Living with a disability can pose obstacles and challenges when it comes to getting to work and being able to work. The stigma surrounding disability usually causes employers to hesitate when hiring employees with disabilities. It’s not fair, but it does happen quite often! So if you are struggling to get a job or you have worked with a disability, this is for you!
This week, I want to tell you about my friend Carrie Popelton, a six-figure businesswoman, mother and full-time wife. Before working online, Carrie spent 11 years in the e-commerce business. When diagnosed with Systemic mastocytosis Her life took an unexpected turn, leaving her unable to work and now living with a disability.
Turn online work into work for you
Living with a disability can pose obstacles and challenges when it comes to the ability to work.
For some people like Carrie, leaving home for work is not even an option. When Carrie became unexpectedly limited, it was difficult for her to perform physical activities that her old job required like sitting 8 hours a day. Now she also relied more often on her family as she adapted to her new lifestyle.
Independence empowers everyone, especially economic and professional freedom. Imagine that you are able to bypass your schedule and needs while creating a sustainable income enough to lower your disability benefits. I know it’s a scary thought, but I want you to know it IS possible!
When you work online you can apply your skills while being able to work from anywhere, even in the comfort of your own home! This allows you more flexibility to choose when you want to focus on work and when you want to focus more time on family, doctor appointments or rest.
Implementing systems to help organize your work can be a revolution for your business! You will find that it makes it easier for your business to get around your lifestyle.
Find ABILITY within your limitations
Whether you have previous work experience or have not worked at all, 90 days VA Can help you learn the skills you need to work online while giving yourself space to expand your business.
Carrie’s advice for growing your business is to invest in credentials that will showcase your experience and provide a sense of security to your customers. It is also important to be realistic and aware of your limitations, but these should not deter you from finding what you like and doing it.
Online work has also helped Carrie find her destiny in the service of other online entrepreneurs. As a Qualified Operations Consultant, Carrie uses her previous experience as a business owner to help others just like her turn their ideas into deeds.
She has discovered her goal is to help other business owners achieve the same freedom she has established for herself through her work. And that’s because Carrie decided to focus on what she could do and implemented it in her business.
Remember that your business does not have to look like anyone else’s and it’s okay to be out of the norm. Online work can empower you to choose the right people you want to work with and I can assure you that there are no shortage of clients when it comes to online work.
Carrie’s advice for finding the right customers to work with is to create a network with people who respect all your parts because if people are uncomfortable working with you and whoever you are, they are not the right people for you. And you want to work with the right people!
Leave this line of life and find your purpose
Now I understand that your disability benefits play a huge part when it comes to your income and for some people, that’s all they have to live on.
But if you can find a way to support yourself and not need The benefits, it will not be so liberating? I know there’s a lot of anxiety at the thought of not getting that money, it’s your lifeline, but it’s not always enough.
For Carrie, online work means freedom to set her work hours, when she soon realized that not so many hours of work online were required to supplement the income from her disability benefits. This opportunity gave Carrie the freedom to stay away from her disability tests and her purpose to help other people! All while choosing her working hours, setting a longer time to focus on her family and creating a career that revolves around her lifestyle of living with a disability.
With this kind of flexibility, she was able to be present with her children, who moved on to homeschooling when the corona virus closed the country. Working online has allowed Carrie more time to create memories with her family and at the same time build a career that works for her.
B 90 days VAYou can learn how to work online and open doors to your success!
Online work is a blessing of mental health in disguise
Before Carrie built her business, she never thought she would be where she is now.
Carrie once had dreams of becoming a doctor, a job that was physically impossible in her health. Instead, she found another way to serve others by building other businesses and she could not be happier!
Instead of giving up on her dreams, Carrie found an alternative way to make her dreams come true, which significantly benefited her mental health.
If you feel anxious and think there is no chance you can do it, then just relax and take a deep breath! Carrie’s story is just one of many proving that anyone can work online. There are many mental health benefits from working on your own terms like spending more time with your family or more time for yourself doing the things you love.
Key points from Carrie’s story
- You do not have to work within the boundaries set by working for someone when you can use your skills to build your own business.
- Be empowered by setting yourself up for possible success for everyone!
- Nothing should be in your way of finding what you can do and love to do.
- Your purpose and passion should not be limited by your disability.
I hope Carrie’s story can inspire you to take the next step towards designing a life on your own terms and show you that you are Do not do It takes a lot of experience first to start working remotely. are you Do not do One should work in organizational work if working from home is more comfortable. are you Do not do You need to know everything to become a successful online assistant.
What do you to do A need is an eagerness to thrive and succeed, because if we can all do it, You can too!
Ready to get started? I would love to tell you how!
You can learn more about working online as a virtual assistant by joining my free Master class There I go over everything you need to know about starting your online career. I’ll tell you about the world of telecommuting and how you can start earning your living from $ 15- $ 20 an hour.
Still not convinced?
Listen to Carrie tells you her own story in Help Me Work Online, Esther! A podcast, in which we talk about how she started working remotely through running a successful online business. And believe it or not, there are real benefits to working from home when you have a disability! You can also learn more about Carrie and her work on it Website.
In 90 days of VA, Esther teaches her students how to research and recreate up-to-date blog content for the VAI website. Shoni is the student we chose this week to present what she learned in the course. Get to know her:
Shoni Akpala is a virtual assistant, who moved to remote work after working in the field of disabilities for 7 years. Born and raised on the island of Guam, she combines her culture with her professional background to provide meaningful services to her clients. She enjoys making art or relaxing in nature when she is not taking on new recipes in the kitchen! Shoni also masters American Sign Language and has been supporting Accessibility since 2013. Learn more about her and her business Here.
