We are busily beavering away at an NDRP grant application.  This pretty big grant would enable us (pun intended) to further embed research into the bones and connective tissue of our community of practice. Our proposal provides for paying people with a disability who serve on the six reference groups it discusses and providing them with training and experience. It also anticipates collaboration with the great THC Dignity project.We are busily beavering away at an NDRP grant application.  This pretty big grant would enable us (pun intended) to further embed research into the bones and connective tissue of our community of practice. Our proposal provides for paying people with a disability who serve on the six reference groups it discusses and providing them with training and experience. It also anticipates collaboration with the great THC Dignity project.

Members of the Enabled.vip team have not only personally witnessed this abhorrent reality for Australians who live with a disability, but we've also needed to endure and thrive beyond it.

Our living well section covers matters such as resilience, work-life balance, mindfulness, pets and meditation.  Even though we are keen on the value of these topics,  we know it comes down to personal philosophy and choice.  Consequently, items in this area do not appear elsewhere in the site. In the Members' Admin Panel you can specify whether you want to be alerted when these items are loaded to the site. These matters aren't essential for setting up your endeavour, but we suggest they will help you be healthier, happier and more grounded.

It's been a tough slog and we know it will be a very competitive review process, but our application for the NCIP Round 2 grant is ready to be submitted. We are just waiting for one final support letter to attach to our application.  The grant application by us, MS Queensland and Griffith University.  It is also supported by The Social Impact Hub, Mindhive and MinterEllison. The $500K+ grant would cover all of our essential setup costs and our first year of operation.  It would also cover some services we hope to offer free of charge to the Australian disability community...

Our Resource Library now includes a specialist area where we will only post our sheets (discussion sheets and resource sheets). These are the in-house resources we are producing for members of the platform.  They contain tips, ideas, warnings about trips and traps, as well as useful links. Our hope is these tailored resources will provide essential guidance and support for aspiring disability entrepreneurs.

Based upon our interactions with our pilot testers, the generous advice of our pro bono lawyers MinterEllison and our thoughts about how to best support Australia's disability community, the Board is currently considering a tweak of our service offerings and pricing structure. Once we have settled on the plan, we will report back. Despite this rethink, we are energised by the members we are working with and their incredible plans.

The Queensland Social Enterprise Council team has kindly offered that if Enabled . vip identifies that a member would be a good addition to the QSEC community, they would provide a discount on their usual membership fee. QSEC is a fantastic group and we support their work.  They provide members with very useful training opportunities, great resources and an excellent community... Membership of QSEC would be appropriate for a not-for-profit service for Queenslanders who live with a disability...

It shouldn't need saying, but we'll say it anyway, stories like this underscore that a home-based endeavour is real work that has a valuable role to play in the Australian economy and society. We are thrilled to be helping Australians who live with a disability to pursue their entrepreneurial potential.  And to set up work that suits their disability and needs.

This week we lodged an application for a community grant from Australia Post. The scheme is focused on mental health initiatives, so we discussed the mental health benefits, community engagement and dignity that can come from establishing and operating a money-generating endeavour. It is not a large grant but would be very helpful.  We will keep you posted.

We are excited to report we now have eight pilot testers and we've been busily conducting orientation meetings.  Those meetings are to explain our services, discuss their goals and how we could help, and to discuss their needs.  A few times it has been to give them advice with regard to the NDIS. Our goal is to have ten pilot testers, to give our systems a good test. Pilot testers don't pay for our services for six months (including receiving 10 hours of on-call mentoring for free).  In total that's $1600 worth of services for free. Do you know someone who wants to monetise a hobby/craft, might be able to conduct a gig-based micro business, or has a burning idea for a small business?  Encourage them to contact us at either [email protected] or 0436 480 769.

This 1:45m video is to support the ethical inclusion in research of people who live with a disability. Gary is proud to have been the chief investigator of the project that culminated in this video.  In addition to being CEO of Enabled.vip, he is the Managing Director of AHRECS.

