Jayme Pendergraft >> Good afternoon and welcome everyone to today's WISE webinar, “Working for Yourself with Ticket to Work.” My name is Jayme Pendergraft, and I am today's moderator. And today I have with me Raymond Cebula from Cornell University and Derek Shields from the Ticket Program Manager. Thank you for joining us to learn about Social Security's Ticket to Work program, Work Incentives that can help as you're learning more about working for yourself with Ticket to Work. If you're here for general information, we'll cover that too, and I encourage you to stick around and learn some more. 
Today's topics will help you as you start or choose to expand your path to financial independence through work. Each of us is on our own journey and we hope you can get some information today that will help you on your path to employment. Thank you for taking those first steps and congratulations on taking that very first step by joining today's webinar. Let's get started by reviewing some of the functions of the webinar platform, so you can interact and get the most information out of today's presentation. 

First, please know that all attendees will be muted throughout today's webinar. When asked how do you want to join the meeting's audio, please select the system default option. This will enable the sound to be broadcast through your computer. Make sure your speakers are turned on, or your headphones are plugged in to access the sound. If you don't have sound capabilities on your computer or you prefer to listen by telephone, select the connect with phone audio button on the previous slide and the dial-in option. Dial 1-800-832-0736 and then enter the access code 4189148 pound sign. You can also use the join the meeting audio via receive a phone call as shown in the image on the screen and entering the same number and access code. 

Now let's review the Adobe Connect platform. First, you will notice different boxes on your screen. These boxes are called pods. We have the presentation pod and this is where the slide deck appears. That is the largest portion of your screen. Below that, there's an open space for the placement of the closed captioning pod. The top right corner is the Q&A pod. Below that is the Web links pod, and I'll talk about each of these pods in more detail shortly. 
But first we want to mention some of the accessibility features of our webinar. Real-time captioning is available and is displayed in the captioning pod, which can be placed below the slides. You can show or hide the captioning display and can also choose the text size and text color combinations that best meet your vision n closed captioning. Select the closed caption -- the CC option, I apologize, from the top menu bar. The captioning link can also be accessed in the Web links pod under the title web captioning. You can also access captioning online in a separate viewing window. The choice is up to you and your preferences. 

If you're fluent in American Sign Language or ASL and would like support during today's webinar, we developed a resource that provides instructions on how to connect with an interpreter through the Federal Communication Commission's Video Relay Service or VRS. The ASL User Guide can be found in the Web links pod under the title ASL User Guide. We're here today to answer questions that you may have about the Ticket to Work program and working for yourself. Please send your questions to us anytime throughout the webinar by typing them into the Q&A pod. We'll then direct the questions to our speaker during the Q&A portions of our webinar. We'll address questions at two different points during the presentation. So please send your questions and we'll do our best to get to as many as we can. Please note that we are unable to answer any really specific questions, and we'll give you some resources for how to get answers to those. 

Another available resource that we think you'll find very useful is the Web links pod. This pod is at the bottom right of your screen and lists the links to the resources covered in today's webinar. To access these resources, please select the topic of interest and access the resource to learn more. If you're listening by phone and aren't logged into the webinar, you can email webinars@choosework.ssa.gov for a list of available resources. Or you may reference your confirmation email for today's webinar to access a list of available resources. Also, please note that Social Security cannot guarantee and is not responsible for the accessibility of external websites. Today's webinar is being recorded and a copy of it will be available within two weeks on the Choose Work! website at http://bit.ly/wise_ondemand. This link, as well as others, can be found in the Web links pod in the bottom right corner of your screen. It is titled WISE Webinar Archive. 

We hope that everyone has a great experience during today's webinar; however, if you experience any technical difficulties during the webinar, please use the Q&A pod to send us a message or email webinars@choosework.ssa.gov. As I mentioned at the start, my name is Jayme Pendergraft, and I'm the Director of Communications and Outreach for the Ticket to Work Program Manager. I'll be rejoining you for the question-and-answer session, and I will serve as your moderator this afternoon. Today, we also have Ray Cebula with us as one of our presenters. In a minute, you'll hear from Ray, but first let me share a few highlights about him and his background and career. 

Ray received a law degree from the University of New Hampshire's Franklin Pierce School of Law. He spent 23 years providing legal services to individuals with disabilities, and their interactions with Social Security. He then became part of Cornell University's Work Incentive Support Center. And in 2005, he joined the staff of Cornell's Yang Tang Institute on Employment and Disability. He now serves as the Program Director of YTI Online, Cornell's Work Incentive Practitioner Credentialing Program. 

Derek Shields joins Ray today as a co-presenter. Derek is the Senior Development and Training Manager for the Ticket Program Manager and has had a career in disability employment supports, return-to-work programs, and training on employment strategies for building disability-inclusive organizations. In 2016, Derek co-founded ForwardWorks Consulting, a professional services firm providing program management and disability inclusion services. He'll bring his self-employment perspectives to today's WISE. He's also a certified program management professional with a master's degree in management and disability services. And with that, I am happy to turn it over to Ray.

Ray >> Thank you, Jayme. It's good to be with you here today. We're going to talk about -- focus on returning to work as a self-employed individual. And we're going to look at a couple of particular issues. Some we've looked at a lot, if you've been with us before. What is Social Security's Ticket to Work program? Who can help you achieve your work goals? Why consider self-employment? And then we're going to put it all together. We've got a lot of great resources with you, and I'm really glad Derek's here presenting today. Because he's got a lot of great places for you to check to get the support you need. 

