Should I Use AS to get Financing for My Business?

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Through luck, pluck, and learning the rules of the NT game (which was not exactly worthwhile, btw), I ended up as the manager of a small business. My current boss has known me for some time, and she is perfectly comfortable with my condition. I think my colleagues barely notice, although everyone finds me eccentric (which I delight in).

Like all businesses, we want to do many things, but only have the resources for so much. Then an interesting thing happened. Yesterday, my boss was talking with some friends at the U.S. federal government, where she does some contracting work. She told EVERYONE about me, and they told her something interesting: her business can qualify for grants or no-interest loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) because she employs someone with a disability as recognized in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

She told me about this, and then asked, "Isn't it a bit degrading when you tell people you have Asperger's, and all they see is a pit of need?" I looked at her funny. "Ethel," I said, "we could use free money. Besides, I think this is a good thing that..."

"I am not prostituting you in this way," she said. "We're not doing it."

While I'm shocked anyone can reject free money, I'm not surprised Ethel can do it. She strikes me as the type that hates asking for help, and sees recieving "handouts" as a weakness. I normally don't accept "handouts" myself, but I would have no problem taking this money. In the short term, there are a few projects we could invest in that would promise real return. In the longer term, this may help raise the profile of everyone on the spectrum. Would employers be more likely to employ AS people if they saw it as a source of grants or subsidized financing? Would it help longer-term when at least a few of these new hires are successful in their own right? Would it mean that employers would actually start valuing the unique skill set we bring to the table (and we do have extremely valuable skills).

What do you think? Is she right to reject the money as a handout? Am I right to push for accepting the money as a way of helping others with ASD, even in a very small way? Is there another way? To clarify, we have neither applied for nor been awarded SBA financing. We have just been told through educated channels that we would qualify for SBA financing based on my condition and position here.

See my related post on setting up a worker-owned cooperative for high-functioning people with ASD, including Aspies. I'm applying for an NIH grant to set up this cooperative, but the grant is not dependent on the use or hiring of anyone with a disability. Certainly, once the cooperative is established, we would do what is necessary to maximize the opportunities and earnings potential of our worker-owners, including apply for additional grants and low-cost financing from multiple channels if we qualify for them because we are owned by and employ the disabled. Why not? By hiding your disability, you don't promote the positive aspects of your differences, like the extra determination and strength gained from overcoming personal struggle. This is something to be celebrated and admired, not hidden in a closet.

The only way to change the perception of the disabled is to advertise it prominently and portray it in a positive light - just the same way that companies advertise that they celebrate diversity. As Temple Grandin put it, ASD people are "different, not less." There are many high-paying jobs where people with ASD would positively excel, and exceed the performance of NTs - like most jobs that require detailed attention for long periods of time, intense focus, or the ability to notice minute details. Apple is a prime example that success lies in the ability to notice the finest details or the smallest differences (what Steve Jobs was great at), and many ASD people have these focus oriented traits.

Self-organization and a collective voice are key to the prosperity and well being of any group, with or without a disadvantage. Did you know that in 2009, stagehands at the Lincoln Center in NYC made $290,000 per year on average and up to $400K+ at Carnegie Hall? They probably make even more this year, three years later.
See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/arts/ ... wanted=all
Stagehands are the people in dark suits that perform tasks for stage performances like move the grand piano from one end of the stage to another. The stagehands at Lincoln Center made on average $290K because they belonged to a powerful union that bargained on their behalf and represented their collective voice. Job skills alone don't determine level of pay; how powerful your voice is also matters. The collective voice of a thousand people who are similarly situated is much more powerful than a single voice on virtually all issues.

Let's play a word game:
Grant, Money, Swiss Bank Account, Mexico, Cabana, Maragirta, Pina Coloda... You like were this is going? lol just kidding.

Yes take the money! If I could I would and I'm NT. The business could use it and you do have to go through a lot. I'm not going to go through anymore philosophy.

Lotuspuppy,

I agree with Smartalex - Take The Money!

Thanks for your offer of help! Please follow my topic thread about setting up the worker-owned cooperative at:
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt195335.html

I totally feel for your situation!

I am a newly-diagnosed Aspie, and special interest in business and entrepreneurship was one of the many factors in my diagnosis.

I see your ethical dilemma, but I have to agree with the other posts on this topic, I would take the money and advocate receiving such assistance as a vehicle in promoting the company's helpfulness in providing those in need with the well-paying jobs needed to gain independence in life. The SBA is an excellent organization and I am sure that such a partnership would be fruitful to you and your company.

I have trouble with the word "need" myself, as it took some therapy to realize that I need to apply for some state assistance myself to live independently. I live in a really right-leaning state politically (Alaska) with a very high cost of living, and it feels uncomfortable to take assistance, but I am working full-time and running a side business as well (trumping the "deadbeat" argument), and my counselors tell me that I have much more to potentially contribute to society in the way of my skills than I would be "taking" from others.

Having AS, organizational psychology and culture were difficult concepts for me to understand, but that made those quite intriguing--it would probably be better described as "neurotypical organizational psychology"

But from what I learned, the company's culture comes from the way management interacts with the employees, and how closely executives and decision-makers follow the company's vision and mission statement, which might shed some insight on why others are uncomfortable accepting assistance.

I would present accepting the interest-free loans in a way that aligns such a strategy with the company's vision--ethical companies WANT to be more supportive of "people who need assistance". If such assistance differs from the generally accepted vision, consider advocating a change in this vision--such goodwill is invaluable to organizations today, in the aftermath of the public's trust in corporate governance following scandals like Enron, WorldCom, Lehman Brothers, et al. Those companies hurt everyone with their games, both those on and off the spectrum. The SBA has an incentive to provide these loans to improve the business condition and economic welfare in the United States.

In weighing the ethics involved in the decision, there is so much more to gain for your company and us fellow Aspergians than any setbacks this could cause. Perhaps even more than I need state assistance, our fragile economy NEEDS the excellent skills of those on the spectrum. Apply for the loans!