We are delighted and very grateful DLI has included in their newsletter a note about our pilot test.  We already have two enquiries from it!  DLI is a great service and community.  We highly recommend joining to anyone who likes with a disability. It's a paid community, but it's well worth the money.  If you are an NDIS client, you should be able to put the fee through your Social and Community budget line (Cat 4).  For NDIS clients, it's a very constructive and positive use of your Category 4 funds. If you don't have an NDIS plan, the networking and training, as well as the sense of community make the fee extremely good value. They have some great events and great activities.   Gary is a big fan.   :)...

We're big fans of the positive role pets can play in mental health, recovery and even support.  Jo had an amazing experience of her cat warning her about a household catastrophe.

This amazing a was produced by Jo Kek-Pamenter, a member of our Board and an incredibly talented designer. We love your work Jo! Do you know a business or foundation on the lookout for a worthy outfit to support?  We'd be thrilled to chat with them [email protected]

You may have noticed gaps in the numbers of published Discussion Sheets.  This reflects the order in which Sheets were produced.  We are currently working on new sheets to fill the gaps.   The drafting work is being done by two of our volunteers, for which we are very grateful...

Even though the reported trend is about Europe, this item provides powerful insight into the growth of the gig economy.  This is one of the reasons Enabled.vip has embraced the idea of the potential gig work has for Australians who live with a disability.

Friday we had a terrific meeting of the Enabled.vip Advisory Board. Some great discussion about the state-of-play, the grant applications we are working on, recent induction meetings with new pilot testers and some operational matters. The Board meets quarterly, so it will be September until we meet again.  Having said that, there is a lot to keep us busy in the meantime.

Thrilled to share that since 10 am Thursday and for the next 6 hours we will be: (i) Conducting two in-person induction meetings with pilot testers; (ii) Getting our collaborators together to discuss two big grant applications we are currently working on; and (iii) Conducting an advisory Board meeting...

There are currently 81 great items in the Resource Library - https://enabled.vip/resources/.  All of them handpicked by our team (that includes experienced business people who live with a disability, scholars and our Chairperson) for Australian entrepreneurs who live with a disability. This includes 21 Discussion Sheets - 3-6 pages of practical hints and tips written especially for our members. We are currently adding one resource and one sheet per day, including one Living Well item per week...

We have received a terrific report from Impact Innovation Group.  It was packed with great ideas, tips and suggestions.  We couldn't be more grateful for Tracy's work. It was like receiving mentoring from a knowledgeable peer or paying for a business development consultant for advice. Best of all this was a free service funded by the Queensland government...

We've been busily teeing up induction and 'first contact' video meetings with pilot testers. Work is continuing on our NCIP Round 2 application. It's hard but exciting/important work.

At least one member of the Enabled.vip happily accepts he's an Apple fanboi, so we are delighted by this news.

All members of Enabled.vip will be entitled to a stall and presence in The BAZAAR.  Perhaps this opportunity seems most relevant to our gigster members, but we suggest it can be very valuable for our small business members as well. Before you've invested time, energy and money in building a website for your business, it provides a free internet presence for your business, which lists your endeavour's name, work and contact details. You might also decide to offer some services on a gig basis, at least until you build a revenue stream...

On Friday afternoon, Gary met with Andrew and Ange of Social Scaffolding, we discussed our areas of interest, our mutual passion (the psychological benefits of someone earning from their endeavours) and potential for collaboration and the value of hosting a free panel event about disability entrepreneurship. Keep an eye on this feed for details. We are quite excited about the possibilities of collaboration.

If, like two members of our Board you live with Multiple Sclerosis, HUZZAH! today is your day. 🙂 There are many symptoms of MS that are invisible to lay strangers that can be debilitating and make 'regular' work impossible.  If you live with MS, we would love to hear from you. Contact us on [email protected] or phone 0436 480 769...

This week, Gary had a terrific meeting with Dr Tracy Stanley, Senior Associate of the Impact Innovation Group Pty Ltd. The group provides support through Queensland Business to assist entrepreneurs and innovators. As a fledgling not-for-profit, we weren't sure how relevant and useful this would be. But this was a terrific meeting. Tracy and Gary discussed a few very useful ideas and this largely confirmed the platform is a great idea, that will serve not only the needs of Australians who live with a disability, it also complements what the Government is trying to promote for innovation in Queensland.