So what is that Ticket to Work program? You know, the Ticket to Work program is a program that benefits people who are receiving disability benefits administered by Social Security. And we've got two types. We have SSDI, Social Security Disability Insurance; and we have SSI, Supplemental Security Income. Very, very different programs. As you can see, SSDI, or the insurance program, is just that. It's insurance. As you work and pay FICA taxes, you are buying insurance. And when you work a sufficient number of years, you will become insured for disability insurance. The other program, SSI, is a needs-based federal welfare program. It's for people who do not have a work history, or whose work history hasn't been long enough to qualify for SSDI. Both programs have Work Incentives, but they're very, very different. So it's important for you to understand which benefit you have when you're talking to somebody about these Work Incentives, so that they provide you with the correct information. 

Why choose work? You know, we've been talking about work for years and years and years. And it keeps getting safer and safer and safer for you. Earning a living through employment or self-employment isn't something that everybody can do. But it may be a great choice for you, you know? And once people who receive benefits from Social Security understand the free services and supports that are available to help you return to work, or enter work for the first time, people often find out the rewards of work are going to far outweigh the risks that they see. 

So what is that Ticket to Work Program? This is part of the Ticket to Work Act that was passed by -- it was signed into law by President Clinton way back in December of 1999. So it's been around for a very long time. It is a free and voluntary program. There is no charge. And no one's going to require you to participate. We just want you to think about it. It offers career development for people ages 18 through 64 who receive a disability benefit from Social Security. And I like to add, and want to return to work. That's it. Completely voluntary.
 
How can Ticket to Work help? The Ticket program connects you with free employment services to help you make some decisions. To decide if work, including self-employment, is the right step for you. To help you prepare for work. To find a paid work opportunity, and then to succeed. And I'd like to highlight to succeed at work. Because when you find a job using the Ticket to Work, that's not enough for us. We want to see you succeed. So we'll continue to help support you on your journey to make sure that placement was the right place and you're a good fit. To learn more, please look at what is Social Security's Ticket to Work program -- a self-guided tutorial in the Web links pod -- and the Ticket to Work Help Line, this is available to you. Again, no obligation. Give a call. Get some basic information about the program, and get some resources to connect with in your area. The Ticket to Work program offers this toll-free Help Line to answer your questions and support you on that journey towards financial independence. And you can call the Ticket to Work Help Line Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. That number is 1-866-968-7842. And for TTY users, it's 1-866-833-2967. 

So who can help you? I've been talking about support and assistance. And now, who are these people who are going to help you achieve your work goals? As you think about returning to work or possibly changing your careers, you're likely going to have a lot of questions and need some support. And we're here to provide you with a Return to Work team to help you meet those needs. Connecting with the Ticket Program Service Provider can help you develop achievable goals and establish steps to find and maintain employment in your new career. And Ticket Service Providers can even help you identify the type of career you might enjoy and any transferable skills that you have from past work experience or life experience that will help you do that new job. So we've got a lot of people here and a lot of different types of agencies. Through the Ticket to Work program, you'll have access to a variety of Ticket Program Service Providers, including Employment Networks and State VR agencies. We're going to talk about these in more detail. 

So what is an Employment Network? We call them ENs, and it's a private or a public organization that has an agreement with Social Security to provide free employment services to people who are eligible to receive a Ticket to Work. Free services to help you on your journey to work. Many state public workforce systems, such as the American Job Centers, are called Workforce ENs. They provide you with many of the same services that a private or a public EN can provide you with. So how can they help you? Excuse me. The services and supports are designed to help you on your path to financial independence through work. And they might include identifying your work goals. You know, some people have been out of work for a while, receiving disability benefits. And now that they're about to return, they may need some help with work goals. What can I do? How can I do my old job at this point in my new physical or mental condition? 

Write or review your resumes. You know, I always like to say that I've been with Cornell for close to 25 years now, and I haven't done a resume in 25 years. If it were time for me to find a new job, I need help preparing a resume. You know, so that's almost the case for everybody who is going to be looking to return to work. Prepare for interviews. What is it like to interview for a job in 2024? What kinds of questions can I expect from employers? What kind of questions should I have prepared to ask my prospective employer once they turn to me and say, do you have questions for us? How about requesting reasonable accommodations? That can be a scary thing. And the Employment Networks can talk to you about that and get you some practice. Let's practice that discussion that you're going to have with your employers. Or potentially even help you have that discussion with your employers. And then receiving benefits counseling. Many of the Employment Networks have benefits planners housed right within their agencies. It's going to be able to tell you as you work and earn money, and your wages go up what's happening to your benefits. So that you're fully prepared, you know, to understand what is going to happen to your benefits and when you can expect that to happen. Always making sure that you have more money by working than you had on benefits. 

