Is Your Business Accessible to Everyone?
Does compliance with accessibility laws mean that your establishment is accessible?
Sadly, no.
Legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act is a starting point, not an end point. Over 20% of the population has unique access needs. The reality is that people encounter all kinds of access challenges that laws like these don’t begin to consider.
are you ignoring 20% of your customers?
Being truly accessible to your customers begins with you and how you run your business. Approaching Access helps business owners create environments that are truly accessible and inclusive of everyone.
How? By exceeding expectations, connecting to community, and minimizing harm.
Exceeding Expectations
Instead of doing the bare minimum, Approaching Access looks at a variety of access needs to help craft an accessibility plan for your business. Your establishment becomes a stand-out option as a place that everyone can patronize.
Connecting to Community
Being consciously accessible and inclusive lets your entire community know you value them – something most businesses struggle or outright fail to do. Grow your business and do more good in your community by making it accessible to your entire community.
Minimizing Harm
The world isn’t currently built for people with access needs. It’s a constant sense of invalidation and harm that you have the ability to reduce. Implementing an Accessibility Plan can help you increase your company’s reach, impact, and revenue.
Is your company accessible?
Take our free self-assessment and discover things you can do today to make your company more accessible to everyone.
a note from the founder
Approaching Access is not just a business to me, but a vehicle for the start of a revolution in the way we think about access and inclusion. When I want to go to an establishment that isn’t accessible to me, the implicit message is that I don’t matter as much as the people it is accessible to – that I’m not worthy, as a person with disabilities, to get to take part it whatever it is that you offer. It’s a horrible feeling.
I started Approaching Access because:
1) I am not, nor is any disabled person, worth less than another human. Period. This means that someone has to help business owners be better about access. This work is a way to lessen the burden put on people with access needs & to mitigate the harm caused by living in a world where access is not a give-in.
2) I’ve seen through my own experiences of advocating for myself that many entrepreneurs very much care about their customers with unique access needs, but they don’t know how to be supportive. I have the knowledge and tools to help them be able to provide that support.
I hope you’ll join me in making our community more accessible & inclusive.
~ Riley Dwight
Riley is the creative force behind and founder of Approaching Access. They are a superfat, disabled, queer, non-binary person. Riley came to this work by virtue of advocating for themselves in places that aren’t accessible. In continually engaging small business owners around the topic of accessibility, Riley realized that many business owners do not see the harm caused when their businesses aren’t accessible. These businesses also don’t recognize the unique leadership position they occupy when it comes to choosing accessibility and inclusion options that serve people with accessibility needs.
It’s time to include everyone
Already taken the assessment?
Sign up for a Discovery Session and learn what your business can do to be truly accessible & inclusive of all your customers.
