Encouraging firms to be user-friendly to disabled

May 24 2007 By The Journal

A North Tyneside web-based company is aiming to encourage millions of SMEs to become more user-friendly and accessible to those with disabilities.

With over 10 million disabled people in the UK possessing a spending power of over £80bn per annum, North-East entrepreneurs Steve Wilkinson and Nancy Haughey have launched findingways.co.uk to encourage businesses to accommodate those with disabilities and attract custom from a much wider market.

Born with spina bifida, Steve, from Kingston Park, is a wheelchair user and has first-hand experience of the often poor accessibility of public services and places that non-disabled people take for granted.

Steve envisages that the site will not only attract interest from those with disabilities but also from elderly people and parents of young children using prams and pushchairs who have an interest in accessibility.

With help from Business Link, findingways.co.uk aims to raise the profile of those businesses that are accessible to disadvantaged people, while also encouraging more businesses to improve their premises and make them user-friendly. The site provides visitors with detailed information about the accessibility of public venues and facilities across the UK and allows them to submit reviews and share personal experiences with others online.

And for those visitors who recommend and register a business, findingways.co.uk will donate a percentage of the website registration fee to that person's nominated charity.

As a passionate campaigner for all disability issues and with a 30-year career in IT, Steve developed the business idea with business partner Nancy - a master NLP practitioner and life coach.

Nancy said: "We originally planned to launch the company on a regional level but have since gained national and international interest and through time we hope to develop the same web-based service throughout the world, starting in Spain, Belgium, France, Portugal and Australia where we already have good links.

"The business is essentially about making people aware and changing the culture around accessibility. While many of our regular visitors will be disabled, elderly or parents with prams and pushchairs, we believe that our online database will be genuinely useful for all."

Nancy and Steve anticipate businesses that take the time to list themselves on the directory will raise awareness to all about their business, improve their image by being seen as inclusive and access-friendly, which will ultimately increase the number of visitors and sales.

Nancy added: "With support from Business Link we've carried out extensive market research and believe in sharing best practice.

"Our research has shown that there is a clear demand for a comprehensive, honest and genuinely useful online directory of accessible restaurants, cafes, pubs, clubs, hotels, shops, museums, entertainment attractions and other public buildings so people can plan trips in advance."

With support from Business Link, Steve and Nancy developed an initial website and are now in the process of constructing a comprehensive website which is due to go live in the summer.

For more information, call (0845) 600-9006 or visit www.businesslinknortheast.co.uk