[USER]

My mom recently went blind, 6 months later she shattered her leg and is still healing. Prior to losing her vision, she worked in child care.

She’s no longer comfortable working with children, with her limited mobility and vision loss… understandably.

She’s 60 years old. She cannot drive. She can see some light, fuzzy shapes and outlines only.

There is a non-profit that is offering her courses and training to find a job that fits her needs.

They also told her they would help her start a small business, of her choosing.

They told her to do some research and see where her interests fall and what she thinks she could handle, realistically.

I’ve been helping her brainstorm but we’re not coming up with many great ideas. She would need something that would be semi-passive.

Most days, I could take her to work but I do live 45 mins away and have 2 school aged children, so it would be difficult.

It would be optimal if she could have 1-2 employees, so that she wouldn’t need to be present each day… or in an emergency.

She’s also in a rural community with 5-8K people. She’s 45 mins away from a city with 600,000. She’s minutes from a lake with summer water sports.

She doesn’t like the idea of a restaurant (she’s a notoriously terrible cook).

We’ve been throwing around the idea of a laundromat…. Possibly even a folding service and pickup/drop off service if she had an employee that could drive.

We also thought about a booth farmers market, but there are already a few in our area. They’re usually packed but there are several.

I make cottage/baked goods occasionally, which I could provide for her here and there but I don’t think I could consistently provide enough to run a small business.
This is all so new to us.

We have no idea what direction she should go. We would be so thankful for any advice.

I’m sure there are hundreds of ideas that we just aren’t thinking of.

[Michele]

If she is blind she is entitled to Social Security Disability benefits, regardless of her age

[Liz]

The group that is offering to train her is likely a state run vocational rehab organization/center for vision impairment.

They are generally full of ideas as well as support and they have placement around the city in lots of cases.

Consider running some of these ideas by them- they may think one of your ideas really speaks to what they’re able to offer.

JAWs technology allows visually impaired at any age to use computers with good function in most cases.

Maybe a work from home computer job is possible with this technology so she doesn’t have to worry about transportation.

Orientation and mobility specialists in your area can help with route planning and public transportation options also- although rural is always tougher in these situations.

Remember there are limitations to income if she’s receiving SSD but if she wants to work, I’ve seen our local division of vocational rehab find placement and training for a lot of our visually impaired community.

[Korey]

There’s a woman I follow who is blind and she uses glasses that can read for her and see things and even recognize faces for her.

It’s done wonders for her independence. I’ll try to find her page.

[M Gabi]

Podcast? About living with disabilities where she can interview others about how their life has changed or overcame?

[Cara]

Could she take some classes by audio that could teach her how to be like a financial planner or something where she gives advice or can talk to people instead of doing something physical.

[AD]

Life coach? Therapist? Mediator? Something where she listens and advises?

[Rebecca]

Ideas:
Crisis hotline call answering (there’s training)
alumni caller for a college for fundraising campaigns
political campaign worker

recreation aid/assistant in LTC if a place is looking for someone to work part time for companion visits

product tester for products made for people with visual impairment, especially if she it tech-savvy to be able to use social media and post reviews

any hobbies, arts, exercises, or scholastic expertises etc she can instruct?

my dear friend and yoga student who is legally blind became a yoga teacher (likely not a lot of money in this but a lot of community and purpose)

teach a class for parents or children within a homeschooling collective in your area using her background

I’ll add more when my brain wakes up. Not sure your location (US? State?) but if she qualifies to see a recreation therapist (that’s what I am), she should!

[Jay]

There’s lots of assistive devices and newer tech out there that can help a lot.

Pretty much every computer and phone can read screens these days too, so maybe an online job.

Or maybe come up with a SAAS that would be utilized by the childcare industry.

Good place to start is making a list of problems that need solving in which to base your business on, even the most minute challenge that people experience can inspire an innovative product or service to sell.

Check You Tube for ideas too.

[Jenny]

Is there anyway to treat her eyes? Medicine has made major improvements the last few years.

Get her to a major medical center for evaluation if you haven’t already or sign up for new drugs trials.

If she can’t see, it’s hard to run a business. She can collect disability.

[Tarah]

Not related to blindness, but my husband has a brain injury that makes reading difficult for him.

He uses a program on his laptop for work that reads to him so he doesn’t have to waste time trying to read.

You can even speed it up and get through information quickly!

This could potentially help her with any computer work her future business would need of her!

[Jayme]

You said she lives near a lake with summer water sports… can she get water activities for people to rent? Kayaks?

Paddle boards? Chairs (pending that there are people who vacation there that may want to rent instead of bring chairs)?

Fishing supplies? Etc.

[Author]

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