The State VR agencies, they're also serving as Employment Networks. They can or serve you as just the State VR agency. They provide a wide variety of help to people with disabilities who are returning to work. You know, how about entering a new line of work or enter the workforce for the first time? The State VR agency can offer benefits counseling as well. And I just wanted to say that if you go to an EN or a State VR agency that doesn't have a benefits planner, you can be referred to a benefits planner outside. The State VR agency may offer benefits counseling and may also help you with rehabilitation. Vocational Rehabilitation can be very expensive, and the ENs can be small little shops or great big corporations. But if you're looking for education, if you're looking for Vocational Rehabilitation that's going to take a while and be very expensive, State VR agencies are the likely place for you. 

How can working with a VR agency help you? The VR agencies usually work with individuals who need more significant services. I alluded to that in the last slide. If you need a four-year degree to do the job you want to do, the VR agency can help fund that. You know, an Employment Network may be able to help you apply, may be able to help you get student loans or grants, but the VR agency might just be able to pay for it. In some states these expensive services can include intensive training, education, or physical or mental rehabilitation. The cost for durable medical equipment that you might need to do your job can be very, very high. State VR has the funds to provide those. You know, and they also provide career counseling, job placement assistance, as well as counseling about how earnings from work affect your benefits. And it's critical that you know that, so that you're not surprised. You know, I like to say that if we are proactive, we maintain our power. If you're reactive, the agency, the employer is the one who has the power. So let's try to be proactive. 

How can service providers help you achieve your self-employment goals? Well, the service providers, we've already talked about Employment Networks and VRs, can also help you find free services or provide them for writing a business plan. You know, we're talking about self-employment today. You need a business plan. Not up in your head, on paper. On paper. And there are lots of great places. And I'm sure Derek's going to share some great hints about networking with some of these people who can provide you with business plans. How about funding sources? You may need some money to buy your first inventory or to help you get the first place, the first brick-and-mortar place that you will be opening your business in. Access to training programs and certifications. Yeah, I like this one a lot, because it's okay to have a wonderful idea for a business. And it's okay to have a great business plan. But do you know how to then implement that and run the business? All of these steps are very different. And these training programs to run your own business are very, very helpful. 

Helping you understand the Work Incentives that are available to you. You know, returning to work when you're on benefits has a lot of different steps and a lot of different programs are involved. And for those of you who've been with us before, you've heard about some of these Work Incentives. Well, you need to understand how those affect you in the self-employment context. It's a little bit different than if you're going to work for somebody else. And identifying reasonable accommodations. What kinds of accommodations will you need? You know, do you need a screen reader or JAWS for your computer that you're using at work? Is there something about -- maybe you need to have the bathroom at your place of business accessible-ized. Again, not all providers are going to provide you with the same services. But we're also going to tell you how you can get the most from whichever provider you're trying to work with. How do you find these people? You know, the good thing about the Ticket to Work program is that there's no wrong door. If you happen to dial the wrong number and get in touch with a different kind of provider, they will get you to the right people. So these are the direct routes to these folks. For enlisted providers, call the Ticket to Work Help Line that we talked about. Again, that number is 1-866-968-7842. And for TTY users, 1-866-833-2967. Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. And then we've got this Find Help page. And this is a great page. You can search by your ZIP code. Who's in my local area? I'm going to use my ZIP code and find out. You can search by the type of services that are offered. Some Employment Networks might work with people with mental impairments. Others may work only with physical impairments. You know, you need to pick and shop for an Employment Network according to the services that they can best provide to you. 

How about disability type? Is there an Employment Network out there who works with somebody who works with other people who have experienced your type of disability? That tells me that if I choose that EN, they're going to have a lot of experience from working with other people who are similar to me. That's a good thing. You can search by languages. If you prefer to get your services in Spanish, you can do that. You know, you can find an Employment Network who provides services in Spanish. And by provider type. You know, there are lots of providers in this. So we have a button that you can push. If you're looking for an Employment Network, click that button, and all you'll get are Employment Networks. If you're looking for those workforce ENs, the American Job Centers, just click that one. How about the State VR? I need a four-year degree. I'm going to have to deal with State VR. I don't know where they are. Click VR, and it's going to come up, you know, for you. And then the PABSS agency. That's the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security. This is like the legal wing. And I'm going to use reasonable accommodation as a story to explain to you what they might do. If you do request an accommodation from your employer and the employer says no, you know, you can contact PABSS and find out what you can do about it. And the PABSS agency, as I said, is a legal agency. They can provide you with advice. They can provide you with a way of talking to your employer about that. Or they could represent you and do that talking with or for you. All right. Jayme, that brings us to the first Q&A period.

Jayme >> Thanks so much, Ray, for all that helpful information. Please keep sending your questions in via the Q&A pod. And remember, we can't answer very specific questions. We encourage you to call that Help Line with very personal questions. So Ray, for our first question, we have folks who want to know, does it matter if I receive SSI or SSDI if I want to join the Ticket program?

Ray >> Absolutely not. Absolutely not. If you are eligible for a Ticket, which means you're between 18 and 64 and are receiving benefits as an adult -- whether you're on SSI or SSDI -- the Ticket to Work program is available to you and can work for you.

Jayme >> Thanks, Ray. Now we have some folks out there who haven't worked before. And they're wondering, if they've never had a job, can the Ticket to Work program help them?

