Canberra is booming with new businesses, new suburbs and new startups popping up quicker than we can count It’s a city people want to live in and a city that its locals love. A city filled with talent, entrepreneurial minds and creative ideas that connect more than just people…Ideas that connect a city and a community. In a new HerCanberra series with Candice Edye and Anna Pino from Lighthouse Innovation, you can read about local businesses and the brains behind them, the lessons learnt and how you can apply them to your own innovative ideas and dreams. 

Drawing on her own experience for inspiration, Jessica May created a way to connect people with disabilities with employment opportunities.

To be human is to have issues. Something could happen to anyone of us and we could end up suffering from a disability and be unable to work in a traditional 9 to 5 job.

Not to be all doom and gloom or anything, but as you get older the chances of something happening that may affect your capacity to work increases substantially. In fact, your risk of living with a disability more than doubles between 24 and 45 years and then increases again to 31% of 55-64 year olds.

A new resource for those with a disability comes from Canberra entrepreneur, Jessica May, who recently launched her company Enabled Employment; a recruitment site that connects people with disabilities with teleworking opportunities.

Anna and Candice chat to Jessica to find out what motivated her to start her business and the lessons she’s learnt along the way.

The idea for Enabled Employment came from Jessica’s own experience as a person working with a disability. After the birth of her first child, Jessica’s existing anxiety was aggravated by a thyroid condition. On returning to work in the Public Service, she found everything was different.

“As soon as they found out I had a disability, the whole world changed. I had all my work taken away from me because my employers did not want me to get too stressed or anxious,” says Jessica.

“I had to sit there for six to 12 months with next to nothing to do and I started to think there has to be a better way than this for people with a disability returning to work.”

The type of disability a person has can affect their likelihood of participating in the workforce and according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics those with a psychological disability have the lowest participation rate. Because mental illness can be episodic with good periods and bad periods, people with a mental illness can experience significant work disruption.

“After working through the difficulties associated with my disability, I’ve noticed resilience is a really big thing you need,” Jessica says.

“I believe people with a disability tend to have to work at 200% to be recognised at 100%; you need to be ready to try and do anything.

“Anything can be successful as long as you work hard at it; for me, when I’m working and working hard my mental health is so much better.”

It’s hard enough to start a business without a disability, but starting a business with a disability can be really challenging so it’s important to build a strong support network around you. Jessica sought advice and support from Canberra BusinessPoint and Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre. She also successfully applied for an ACT Government Innovation Connect (ICON) Grant and was accepted into the GRIFFIN Accelerator program.

“I had no idea there was such an innovative culture in Canberra,” she says.

“You don’t realise but because Parliament [House] is here, you have different businesses travelling to Canberra regularly as well as big businesses that are based here.

“There are also really great resources in Canberra. There are really good courses and workshops that can be a great support, and in the end everyone you talk to wants to help.”

Since launching in April, the growth of Enabled Employment has been incredible. There have been over 400 employees registered from receptionists and bookkeepers to lawyers, software developers and marketers. A number of partnerships have also been locked in with multiple government agencies throughout Australia.

“This last part has been frenetic and fast, and amazing, but there was a lot of work that went on behind it,”says Jessica.

“Even though we’ve had such big growth and everything is going so well after three months, it’s because we have contacted hundreds of people and held many meetings, and worked really hard.”

For Jessica, there are three lessons she’s learnt along the way.

“Listen to the advice people give you; do your research; and just have fun! Enjoy what you’re doing – you have to be enjoying it if you’re going to put in the hours of hard work,” she says.

As for the future of Enabled Employment, Jessica is really excited about the prospect of expanding into the international market, building their client base and extending their service offering to the indigenous community.

“It’s been really exciting,” says Jessica “Things are looking really prosperous for the future.”