Yesterday, we met with an innovation adviser to discuss some very interesting and useful ideas for realising the potential of the platform. In the last 36 hours we worked on: 1. A detailed application for a large NCIP Round 2 grant - which involves Enabled.vip, MS Queensland, the Griffith Business School and maybe one other (tbc) as partners.  The grant would cover the rest of our setup and our first year of operation. 2. Chatting to Mindhive about the connections between us and possibilities for tapping into the crowd...

Tara Moss is an inspiring model who lives with a disability.  This short clip is well worth a watch.

One idea for a gig could be listing yourself to assess/judge how disability-friendly a room/venue/service is. As a person who lives with a disability, you are extremely well placed to conduct such an assessment. As part of the Enabled.vip service, you will automatically get a stall in The BAZAAR. You can also list your availability to do such assessments in local Facebook pages and other community news services. An important component of such a service will be producing a polished and professional report. The platform will provide tips in terms of that kind of work.

Thanks to an introduction by Elizabeth Kendall (Enabled.vip Board member, THC Executive Director, Griffith University) we have sent some information about the platform to this impressive group. We would be thrilled to form some sort of partnership with them, but we are conscious that we are very early journey and still a bit of a minnow in a very large pond. We will definitely keep you posted about any developments.

Last week we submitted three new applications for grant funding.  These have been a combination of small and large grants. While we can conduct our pilot and commence operations with the funding, team and resources we currently have, the additional funding would make life a lot less stressful. If you come across any grants you think might be relevant or sources of funding you feel are worth exploring, please email us at [email protected]

Today, we submitted a revised application to the AMP’s Tomorrow Fund.  We are very happy with it and feel it put a strong foot forward for the platform.  Having said that, it's a large grant, which we are sure will generate a lot of applications, so we are keeping our expectations in check. If successful the grant monies would enable us to: (i) buy out some of Gary's time from Griffith University...

Apparently, 30% of Australians are reluctant to be vaccinated, while some of the most vulnerable and at risk members of society wait in anguished frustration.  In this great ABC interview, Christina Ryan, CEO / Founder of DLI reflects on the plight of Australians who live with a disability.

We have drafted an initial pitch for corporate sponsorship and we are finetuning it on the basis of generous advice from our professional networks.  Even though our applications for grants are continuing, we have decided to explore whether we can attract corporate contributions.  In this context, the generous support offered by MS Queensland (accepting donations and issuing Tax Receipts on our behalf) will be invaluable...

Today we wrote to Care Coordinators operating in Queensland, to tell them about our platform and service, our pilot test and to offer services worth $1,500 to any of their members who are interested in becoming a pilot tester. If you know of anyone who might be interested, encourage to email Gary Allen at [email protected] or to phone 0419 653 028. Since making a limited start, we have posted 17 resources including 08 Enabled Discussion Sheets.

It's a video from 2014, but we thought we might share this video about our CEO's MS story. Gary is an experienced manager of a multi-national consultancy firm and completed his doctorate in 2006. He is also co-founder of this platform and is a passionate advocate for the value of disability entrepreneurship...

Last week, we started work on an application for the AMP Tomorrow Fund. It's a reasonably large grant and it's a very competitive scheme.  Consequently, we are keeping our expectations realistic. The money would make a big difference to the operation of the platform...

Gary has grown a successful international consultancy firm from a gig-based side hustle.  He's passionate about it as a way to generate an income and build a business.  This story illustrates this idea with dollar amounts...

We are delighted to include Bendigo Bank on our partner/supporters page. Their community grant fund has already us a small, but an important grant.  We value that support because it covered an important bill. We have another and larger application under review with them, so everyone keep your fingers crossed until we hear the outcome...

FOF BIRD SPOTTER/PHOTOGRAPHER/FAN - If your disability has curtailed your ability to visit the great outdoors, clipped your wings (pun thoroughly intended) and/or handle the necessary gear.  Perhaps start a blog/webpage where you review new equipment, share tips, talk about sites and talk about breeds. Experience suggests that if you start off with a free site, intended to contribute to the community of practice in that space, you are more likely to be successful when you seek to add paid features to your efforts. Such as a subscriber's area (perhaps using a service like Patreon) - where supporters, followers and fans could pay a few dollars a month to support your efforts. One idea that you could use on your patrons' page would be an advanced copy of something that you will be posting to your main page. This kind of approach could be pursued from home, with little more expense than a home computer, internet access, web hosting and a Patreon account. A more advanced approach to this might involve a YouTube channel, a webinar, or a regular podcast...

