Running a business without the ability to see a computer monitor is quite a challenge. Elaine Edwards reports
Access to the business environment, to employment and to entrepreneurship creates its own particular problems for anyone with a disability. But the barriers a high-tech world creates for those who are blind or vision-impaired are, perhaps, unique.
Finding basic information and access to the things most people take for granted, such as doing business or making contact with friends through e-mail, is not at all simple for those who can't see a computer monitor.
David Nestor (33) was a step ahead of many when he embraced technology - indeed, he spent rather a lot of money on it - in order not only to make basic business tasks easier and less time-consuming for himself, but to be several steps ahead of his competitors.
Nestor, who is blind, runs a successful freight brokering business, David Nestor Freight Services, in Dunboyne, Co Meath. The company handles a huge volume of work each year and specialises in what Nestor describes as high-value products and products of a sensitive nature, which need special handling.
He isn't beyond making the odd joke about his condition and he's clearly overcome more than the usual hurdles to succeed in business. But like most high achievers, he dwells entirely on his abilities.
Nestor refused to be pushed towards certain career options, such as becoming a telephonist, that some educators seemed to feel were preordained for blind people and the only options available.
He believes no one should be pigeon-holed on the basis of a disability, but says people also need "to examine their own outlook and their own level of self-belief", to take control and believe in their own capabilities.
"There's no point in me deciding I want to be an astronaut because it's physically impossible, but there was no reason why I couldn't be the managing director of my own company," he says.
"When I started out in 1997, one of the things I was quite good at was my core competency, which was transport management and setting things up.
"What I was very poor at was the associated administration and what I would nearly term the pure hassle that comes with being good at something," he says.
In those early days, almost every basic office task, all the phone numbers he needed, the contact details, the sensitive commercial information, was carried out using a Braille machine, which still sits on his desk and is used occasionally.
"I was keeping all my records in Braille notes and then suddenly I realised I had to get invoices out and I had an obligation to Revenue and I had to keep formal records, so I was under serious pressure then.
"I had to get a system custom written, which probably cost me £25,000 or £30,000 in the end and that was just to get me onto parity with everybody else," he says.
"I had a situation where I had an impairment or a restriction in life and yet just to achieve parity, not even to get ahead of my competitors, I had this huge cost to take on. When you're a sole trader starting out, it's a lot of money to come up with just to stay on an equal footing. It was either that or give up, and I obviously had too much self-belief to give up."
His original Nestor database has now been superseded by a more advanced system sourced specially in Canada. It contains basic customer information, financial information, invoicing details, cheque and bank details and job information but was so much more than that for Nestor and his fledgling freight firm.
"It was the initial operational platform which put me ahead of my competitors, as it transpired, because I had so much information available."
Nestor navigates his computer using software called Jaws. The screen-reading software 'speaks' the text in the dialog boxes, allowing him to find his place on the screen and reading out documents and e-mails.
At an early stage, he also discovered AA Milemaster software, which proved a highly valuable tool. It allowed him to map a complex freight job involving several different ports of call and contractors down to the finest detail.
Nestor now has administrative staff to carry out the routine work, but he still relies on technology for e-mail or to access specific customer information. The company also uses computerised text messaging to instruct drivers of the details of a job.
"It's a long way from where we came with the Braille pages," says Nestor.
Nestor's IT consultant, Michael Sutcliffe, comes in each week to ensure there are no hardware or software problems.
"Most small and medium companies would spend 'x' amount on software and hardware; David had to spend more because his system is fully backed up. His electrical system is fully protected, so he's less likely to 'go down' than a normal company," says Sutcliffe.
The company recently began running tests on software called Dragon Gold, which Sutcliffe hopes will enable Nestor use voice input to create documents and e-mails.
"He's very open to technology. If you needed to know about satellite tracking equipment or anything like that, he would be a connoisseur at this stage.
"David would be well aware of what equipment is available at the moment, not particularly for his needs as a blind person but for his needs as a company," Sutcliffe says.