreneurs with disabilities as it can streamline various aspects of the business from customer service, to inventory management and more.
One of the best ways to use AI is for data analysis. Your business will generate a ton of data from the website, social media platforms, and more. AI-based tools can help you analyze this data and provide actionable insights that can be used to personalize customer experiences, reduce operational inefficiencies, and improve conversions from marketing campaigns.
Additionally, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies also have amazing use cases for small businesses in the following ways:
● Immersive Product Visualization: Offering customers AR-power product demos is a great way to differentiate your business from competitors. Additionally, it makes it easier for customers with disabilities to interact with your product through their phone from the comfort of their home.
● Accessible Virtual Tours: Entrepreneurs running restaurants, hotels, and other establishment-based businesses can offer customers VR tours, providing them with an immersive and accessible experience to interact with the business and its offerings.
When it comes to running a successful business as a parent with disabilities, adopting an organized approach is the way to go. The first step will be to create a strong business plan followed by adopting sound marketing strategies. Additionally, using innovative technologies like AI, AR, and VR will help to create accessible and immersive customer experiences, differentiating you from the competition and increasing your chances of success.
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