Do you like our idea of supporting a community of practice in the disability entrepreneurship space? With the related question, of the values of entrepreneurship in the lives of people who live with a disability, and the elegance of clients of the NDIS creating a new NDIS service. If you do, we would be thrilled to hear from you.  If you don't, we would still like to hear from you, so we can refine our thinking in terms of our approach. 

Over the last two days, we've added four items to the Resource Library. This has included a combination of government, community and academic resources. It also includes sheets produced exclusively by the Enabled.vip platform for our members...

Many people these days are struggling with tough choices. For people who live with a disability, the stakes can be matters of life and death. For people living with a disability who are aged under 50, they need the government to providing great information, not leaving us in the dark.

Have decided to start a modified pilot test, we have furiously thrown ourselves into the following work. 1. Tidying up a component of the resource and discussion sheets; 2. Organising our next six blog posts; 3. Updating our booked webinar speakers; 4. Updating our booked mentors and supporters; and 5. Updating our GBS and THC friends/colleagues/supporters...

Chithrani is a great supporter doing work for us to set up the platform. She is currently compiling a list of NDIS Care Coordinators. Our current plan is to write to them about the pilot to see whether they have someone who would like to help us to refine the platform...

Rather than leaving our current pilot testers hanging, we have decided to commence a modified version of the pilot Monday. For now we will: 1) Conduct one-on-one induction meetings; 2) Start adding resources to the library on a daily basis; 3) Start offering mentoring to our testers; and 4) Start our monthly blog posts...

Yesterday we sent information about the Pilot Test of the platform to all NDIS Plan Managers. We are also currently compiling a list of all NDIS Care Coordinators so we can also send them this information.  This is part of our effort to recruit ten pilot testers to help us identify quirks/bugs or matters that require refinement.

The inclusion of actors who live with a disability in the movies is a great way to promote awareness, dignity and inclusion.  We congratulate Paramount for this decision.

We are delighted to report that we have finished our draft piece for the Wax Lyrical magazine. In addition to talking about the idea and planned operation of the platform, we have used the opportunity to ask the Mindhive community for some suggestions for the development of the platform.  Given the size of the magazine's readership and how impressive a group they are, we are really excited to share with them news and information about the Enabled.vip platform...

The Enabled.vip team has produced a flyer about the pilot test of the platform (Thanks Gerard!). We are looking for around seven Australian would-be entrepreneurs who are prepared to be pilot testers. This is over $1,500 of service and support FREE, while you help us refine the platform. The categories of endeavours we will be supporting are: * monetising a hobby or craft; * establishing a gig-based micro business; and * establishing a small business,

In the last few days, we finalised our application for a large international prize. As we said before, we don't have high expectations for the outcome of this, but we thought it worth trying. We will, of course, keep our network of friends, supporters and other members of the platform informed...

This week, we completed testing of the internal/peer support discussion board. This is referred to as 'Ask the Tribe'. We also created an initial posting to the Board, which includes some prompts for members to make their own posts. The next stage of testing for this Board is the Pilot Testing of it by our new pilot testers...

A great demonstration of how a side hustle can become a successful business. Our hope is the platform will assist Australians who live with a disability to achieve similar successes.

We are thrilled to share that Gary has been invited to write a piece about the platform for Wax Lyrical. This is a publication of MindHive, which has a readership of about 10,000.  This is a fantastic opportunity to spread the word about the Enabled.vip platform and see if we can engage with additional volunteers and funders...

Gary is currently chatting to the electorate office of his Federal MP about an Expression of Interest for a community grant for supporting volunteers.  This would be a collaboration between the platform and The Hopkins Centre on producing educational and resource material for citizen-scientists (e.g. co-researchers) and members of community reference groups. This is particularly for Queenslanders who live with a disability.  This is not Enabled.vip per se, but it is a useful area of overlap for the Centre and the platform...

We are currently planning to produce bumper stickers promoting the platform. Enabled.vip www.enabled.vip A virtual business incubator for Australians who live with a disability Once we have them printed, would you add it to the bumper of your ride?  If so, let us know ([email protected]) and we'll post it to you...

