[nabs-l] Blind people and the sharing economy

[Kaiti Shelton]

I've seen a few blind people do this already so my guess is that it is
accessible, but my sister started selling Scentsy and I think I will
begin to do the same in a few months.  Scentsy is a collection of
scented wax, candle warmers, essential oils, scented stuffed animals
for kids, and other products that smell amazing and sell well.  I
bought a warmer and some of the wax in a few scents from my sister and
love it.  It's nice because there are also scents men would like and
the products are affordable.

There are other similar products blind people can consult for.  Don't
quote me on accessibility here because I haven't necessarily seen
blind people do these, but there are things like Jam Berry, Mary K,
beauty product sales etc that are especially great for women to sell.
Fitness programs like Plexus and Advocare are also out there (Plexus
is another one my sister sold and I would highly recommend selling for
them).  There are probably other things out there more geared towards
men too, I just don't know about them.  I think just looking around
Google would turn up interesting results.

On 12/10/15, Phil via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hey Joe,
>
> I ask for 3 reasons.
> First, to get us sharing about resources and personal experience with
> the sharing economy as freelancers.
> Two, to get us start thinking more possible ways blind people can
> leverage sharing economy for our community, like BookShare or Be My
> Eyes which are totally a blind thing.
> And three, deaf community has their own Yellow Page. When a deaf
> person needs to hire a plumber, she can hire a deaf plumber. This is
> powerful for job creation and economic development within the
> disability community as it keeps the money within the disability
> community.
>
>
>
> Best,
> Phil
>
>
>
> On 12/10/15, Joe via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Phil,
>>
>> I don't know that it's a blindness specific thing. Blind people have a
>> myriad of talents that could translate to entrepreneurial ventures. Are
>> you
>> asking because you're interested in doing something yourself, or are you
>> asking as a broader question of blindness ability?
>>
>> Joe
>>
>> --
>> Musings of a Work in Progress:
>> www.JoeOrozco.com/
>>
>> Twitter: @ScribblingJoe
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Phil via
>> nabs-l
>> Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2015 1:59 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Cc: Phil
>> Subject: [nabs-l] Blind people and the sharing economy
>>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> How do you think blind and low vision folks can make some income and
>> participate in the sharing economy?
>>
>> A recent survey shows that 30% of Americans work as freelancers or do
>> gigs
>> rather than traditional jobs. 400000 people now drive for Uber.
>> If you have a spare room or basement you can rent it out through AirBnB
>> or
>> list it on Craigslist. And of course the blind community was a pioneer in
>> sharing economy with BookShare and recently Be My Eyes.
>>
>> So, what are your ideas both to participate in the sharing economy as a
>> seller or provider, and ideas for new sharing platforms and apps for the
>> blind community?
>>
>> Best,
>> Phil
>>
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-- 
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton-Music Therapy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present
Secretary, The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts
Division 2015-2016

"You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"