Being Deaf and Running a Business

I love what I do and so do my colleagues. As a team, we are unbeatable. Every day is a blast, and we enjoy every moment. My only regret is not starting my business sooner and developing my team right from the start.

If you’re deaf and running your own business or thinking about starting a business, your team will often be the key to your business success.

I love being able to run my team my way, not according to the rules and practices established by those who aren’t deaf aware. I love going into work now. My team is very understanding of hearing loss because I’ve made sure it’s part of our company culture – be patient and understanding, be respectful and offer unconditional acceptance.

Today, my team consist of people from all around the world, each contributing to a larger dynamic. Knowing someone well and being certain of their abilities, skills, and motivation contributes to the general trust of a team. It’s so much nicer and more productive than having to work with someone just because you have to.

Most deaf people will find it difficult running a business like mine on their own. I quickly realised I needed a team of experts. Here’s how I found my 121 Captions team members:

Advertising

It took a long time to find our bookings co-ordinators because I needed people with a very special skill set:

• Accurate and detail oriented,
• fast and effective,
• organised, but still creative and
• good with people and team players.

Friends and Neighbours

Some of the 121 Captions team members are long-time friends. Maha, our Middle East operations officer and I went to university together in Ireland, where we shared a house. She lives in Kuwait and is bilingual in Arabic and English.

I met Nadine, our Middle East administrator, at a business event. The event used respeaking (voice writing captions) and it kept breaking down. Nadine stepped in as an emergency interpreter for me, and she’s been part of 121 Captions ever since. Nadine is a sign language interpreter, fluent in both English and Arabic. She helps with the business communications side for the Middle East region. She comes to Qatar with me to help on business trips.

Recommendations

Some team members were recommended by friends and clients. I tested their services and found them so invaluable that we’ve kept working together.

Our designer Martin was one such recommendation. He delivered one service for us, and we were so impressed, we now give him all our design work.

David, our accountant, was also a recommendation. David looks after my hearing dog when I go on business trips, and he even cooks dinner for us when I take the accounts round to him (and my dog gets a bag of treats!).

Contributing Clients

Our copywriter Lisa is one of our clients so she understands our captioning services very well. She wrote the content for our website and our leaflets. Being deaf herself, she understands all the frustrations that being deaf brings to everyday life, and this shows when she writes about this subject.

Our office happiness

We have a hearing dog on the team too. Meet Bailey. He has been known to steal cash from ladies’ handbags and gleefully run off with it. He also likes sleeping on my desk. He’s always happy and makes a hard day much more relaxed. The interesting thing is, all our team members have at least one dog!

The best thing about being deaf and running your own business is being able to build your team, keeping the best people and releasing the ones who don’t work out, and knowing the ones that do will have your back.

I now have a crack team from all around the world to help manage the business. Denis is in Russia, Briac is in Canada, Gary is in Ireland, to name a few. I only choose the best people. It doesn’t matter where they live.

Our PA team is based in England, with another team in New Zealand so that 121 Captions can answer calls 24/7/365. After a call has been received, the PA team will send the bookings team and me an email; this is an ideal solution for a deaf team as it takes away the pressure of answering the phone. So in effect, being deaf in our office doesn’t really matter, because I’ve made it that way.

It takes time and dedication to build a good team, especially when you’re deaf or hard of hearing. Your team might change over time, just make sure it is always a change for the better.

When someone stops working well for your team, you need to have the courage to let them go. Don’t put up with a team member’s patronising treatment just because you’re deaf; being deaf shouldn’t mean you are treated less favourably. When you find good and real people, you must treat them well.

The most important thing is that every person on your team plays to their strengths, so put their skills to good use. And don’t forget, the most important people in your business, other than your team members, are your customers.