Ray >> If you haven't had a job, the Ticket to Work program is almost a necessary part of your entering the workforce. Because you're going to meet with Employment Networks who have experience getting people that first job. Again, the resume preparation. What have you been doing? You know, what kind of skills have you developed? You may have a hobby that could be turned into a resume blurb and show somebody, show some employer that you do, in fact, have skills. You know, organizational skills, because I keep all of my knitting supplies in one place and I do all of that. All kinds of experiences can turn into job-related skills. So I think that's going to be a great person to see an Employment Network and talk about it. You know, the interview practice. If you've never been on a job interview before, you're going to want some practice. You're going to want to know what to expect before you walk into that office and sit down, and somebody starts asking you questions. So there are a lot of great services and most certainly that Ticket is available, even if you've never had a job before.

Jayme >> Thanks, Ray. And while we're about to get into more of our self-employment-related content, we do have a couple related questions for while we're talking about Ticket to Work. Can the Ticket program help me get some training to help launch my small business?

Ray >> You know, absolutely. And I did highlight that and said that that training to run your business is going to be critical. You know, because remember, we talked about that business plan. What's your idea? How is it going to work? And that's a great step. It helps you focus on what you are going to be doing and how you're going to get it done. But then the question is, how do I actually do this? How do I implement that plan in the real world, in my own office, in my own little shop? So there is training that's available on how to run a small business. You know, and I'm going to fess up to you. I sometimes do some work outside of Cornell and I am the worst person for keeping my own records. You know, I'm horrible at it. You know, I do not do the taxes correctly. I probably -- you know, my tax people say you're paying way too much money. And I keep saying that means I'm not going to owe at the end of the year, right? I mean, I'm horrible. I should have taken one of these classes on how to run your own business. So by all means, that's available to you and it's very important.

Jayme >> Thanks, Ray. Let's talk a little bit about how these Ticket service providers can help me plan and launch my self-employment career. So how can they support me as I'm going through this process?

Ray >> All right. Well, you have to have an idea, right? We need to -- what do you want to do? What service do you want to provide? What items do you want to provide to people? And that is then turned into a business plan. And I don't want to steal too much of Derek's thunder, but there's an agency called SCORE, Service Corps of Retired Executives. They can help you at no cost to develop a business plan. These are retired business executives who are helping new entrepreneurs like you put a plan together to make this work. You know, the next step is then actually putting it together. You may need to go out and find a storefront. You may need to find a kiosk someplace where you can do your job and sell things to the public. You might need to find an office or get your home office set up. And then, of course, as we just talked about, how do you run a small business now that you've got one? So there are many steps involved and it can take a while. But once you've got a small business running and you realize that you have broken even and are about to make a profit, it's all worthwhile.

Jayme >> Thank you so much, Ray. This concludes our first Q&A session. We do want to make sure that we have time to get into more detail on the topic of today's webinar, which is Working for Yourself with Ticket to Work. And we'll hear from Ray a little more later. But right now, I'd like to hand it over to Derek Shields to talk about working for yourself with Ticket to Work.

Derek >> Thank you so much, Jayme. And thanks, Ray, for all the good content about the Ticket program and the employment team that's out there. So, yeah, now that we've covered, you know, the program and eligibility, we want to turn, as Jayme says, to really our core topic for the day, working for yourself. And it is an area, as Jayme explained earlier, that I'm familiar with. And I've spent about 10 years involved with a startup and operating a business. So I'm going to refer to some of those experiences as an entrepreneur as we proceed and hope that some of those may relay or assist over to some of you who are thinking about self-employment or have an entrepreneurial mindset about, kind of, what to do next; Either in return to work or in trying work for the first time. And if you have that and you're considering self-employment, I think it's important to know that you're not alone with those thoughts. In fact, last year, in the year 2023 in the United States, we had more businesses start than any other year in the history of the country. Nearly 5.5 million businesses started. So this is a trending area. So if you have these thoughts, know that there's others like you. And I think that gives us a sense of an entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. And there are other people that are finding success. 

Well, we're going to start out by talking a little bit about what is self-employment. It might come across as, kind of a, you know, a term that you might think it's only one thing, but there's a variety of different ways to go about it. And it is, of course, working for yourself. But those different approaches can really go in very different directions. First, the classic business. You know, you can start a business and it could be an entrepreneurial model. But then there's a couple other directions. And we do see a lot of interest in these. Working as an independent consultant. You might hear about that, an independent consultant or potentially a 1099 employee. That's referencing, kind of, a tax approach to independent consulting or the term “contractor.” They're a little bit interchangeable. And you could be on a team for a period of a long time with one of these options; Where you're not working directly for an employer but you're doing the services in support of them. Or, you know, it could be a shorter-term arrangement as well. 

And then the third option, they're working as a freelancer. And with that, you might be, you know, more of what you could hear as, you know, job hopping or gig hopping. And there's a lot of people that do find that as a freelancer, especially in some sectors like the media and the arts, that their performance period and arrangement is shorter. So I know that we see that in other areas too. A lot of graphic designers I work with are connected to a freelancing model. And there's also a lot of accessibility professionals that are out there that are doing testing and fixing inaccessible, you know, applications or websites. And you know, and a third example that you might be familiar with is our freelance editors. There's a lot of material that gets written and there's a lot of editing that needs to be done. And we see freelancing growing in the technology space too, where we have applications that have automated responses. And if those need to be edited or proofed by human beings, and there's freelance work behind that, that is a growing employment area too. So three different models for self-employment, but all the same, self-employment. 