We are very close to having one year's worth of resource items to add to our library. The plan is every morning to add one new resource item to the website.  And add one discussion or resource sheet to the site every afternoon. The resource library will be filled with items that will be of use/interest to our members...

We are continuing to invite guests to facilitate webinars.  We already have a great line up. If you know someone that would be good for a webinar, interview or panel discussion encourage them to send us an email to [email protected] and we can discuss timing and technical matters. Potential speakers could be: (i) A person who has practiced/or is experienced in an area that corresponds to the areas in which we work~;

This story is a great reflection on two topics of significance to Enabled.vip members and supporters, ideas for gig work and the positive impact of pets in our lives...

On Thursday, late afternoon, Gary participated in a Mindhive Community Monthly Networking Event. If you don't already know about Mindhive, it is a terrific platform to bring together expertise from the academic, corporate, public sector, NGO and research spheres to tackle society's massive problems. Gary was invited to briefly speak about the Enabled.vip platform and there was great interest from the other Mindhive participants. He was invited to give a longer talk about our platform to a later Mindhive gathering. We were a little bitty entity in a very impressive digital room...

Yesterday, we updated the page for our partners and supporters to include a link to MS Queensland (who are amazing). We have also indicated MS Queensland have agreed to accept donations and issue tax receipts on our behalf. Another partner/supporter should be added in the next few days...

We are thrilled to report that doing a work placement with the platform is now listed on the Griffith University Work Integrated Learning board.  Students will be able to participate in activity in the policy and resource drafting, activity related to fundraising and assisting us with our monthly webinars and blog posts.  Gary has been employed in the tertiary sector since 1997, so it shouldn't be a surprise he was enthusiastic about this idea. We are delighted because there might be a few jobs that Gary isn't trying to do on his own...

Over the last few days, we have lodged a few grant applications. Including one that we happily admit that our chances of winning are comparable to our chances of an Australian winning Lotto in the US. With our sincere thanks to the Queensland Social Enterprise Council for sharing some great listings for members of QSEC.  We have also submitted an Expression of Interest for a Commonwealth grant scheme. This is part of the collaboration between the platform and Griffith University. In addition, we have lodged another application to the Moreton Shire Council grants area...

As part of our collection of images to use on our site, in our materials and generally for the platform, we now have 1416 quality disability images. These are all royalty-free and sourced from Shutterstock or iStock. We are delighted by these images and excited to put them to great use...

When Labor first introduced the NDIS, it put Australia in an enviable position of the first such national insurance scheme for people who live with a disability. For many of us, it has been very really a life-changer and opens doors of opportunity. So it is thoroughly disheartening, but not entirely unexpected, that the Federal Government is looking for ways to wind back the scheme and look for ways to save money...

As we are working our way through the administrative user interface testing, we have spotted some tweaks from our original ideas to improve the system. This is all about us building towards starting pilot testing. It is a laborious process, but we have the combined benefits of being nerds and passionate about the potential of this platform. We are looking forward to starting the actual pilot test. If you know anyone who you think would be a good pilot tester, encourage them to send an email to [email protected]

Of late, we have shared news stories about both employers seeing the value of engaging staff who live with a disability, as well as people who live with a disability who are enjoying success with an enterprise they have set up. These are things to celebrate and congratulate. However, that is not the full story.  Members of the team have heard, and in some cases experienced prejudice and intolerance at work. These can see people unfairly dismissed, bullied or otherwise mistreated...

We have started writing our first batch of blog posts for members of the platform. These will provide useful tips, information, comments on the news, information about features of the platform and quirky conversations. Everyone can see a list of the posts and a preview of the post, only members can see the full text, print, copy or search the library...

It is with no small amount of disappointment we report that our application for a DSS grant was unsuccessful. Our sincere thanks to everyone who reached out to their Federal MP about our application. Even though we are saddened by this news, we are not too despondent. With the money we have already raised and our work behind the scenes, we are able to press ahead with our Pilot Test...

