Article written by Liz Daniels, Founder of Clubability
Hi, my name is Liz Daniels and I was recently inspired to start up my own business. I guess I have always been determined and independent ever since I was a young girl. I always told my mum that when I was 18 I was going to move out and get my own place, go out and do everything. Sounds normal I hear you say… well yes it was, but you see I have Cerebral Palsy which means I have 24 hour care. However my determined nature which I definitely inherited from my mum, who is a very strong woman and has always strived to be, and do her best in everything. She has achieved many things in her own life that has always shown me that I can achieve anything in mine. I always felt that even at the hardest of times with some positive words from my mum I could get through anything.
I have done many things in my life, from moving into my own flat at 18, college courses, and working towards obtaining my BSc degree in Psychology at Manchester Met University. Gaining employment post Grad was impossible as it is for millions of others. So in order to keep my CV up to date I worked for quite some time in a variety of voluntary posts, in hospitals and many different organizations.
I have always tried to maintain a happy work/fun balance and with that always strived to have a healthy social life. But as a young woman with a disability I have had constant struggles when it comes to social occasions and accessibility. I have brilliant friends who have always been there to help me, bouncers carrying me downstairs to venues etc. whether it’s due to accessibility or being miss-informed in regards to facilities I’ve often felt let down and angry, like a change needed to be made somewhere. With this in mind I decided I shall be the one to make that change. I have realized over the years that many of my friends with different disabilities and impairments struggle when it comes to planning weekends away or evenings out, the research that has to be done to obtain accessibility information which quite frankly should be readily available.
So here I am, 28 years old with all this experience and frustrations from my own social life that I am convinced I am not the only one!
So I have created Clubability Ltd. Clubability is for all those people that have had to spend hours on the internet trying to find the best place to go on a Saturday night, those who have had to read the phone book to ring hotels to see if they have a disabled room (that is actually functional in a wheelchair) for that weekend away they’ve been looking forward to for ages.
I have attended courses and networking activities, gathered research on accessible requirements and interacted with many inspirational people for over a year now.
Anyone can start on the road to begin a business but it requires determination and confidence, both skills I have built up over the years, and of course a dream to achieve.
Basically Clubability is here to fulfill a basic need that isn’t available at present, we are an Event Planning Service which specializes in accessible venues. Whether it’s arranging conferences for large organizations, to arranging an itinerary for an evening out that doesn’t exclude anyone. Take a look at our website at www.clubability.co.uk and let me know your opinions and ideas, thanks for taking the time to learn about me and my business.
Twitter: www.twitter.com/clubability
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/clubability1
