Unconventional Jobs and Earning Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities

Disability affects every aspect of a person’s life including financial independence. And, financial independence is something that can completely transform anybody’s life. It is a fact that disability restricts one or the other bodily function thus reducing earning opportunities for a person with a disability. But, a disability, regardless of its severity, is neither the end of the world nor the end of your financial independence. Whether you are a person born with a disability or someone who has acquired it later in life, this article is for you.

In this article, we are listing some non-traditional earning opportunities for persons with disabilities. The items listed here may or may not directly provide you with the answer but you will surely get some ideas to start your journey towards financial independence.

Importance of Financial Independence for a Person with Disability

“Money is not everything. Make sure you earn a lot before speaking such nonsense” ~ Warren Buffet.

Money is important. And, we all know it. Right?

Money becomes even more important when you have got a disability. The overall cost of living for a person with a disability is higher than for those without a disability. You may need to take regular medication and therapies. You may need to hire help for work you cannot manage yourself. Inaccessibility of public infrastructure too may add an extra burden on your budget. So, you need to have money at your disposal to live a life.

Financial independence can also mean overall independence of living a life with dignity for persons with disability. This is even more relevant for PwD belonging to countries where the social security model is not so strong. In such cases, financial dependence may force the person to live under sub-human conditions.

Whatever is the kind and severity of your disability, you can be financially independent. You just need to believe that you can be independent and focus more on your capabilities rather than disabilities. Technological advancements have made things much easier today.

Persons with Disabilities: List of Unconventional Ways of Becoming Financially Independent

To ensure that we are on the same page, let us clarify what we mean when we say unconventional ways. In our day-to-day life whenever we talk about earning a living, we generally talk about getting a ‘job’. So, getting a job is the most conventional way of gaining financial independence. But, in the majority of cases, persons with disabilities do not get equal job opportunities as they are deemed not fit for the job by the employers.

Here we are focusing on ‘creating opportunity’ rather than ‘seeking opportunity’. Without any further ado, let’s start our list –

Trading in Stock and Commodities Market

Investment and trading may not seem very unconventional at first glance as a lot of people invest their savings in the stock market. But, for most people, it is just a stream of side income. If you are a person with a disability seeking to achieve financial independence, the stock and commodities market might be the right place for you to start.

You don’t need much to start your journey as a full-time trader. You need to enhance your knowledge about the market and strategies to earn from the market. Share trading has unlimited possibilities for growth and development, provided you are disciplined and dedicated.

You do not need to go anywhere to be a trader. You can do everything sitting at your place of comfort. As a tool, you will only need a computer or a mobile phone and your dedication to learning and executing.

Being a Coach and a Trainer

If you are someone with a skill that can benefit others, no disability can stop you from being financially independent. You do not need to have a nice big academy or any such formal infrastructure. Thanks to the technology you can do this sitting at your home. You will just need a smartphone and good internet connectivity to start training and coaching people in whatever you can do best.

From art to cooking and gardening to driving, today people are teaching everything online. And, the most important thing is that they all get plenty of viewers. So, think well. Do you have any skills that you can teach others?

Let us make it clear here that you do not need to be an expert to start tutoring online. Even if you feel that you are at the beginners’ level – remember there are people who have not tried their hands at that skill yet. This simply means that you can always find people who are interested to learn from you. There are many readymade platforms where you can start your courses. And, as you grow you can have your own platform.

Becoming a Motivational Speaker

Do you know what people try to see in a person with a disability the most? Inspiration! If you are living with a disability with a smile on your face, you automatically become an ‘inspiration’ for many. So, why not cash upon this advantage?

We don’t have worldwide data but the motivational speaking industry was worth $1.9 billion in 2020 only. This industry is growing rapidly not only in the US but also worldwide. The modern lifestyle is undoubtedly stressful and draining. People need someone to pump confidence and motivation in them to keep them going. And, you have the potential to be that strong support for society.

It is obvious that you need to work on your communication skills and confidence to be a motivational speaker. But, you do not need a big stage to start. You can utilize social media and services like podcasts and video channels to build your reputation gradually. It may take little time but if you sound truly motivating you can get high-earning opportunities.

Becoming an Influencer

Let us state this very plainly – you do not need any particular skill or talent to become an influencer today. Though many influencers are adding value to people’s life many are enjoying the status just because they are regularly visible on social media platforms with their content.

If you think you do not have any particular skill then also you can become a social media influencer. If you are active on any social media channel you might have come across influencers who just share about their daily life and people follow them. There are many persons with disability who have gained a huge following list by sharing things like how they manage their daily life.

People are interested to know how a blind person chooses and matches their dress. They want to see how a person in a wheelchair transfers to their bed or car. They want to know how deaf and mute people interact with their partners. The point is that people are interested to know how PwDs manage to live normally and if you can give them the answer you will get the following. Think what can regularly keep you in people’s attention and you can crack an unconventional mode of earning with unlimited possibilities.

Bottom-line

You do not need to worry if the doors of conventional jobs are shut for you. You just need to think out of the box. Focus on being self-employed i.e. you do not have to rely on someone else for giving you a monthly paycheck. Being a freelancer is yet another way to use your skills to earn a decent living for yourself. The above list is just to anchor you to think of something different and search for a way to earn money in unconventional but legal ways. Hope this article helped you in choosing or thinking of any way to find your financial independence. Some roads can have longer travel time but getting into the journey is much better than sitting idle.