It is terrific that this Queensland small business not only provides employment opportunities to people who live with a disability, but they recognise the powerful lived experience and perspective to their work. Sadly, there are many businesses that don't share this enlightened and constructive approach.  More on this later. Do you know someone who might be interested in pursuing their own entrepreneurial ideas/potential?  Encourage them to complete the short form at: https://enabled.vip/login-register/

Enabled.vip is extremely fortunate to have as a member of our Advisory Board the terrifically talented @Joe-Anne Kek-Pamenter. Jo has very generously donated her time to work on infographics, brochures and other graphic material for the platform. In addition to being incredibly grateful, we think Jo is a great role model, an Australian who lives with a disability who has turned her passion and skill into a business and source of income...

Next Tuesday the Enabled.vip team will be meeting with staff from Minter Ellison.  This will discuss the platform pursuing obtaining DRG status.  Minter Ellison is doing this work pro bono as part of the RISE programme coordinated by the Social Impact Hub...

Over the weekend, we lodged an application for a small grant. This is a community grant scheme, offered by the Moreton Bay Regional Council.  If we were successful, this money would be used to help fund our engagement with Griffith University. The work being done by the University includes developing micro-courses for members of the platform, as well as professional development for our mentors.  It is only a small grant and success is by no means likely, but the input of funding could be very helpful for the development of the platform and its future.

A few pieces of recent exciting news about the platform: * MS Queensland has agreed to accept Australian donations on our behalf and issue tax receipts; * Plan Partners (a large NDIS plan management company) has agreed to help us recruit 7 more pilot testers; * The Griffith Business School will be sending some students our way to do their work experience with us...

Ultimately the plan is for us to pursue DGR status for the platform. That status will enable us to provide Tax Receipts for the donations we receive. Indeed, Minter Ellison is providing us with valuable pro bono legal advice in that regard.  In the meantime, we are desperately looking at options to fund the full development and the first year of operation of the platform.  With that in mind, we are incredibly grateful to MS Queensland, who have agreed to accept donations in support of the platform and provide Tax Receipts to the donors...

We are continuing with the busy process of administrative testing of the platform and sending notes to our web developers.  It is a difficult and time-intensive process.  but ultimately important and a valuable precursor to pilot testing. In the meantime: (i) We are preparing to reach out to another source of potential pilot testers; (ii) We are about to pay the first instalment to Griffith University for the micro-credentialling courses they will producing for members of Enabled.vip; (iii) We are continuing to identify and reach out to potential webinar speakers and blog posters; and (iv) Work on in-house resources...

In chatting with potential pilot testers, we've already had some great conversations and it looks like we will have an impressive pool of pilot testers. It is hard not to be intimidated by their expertise, lived experience and how they have responded to discrimination and isolation. The experience has reinforced some of the assumptions that underpin the Enabled.vip platform...

In the space of a handful of paragraphs, this account moved us through horror, fury and dismay.  It eloquently demonstrates the point that Australians who live with a disability are not only capable of getting the work done, they can desirable skills, experience and attributes. Instead, they are isolated and disrespected by thoughtlessness and ignorance.  That's why, to a relatively higher proportion than their able-bodied peers, people who live with a disability in North America, the UK and Europe start and operate their own enterprise. We want to help Australians who live with a disability to do the same. Do you know someone who might be interested?  Encourage them to complete the short form at: https://enabled.vip/login-register/

You may recall that last year, we took a punt on applying for a large DSS grant.  We knew it was a longshot, but the funds would not only see us completely set up, they would make a huge difference to our first year of operation. So we applied.  Apparently. we will be told in April if we were successful. As you may also recall, we've had some indications that weren't promising...

We are very happy for you to use it, especially if you are promoting the untapped potential of Australians who live with a disability. Not a high enough quality or size?  Not a problem, we have large print-ready versions of all the images.  Send an email to [email protected] and provide the image code (which is in the file name). We do ask if you could spread the word about us and our virtual incubator service...

This week, Gary had a great Zoom chat with @Jacqueline Cannon of the BLCW Program.  They discussed the goals and operation of the Program and Platform.  They also discussed synergy and opportunities to collaborate. Jacqueline was very generous with her time and the two of them discussed the NDIS, the pilot test, our Board, our Patron, Griffith University, Fiverr, funding avenues, student work opportunities and promotional videos. In short, it was a terrific contact and we plan to continue working together.  So watch this space...