Now, I mentioned last year we had the largest number of business applications and startups in the country's history. We could also look at this though, is that there's a lot of new jobs that are expecting self-employment job opportunities. And so the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the Department of Labor has this forecasted to grow by 7.9% from 2016 to 2026. So you know, that's not that far off now, but we're seeing this trend. And that's a growth that's above the 7.4% growth for all workers. So I think it's significant to know that the fastest growing and jobs that are creating that are in these categories that we have listed. And maybe some of these will be appealing to some of you. 

Construction workers are in high demand as we have projects across the country. We also have a high demand for child care workers as more people who have children are also working. And then there's some other areas you might not think about. Hairstylists is an area that there's a high demand and an increase for employment that are also considered self-employed, along with real estate agents. Both, you know, residential and commercial real estate. There's a lot of changes and there's a high demand for self-employment there. And last, one that doesn't fit quite with the others is management analysts. And so we see a growth in that area as well. So these small business options or self-employment options, you know, if they resonate with you, maybe one of these is your area of interest. And you can consider that as growing faster than traditional employment. And perhaps that's an opportunity for you. So when you think of considering self-employment, there is a lot to think about. And Ray was mentioning that we have, you know, service team providers to help support you in your employment journey. 

But before you decide to venture out on your own, there should be some things that you can consider. And we wanted to bring those up today. It might help you, kind of, check some boxes when you're considering self-employment. And then if you gain off of this foundation, you can pursue that with the service providers that Ray mentioned. So this isn't to dissuade you, but it's to help hopefully reinforce with some positive information. And so we have these seven groups of important questions that I'm going to run through to help you think through it. First, of course, what interests you? If the last five job categories that I mentioned aren't really your type of thing. But what sparks your interest or your passion? And what skills or hobbies do you have that you could translate into a marketable business? It is important to consider, do I have a unique idea? Or do I bring value to a market through my idea? So you know, consider that a marketable business needs to have that idea that the market demands. And so doing a little research about your idea can reinforce and start, in effect, your business case. 

Next, when you think about that idea, you know, specifically, what are you going to deliver in terms of services that are offered? Or product perhaps as a form of an outcome? And these services are going to be what you're really good at doing, leading to that next question, who's going to buy your services? I have had a lot of questions where people have great ideas, and they have good services but they're unsure of how to find somebody to buy those services. So you know, if you're thinking about, well, let's take that hairstylist example. If you want to be a hairstylist, and you have training or certification, attaching that to what area or a market area are you considering that's going to need another hairstylist? So perhaps reaching out to a few businesses that are in the area to see how often they have turnover in positions. Are they freelance positions? And if there is a high amount of turnover, and you're going to bring stability to that community, then you have an opportunity to get a chair and to build consistency in your service offerings there. And with that in mind, you also could figure out, you know, apply that similar model to your other ideas or interests. Whether it's in construction, or if it's in management analysis. But you know, what unique offering do you bring? And who will potentially buy that? And in that, I also think it's important to consider this next question. What does success look like? You know, when people start a business, sometimes they have a marketing and a financial outlook, where they want to scale, and they have a 10-year vision. And other people, you know, have a short term, mid-term and long-term vision. And it's not really about scale, but it's about consistency of income. So it really depends on which of the three self-employment models you choose.
 
And how are you going to define what success looks like for you? When I did that, it was to ensure that we were providing a business service that would drive disability inclusion. And we wanted that in three areas. We wanted it in education. We wanted it in transition to work. And we wanted it in employment. And so success would look like that if we were providing support and delivering a mission for customers in inclusive education, inclusive transition to work, and inclusive employment. If that, you know, was our result, then we would be excited for it, right? And what would happen if it didn't work out? You know, there are a lot of businesses and self-employment models that begin. And it would be important to consider, well, what would be your plan B? It's Grant Hill who said that, always have a plan B. And so I think when you make a plan, consider, well, I can give this a try. This is how long I could give that a try. But I can also do some other things if it doesn't work out, and map those out too. So, you could have kind of a few options. And of course, you know, we're going to encourage you to talk to your employment team, those service providers, about, you know, to get a vector check on that, right? You know, this is what I think, but could you give me some feedback from your experience and your recommendations too? 

And with that, if you are ready, you have the commitment, and the passion, and the desire for this long-term self-employment path. Then it's time to put that business plan together. And with that, you can work with individuals from service providers and others, and we'll talk a little bit more on that one. You know, next, what expenses will you have? I mentioned the finance plan. And do you have enough money to start and maintain your business until like, a break-even point or a profit point? Early on, that might be easier to do. But further down the experience, it might be harder for you to envision that. And if you don't have a background in finance, or financial management, or accounting, some of this area can get a little challenging. I know it was for me. That's where I used my network, and we were able to reach out and find mentors in this space. Were they considered part of my service provider team or my employment team? You know, people didn't look at it like that, but they were. They were the broader community that I was tapping into to get advice and support. So I'd encourage you to think of a wide net that you could build, especially where you're weakest. If you feel like there's an area that you're not as strong in, who do I know that I could lean into to get help? And speaking of help, how can Social Security, you know, help you achieve those dreams of self-employment? What do you need from the service providers, the Employment Networks, the State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies, and from the other Work Incentives that are available to be successful? And you know, when Ray comes back, he's going to dive into more of those Work Incentives that can really help provide some flexibilities to allow self-employment to become realized for you. All very good questions. Some of them might be hard. Some of them for you might be, you know, starting to form a business plan in your mind, but really important ones to walk through. You could probably create 10 other questions and add those to them to help inform your thoughts. And what I would encourage you to do is start writing these down. So you know, you have access to these materials through an email. But what is important is that if you're answering these in your head, to also start writing them down and they will inform the business plan. 

