What You’ll Learn About Business Accessibility in This Episode
In this value-packed episode, we’re joined by accessibility expert Angela Fowler, who shares how making your business accessible isn’t just compliance—it’s a competitive advantage that opens the door to the $2.1 trillion buying power of people with disabilities. Angela, who is totally blind, brings unique insights as both a coach and consultant, helping businesses leverage accessibility to increase profitability while creating more inclusive experiences for everyone.
The Business Case for Accessibility: Beyond Compliance
Angela explains her unique approach to accessibility advocacy: “Most people just don’t know. A) benefits of having an accessible business, and b) what it takes to make their business accessible. It’s an awareness problem.” Rather than focusing on legal compliance, Angela approaches accessibility as a business opportunity, showing organizations how small changes can dramatically increase their potential customer base.
She emphasizes that accessibility isn’t about checking regulatory boxes: “If hitting people over the head with the ADA was effective, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. It doesn’t work. People don’t like being told what to do. People like being told how doing something benefits them.”
Misconceptions About Disability and Accessibility
Business leaders often have critical misconceptions about disability. Angela points out two major ones: “disability is always gonna be visible. It’s not. 25% of the population, give or take, has some form of disability, but you don’t see that because some, a lot of disabilities are inherently invisible.”
Second, “society as a general rule…greatly underestimates what people with disabilities are capable of.” These misconceptions prevent businesses from recognizing both the talent and market potential of the disability community.
Accessibility Implementation: Start Small for Big Impact
Angela recommends starting with cost-effective solutions that create immediate benefits for small business owners with limited resources. She suggests ensuring all content includes descriptions so people don’t need vision to appreciate it: “For example, if you’re selling a product…make sure that your product description includes all the information that a blind person would need to know.”
She also advises focusing on “the biggest mistakes and the easiest wins—the biggest mistakes for impact, the easiest wins for confidence.” Simple changes like making websites keyboard-navigable, ensuring clear labeling, and providing enough physical space in brick-and-mortar locations can dramatically improve accessibility.
The ROI of Accessibility Investments
Angela believes there’s a direct relationship between accessibility and business growth: “As your business becomes more accessible, you’re not only attracting customers with disabilities. But because the things that you do to make your business accessible ultimately make them more user-friendly for everybody, you’re gonna increase your customers.”
She explains that improved accessibility reduces cart abandonment, increases customer loyalty, and creates a more seamless user experience. While the research is still developing, the business case for accessibility investments is becoming increasingly clear.
Expert Advice for Playing Big Faster with Accessibility
When asked for her best advice for entrepreneurs looking to play big faster with accessibility, Angela recommends: “Picture how other people navigate the world. What if you don’t have your eyes? You’re gonna navigate the world using your ears. Design things robustly so that they can be accessed in different ways.”
By putting yourself “in the user’s chair,” you can create better experiences for everyone, not just those with disabilities.
About Our Expert: Angela Fowler
Angela Fowler is a coach, consultant, and speaker who helps organizations increase their bottom line by leveraging accessibility to tap into the $2.1 trillion buying power of people with disabilities. As a businesswoman who is totally blind, she brings unique insight into what it takes for everyday businesses to access markets they may not fully understand.
With humor, straight talk, and patience, Angela shows organizations how to make necessary adjustments—often with less effort than expected. Her courses offer common-sense, cost-effective solutions to help businesses make their products and services accessible to people with disabilities and more user-friendly for everyone.
Key Takeaways: Business Accessibility Strategy
- Approach accessibility as a business advantage rather than just compliance
- Recognize that 25% of Americans have some form of disability—a significant market opportunity
- Start with small, high-impact changes that improve user experience for everyone
- Design products and services to be accessed in multiple ways, not just visually
- Consider accessibility improvements as investments with tangible ROI
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