Deaf Biz Info

[Harry Gibbens, Jr. ( The DEAFWORKS Company )]

Dear Friends on DEAF-L:

I was able to compile and answer those messages from the last week:

Michael Yared <mya...@EROLS.COM> wrote on Wed, 18 Feb 1998:

I am working on forcing the Small Business Administration
(www.sba.gov) on doing more to help people with disabilities
set up business with loans from the 8(a) program (over 4 billion
of your tax dollars). Apparently, the SBA doesn't classify
disability as part of minority, Deafism.

Mike Yared

>Doug McLean <Do...@forestbk.demon.co.uk> wrote in article
><yqGKBPAp...@forestbk.demon.co.uk>...
> I'm trying to gather materials on starting a business,
> understanding accounts, cash flow, etc., aimed at, or
> suitable for, people with Sign as a first language. Is
> there anything published in the USA that I should know
> about? Can anyone help?
>
> Doug
> --

**** Good luck, Mike. SBA does offer loans through HAL, Handicapped
Assistance Loan, to those who QUALIFY their stringest requirements.
Unfortunately, there were many deaf business owners who didn't meet
their requirements due to different lifestyle that we all grew up
together in the deaf world. So, I was one of them. I felt unfairness
and made an objections to Gary Vail, deaf employee at SBA, based in
Washington D.C., in 1989. He was a regular SBA article writer in the
NAD Broadcaster. He tried to proposed to the higher brass to
recognized deaf to be in a different classification. So far, nothing.
I lost my interest dealing with SBA loans.

I still attend free SBA workshops such as how to cope with your
customers, what type of advertising fits in your business, etc. They
are very invaluable workshops. Interpeters were provided at these
workshops at SBA expenses if you ask for it. Also, SBA offers SCORE
(Service Corps of Retired Executive) program to counsel any young
entrepreuers of how to run their business properly and professionally.
I find that is very excellent program and is f-r-e-e! It is an
one-to-one meeting to analyze their problems as business owners. I
had tons of problems and didn't know where I can get the answers from.
SCORE is still my wonderful "grandfather-to-grandchild" meeting
because SCORE counselors are white-haired, meaning having plenty of
experience of running their companies before they retired. You can
find those workshops and SCORE in your local area by looking up in the
phone book, under SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.

About the SBA loan, I was able to receive similar business loan from
the state-level, not federal-level. Without the loan, I would not be
able to develop new product called, TTYSCREENER.
(www.deafworks.com/ts_ii.html). Thanks to the state taxpayer funded
loan agency, Utah Technology Finance Corporation (UTFC). Their
website is at www.utfc.org. You can find my company name in their
client list. There is one catch - your business headquarter must be
in Utah. In event that you wanted to move to another state, the loan
must be paid in full. I grew up in Southern California and was aware
that the State of California doesn't have the loan program like UTFC.
I was told that UTFC is the only state in the nation has the type of
loan assistance available. Well, it is nice to live in Utah,
beautiful backcountry, lowest crime in the nation, and healthest
state. For those you may have wondered if I'm a religion guy related
to Utah - yes, I am a Mormon. I am very happy and proud to be a
Mormon since childhood.

Richard Roehm III <de...@ACTIVIST.COM> wrote on Wed, 18 Feb 1998:

Yeah keep on doing it. I was turned down a half million dollar
grant to establish a Deaf run business in Buena Park, Ca. 5 years ago
because I dont fit in one of their target minorities i.e. Hasidic
jew, spanish speaking spaniard, eskimo, or others on their list.

**** SBA still doesn't recognized deaf as well. About the grant, I
applied a couple of Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants
years ago. One of them was TTY TRAINER 2000
(www.deafworks.com/tr2000.html). I proposed that this product is
excellent for schools who were badly in need of training students on
how to improve their language and typing skills via TTY WITHOUT the
use of telephone lines. I have gone enough research homework and
found that it was a very inventive project for deaf education
institutions. I was in the DEAF MOSIAC show VT#607. The grant was
turned down because they said there was existing product of mine out
there. I was speechless and couldn't figure where did they learned
about the product from. In fact, there was NONE! I was the only and
the original guy who came up with this idea and patented it. So, in
order to get the product out, I had to build those up by myself with
couple of employees. Now, my company is a well-known Trainer
manufacturer nowadays. Now you can see that for a fact, SBIR doesn't
work for deaf business owners. The same for SBA. Presently, I didn't
want to be bothered with these two programs because my time with them
have wasted in the past. I had enough with them. It is not really
worth to "re-invent the wheel" with them. They are and will be
continue practice as deaf-discrimination politics and full of
bureaucratics. The interesting part is that Nexion (www.nexion.com)
who sells TTY modem for PC got their grants from SBIR. Why? Easy
answer, they are hearing people selling wares to the deaf people. Why
not, deaf people (like me) selling wares to deaf people? It is always
be a mystery.

"Stephen Joseph Hardy, II" <ha...@COMMNECTIONS.COM> wrote on Wed, 18
Feb 1998:

This requires legislative action to include people with disability in
the
minority category.

**** Who is willing to do the legislative action, other than Sen. Gary
Hart, Iowa (co-authored the ADA)? Not that I know of...

Jean Boutcher <jeanbo...@JUNO.COM> wrote on Wed, 18 Feb 1998:

Is it the same SBA that John Yeh made a loan to open a computer
business over a decade ago? If not, would it be actionable enough for
the NAD to do something concerning this matter?

**** It was my understanding that John Yeh received the money from his
rich family to form Microflip (now long goner).

Regards,
Harry Jr.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ATTN: Harry Gibbens, Jr., MTS TTY: (801) 465-1957
The DEAFWORKS Company FAX: (801) 465-1958
P.O. Box 1265 VOICE RELAY: (800) 877-8973 (USA)
Provo, UT 84603-1265 VOICE RELAY: (800) 346-4128 (UTAH)

ICQ#: 3537207
E-mail: har...@deafworks.com
Deaf Internet: dww.deafworks.com
General Internet: www.deafworks.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~