Well, speaking of the business plan, let's move to that now. You know, this plan is a guide for you to have structure to then run and grow a business. Growing a business, you know, can mean a lot of different things. I mentioned the two models. You might want to, you know, employ a lot of people and have a business that scales. As a freelancer or an independent contractor or consultant, you may opt for a different direction that says, no, this employment is about myself and I want to find enough income over time to have full-time employment through either freelance or self-employment like contracting models. So what does that mean “grow”? That's your vision and it's going to be unique to each one of us. But this plan will outline the main elements of how your business is going to function. And business plans tend to have things like an Executive Summary, which just is a, you know, a one-page overview of everything that's in the business plan. 

But then we go into the harder stuff to describe, right? The Company Description, what are my offerings? You know, how do I attach my passions and skills to a story that will come to market that really makes sense, that attaches it? I have these interests, and I have these skills. And because of that, I bring this unique value proposition to the market. And I'm willing to get behind that and, you know, put the energy in there to find the work but also deliver quality work. With that, then two other important sections, a marketing or a sales section that says, what's the research on my offerings? How is that value going to be perceived? Who are my competitors and how do I position myself with those competitors and what do I project over a period of time, a ramp up period, an ongoing phase and then some of the out years to show what my sales would be? Again, that could be different if you're starting a business and hiring people, versus if you're an independent consultant or freelancer. But having that projection will allow you to also have a target. And I know from starting a business and from doing independent consulting, it's a lot easier to know where we are on that path if we have that target. That long term revenue or income objective. And that business plan in effect gives you that sales target to support your own income. 

And last, the Financial Projections, you know, this is an area as I mentioned is my weak area. And having a financial statement that provides an overview of future revenue and expenses. And again, if you're like me and, you know, I struggled through these classes in my educational time. But I did know some really smart folks in this area so they helped me. And then I asked them what can I do in return to help you? And you know, and I helped them with some of their marketing efforts. So I'd encourage you to not bend away from part of the business plan but actually lean into the weakest areas and find partners to help you in completing at least your first or second draft. And then you can take those externally too to the employment service providers. 

All right. So we've talked about how do we think about what's right for us. We've talked about which model of self-employment might be right for us. And we've talked about putting the business plan together. So now we want to turn to the Benefits of Self-Employment. And for these we have a couple slides on the benefits and we're going to run through, I believe, 11 different benefits. So on this slide we have five, and some of these you may have thought of, and some of these might be the reason why you're here today. And starting with this one of “You're more in control.” Perhaps if you've worked before and you reported to somebody else and you had to report on their time, that didn't give you the control you needed or the decision-making authority. When you're self-employed in many instances you do have more control of your time and decision. That is until you have potentially a customer, and then you might have to deliver on their timeline. So think about that as a possibility.
 
Number two, you like and are excited about what you're going to do. That's an opportunity for you there. Excuse me. Sorry about that. I have a cold and my voice is struggling here. So I'm coming back online, sorry about this. Let's move to the third one. You can make your own work schedule, this is an important benefit. Like, why you have a customer and you might have to adjust some of your control. And you might be excited about what you're going to do for them. You also might have the flexibility to work during the day when you like. That's an important element. So think about that work schedule flexibility. For me, if you're passionate about it and you have your own schedule, then we have the opportunity to find benefits and build to the next one. Where you may be able to choose your co-workers and determine your work environment. This could be really important. Self-employment allows you to be potentially more selective. And if you can be selective then that passion could be surrounded by co-workers who are also passionate. 

And moving to the fifth one, you have more creative control. You know, working for yourself allows you to be as creative as you like without some of the limitations that can come in from, you know, receiving a task from a boss, having to be narrowed. And building your own business in effect is inherently creative. So you can choose your audiences. You can put in your values and your branding. And this allows you to design and sell product or a service that you can really be proud of, and I think that's the ultimate objective. If we have control over what we're building and bring it to market, it's also going to be received that way in the market. And that could be recognized by potential customers, certainly by your colleagues but definitely with the community that you're serving.

Jayme >> Hey Derek, this is Jayme. Do you want to take a little break there? And I'll jump in with a little story of my own about self-employment, if that might give you a chance to grab some water.

Derek >> Thank you. Water, tea, yes.

Jayme >> You're welcome. So again, I'm Jayme Pendergraft and I'm the Director of Communications and Outreach for the Ticket Program and while I am not self-employed, I am employed by Derek, and I did have an upbringing in a family that my father was self-employed. He left a very successful career with the government and did branch out on his own way back when court cases were first being digitized. So his idea was actually to support attorneys who were trying to get files up on the computer, and online, and in front of judges that way. Instead of having to sift through all sorts of paperwork. 

And as Derek mentioned, you know, one of the big things you have to do as someone who is self-employed is be creative. Because my dad was not the first person who thought of that idea. So he did have to pivot some and do other types of work. But you know, going on 40 years later, he is still enjoying his work and still does something new every single day. And that kind of goes along with number six which is to grow your skill set and your knowledge base. And when you're self-employed, you are often confronted with unfamiliar processes particularly in the very beginning. As Derek said, you know, sometimes you don't know what you're doing. It's a learning process every step of the way. You're overseeing customer acquisition. You're learning marketing, if you don't have experience there. Finance and other aspects of running a business can be a significant learning experience. That said, it's also a wonderful opportunity for lifelong learning. If you have intellectual curiosity, self-employment is a great match. You can explore human resources, benefits, accounting, legal matters, marketing and so much more. There's never an end to what you're going to learn as someone who is self-employed. 

Now, moving on to number seven, identify and choose your own reasonable accommodations. You know, disability-owned businesses and entrepreneurs employ more people with disabilities than non-disabled business owners. In this way, you're able to design and develop the policies and procedures for accommodating employees and yourself and focus on productivity rather than compliance. You're the decision maker. You can decide and choose your own accommodations and access the tools best suited for you. For number eight, you get to decide what you outsource to others. It's important to also recognize the areas that aren't your strengths. Derek mentioned that he knows that financial management and accounting aren't his areas of expertise. It certainly wouldn't be mine either, and it definitely wasn't my dad's. He had issues billing anybody. While Derek had some education in this area, he also knew to employ someone to help out there. You can outsource to another service to make this happen. Same thing could go for marketing. If you don't know how to market, pull somebody in who can help you out. Whether it's a family member, or if you're able to hire someone to help do some promotion of your new business. Moving on to number nine -- did I hear Derek come back maybe?

Derek >> Hey Jayme, I'm back.

Jayme >> Okay. Call in again if you need me. You're welcome.

Derek >> This is Derek speaking. Thank you very much Jayme. I appreciate you keeping us moving here. And my apologies everybody but I'm back, and I think I'm good to go for the duration. So Jayme's going through the benefits and we have a few more here. You know this idea of outsourcing and building into earning an income, doing something you like and are good at. I think we've repeated that a few times. It's really important to connect to something that we have a passion for. If you're committing to a return to work or working for the first time, it has to be meaningful to us. Because we're going to put effort into it and earning that income will be the reward. Developing your own routines and including a variety of when you want to do something is an important benefit too. I personally find this the most valuable on the list. You know I connected for a number of years. You know, I commuted and then now I have some other flexibilities based on my routines. And the last one is number 11, building meaningful networks. And this is important. Some of us can do this naturally, others might have to practice it. But through self-employment you can connect with other communities and find ways to bring your ideas into those networks and to build collaborations. And sometimes when we have more traditional employment, that's less of an opportunity. So if those 11 benefits really resonate with you, then I think it reinforces the ideas that you've had before. 

So now let's look for a minute at some potential disadvantages of self-employment. We have six listed here. And we bring this up not to dissuade you but to really have another check, because self-employment isn't for everyone. You know you might be thinking, well, this might be too much work for me. And that's okay because then traditional employment is always an option. Some of the disadvantages could include lack of a stable income. If you're starting something up there is risk in that transition. And so you have to understand that I'm going to need those employment team members. Perhaps I start part-time at first and then I'll figure out how to grow that income and get to full-time. Or a large number of new businesses don't succeed. You know, it is true while we had five and a half million new businesses, they won't all succeed. But people are trying things and they're trying to be entrepreneurs. And they can find satisfaction in the attempt as well. Sometimes we're going to work longer hours, or we might have challenges like finding clients or customers. Those are things that you can commonly hear. Because we're spending time doing more marketing and perhaps doing client-facing work and back-office work like sending invoices, or you know, handling benefits, or these types of things like human resource benefits -- which could lead to higher levels of stress. And if stress is something that you're not looking for, then in some cases starting a business might not be a good match. Potentially though, maybe being a freelancer is less stressful. So something to think of. And the last one is there are startup expenses, things like licenses, insurances, and taxes, and other legal considerations that you have to consider. Building those into the business plan is important for sure. And you can look at some of the Work Incentives that Ray will talk about. And you can feel okay knowing that the Work Incentives can help with all that. My apologies again for everyone for that moment there. I do have a cold but I'm working through it. I appreciate your patience. With this though, now we move to the next section which is Putting It All Together. And for that I'm going to turn this over to Ray to talk about Getting Started and the Work Incentives. Ray?

Ray >> Thank you Derek. Good to have you back. You know when we're getting started we've got a couple of questions that you need to ask. And the first one is what type of self-employment do you want to pursue? Are you looking to open a business? Do you want to work as a freelancer? Somebody who picks up a job here, picks up a job there, does gig work or something else? We need to know the type of employment situation, self-employment situation that you're looking for. What type of services and products do you want to offer? You know, is it a service? Do you want to install wallpaper in people's places? Do you want to be a construction worker that does wall board? What is your niche going to be? And where will you work? Do you need a dedicated physical office? A store, a kiosk, some shared incubator space in the community? Or are you going to work from home? You know, they're all very, very different. I've been working from home for about 25 years now and I think it's a great thing. So don't neglect thinking about working from home. But you need to know, where are you going to be in the community to get your services out there and sold? 
And what are the Work Incentives? You know, what's going to happen to your benefits when you begin this journey to self-employment? The Work Incentives are special Social Security rules and programs that allow you to receive training for new skills. We've talked about a lot of new skills you need to have your own business. And we can help you get that through use of the Work Incentives. To improve the skills you already have. If you've been out of work for a while, I always use computers as my example. If you've been away from work for four or five years and you were doing computer work, everything changes. And you need to get some skill building for what the new computer systems are like, so that your skills are up to date. 

To pursue your education. Maybe your education was interrupted. And do you want to finish that? Do you feel that you need to finish that before you can take on a new business? How about trying different types of jobs? You know, a lot of the Work Incentives, the Trial Work Period, the Extended Period of Eligibility are available. And during those periods of time, you can try different jobs. Maybe that job that you were thinking about doing in self-employment doesn't turn out to be the one that you really want. That's fine. Let's pick a new one. Let's try to morph that experience into something that's going to work better for you. And to start a career. It's one thing to get a job, you know, but when we're talking about self-employment, you are really looking at a career. And we want everybody to have that shot at a career that has meaning for them and has value. And gaining confidence. Every step of the way, every step we've talked about, every consideration that Derek talked about is going to help you build confidence to be able to run your own business. You know, for more information about those Work Incentives, there is a Work Incentive link in your pod. And come back and talk with us again. You know, meet with us next month and we'll be talking about some of the Work Incentives in more detail. 

Whoops, I'm sorry. I did two. Some Self-Employment Related Work Incentives. Now the Plan to Achieve Self-Report, a PASS plan, self-support I mean. A P-A-S-S plan is a great Work Incentive. It's an SSI Work Incentive but can work for SSDI folks who can become SSI eligible. This is a real detailed savings plan and spending plan. And it's a great way to start your own business. As Derek said, there might be some resources that you need to get through some of this time where your business is just starting. You can build those into the plan. We can save money for that first month's rent in your new shop. We can save money to set up a room in your home as your office. Save up to get some education and training that you may need. Property Essential for Self-Support. You know, what are you going to do? You can become self-employed as a plumber and you need a truck, you need lots of pipes, you need lots of expensive tools. You know, none of that's going to count towards any resource level your benefits may see. And this is generally on the SSI side because it's essential for your self-support and we want you to be self-supporting and financially independent. And Unincurred Business Expenses. Like, what is that? You know, that took me time to wrap my head around. But let's say you're working with your State VR agency and you're going to open a small business. And you need a printer, you need a computer, you need internet services to do your job. Your cash register, if you're selling items, is going to be all computerized. If the VR provides you with those items, with that computer, with the printer, that becomes a deduction. The value of that computer, of that printer becomes a deduction to reduce your countable income. That's pretty amazing to me. You didn't pay for it but you're still going to get credit for it, and it's going to reduce your countable income. It's a wonderful Work Incentive. And you know, your Ticket to Work program service provider is going to help you understand all of these. The benefits planners are out there to help you understand how these work and how they will impact your individual situation. Lots of help out there for you. 

Here's the Plan to Achieve Self-Support. If you qualify, this written plan -- it's written. It's approved by Social Security; can help you achieve a specific vocational goal. Social Security allows you to set aside money to pay for items and services that you need to achieve that goal. And they can include education, a computer for school or work, business startup costs. How about a car? Now your goal can't be to have a car. Your goal can be to be a business owner who needs a car for work. And you can learn more about this in your Web link, creating a PASS and using your PASS. These are really, really underutilized plans and particularly in self-employment can really be helpful. Property Essential for Self-Support. You know, Social Security does not count -- -- yourself as a resource. For example, property you own in a business or trade. That plumber's van, all that pipe and those expensive tools. You know, how about business such as a gas station, a farm? You know, you may have some very expensive equipment that you are using for self-support if you own and operate a farm. A salon, you know, all of your equipment, all of your product that you need to do that. Personal property that you use for work such as tools, uniforms, any safety equipment. And government permits that allow you to do something to produce income such as permits for commercial fishing. You know, those permits that you get, the licenses that you get have value. And Social Security is not going to consider that because you need it to provide self-support. Unincurred Business Expenses. You know, I really do just love this one. An Unincurred Business Expense is any non-monetary contribution that someone else makes to your self-employment effort that you don't have to pay for. Now notice it says someone else. I use the VR agency giving somebody a computer as an example. But what if your parents, what if your siblings decide they want to help? You know, rather than handing you a bunch of money, they buy you certain items, so the value does not count. In Social Security it says it deducts the value or the cost of that contribution from your earnings when they're determining if you're performing what's called Substantial Gainful Activity or SGA. Even though you didn't have to pay for it, you're getting a deduction. You know, that's a great thing. 

And here's another example. Well, I already used this one, but we're going to do it again. Your State VR agency may provide you with a computer to accomplish business-related tasks. The computer is provided at no cost but would be considered as a business expense you had -- as if you had paid for it. So your $2,000 laptop is going to provide you with a $2,000 deduction. That's a good thing. That's a good thing. You know, how about your work network? Derek mentioned this. Networking is very important in almost every job but more so when you're self-employed. Networking can give you the opportunity to find a mentor, you know, who can provide you with advice and guidance to start or manage your business. Remember Derek's story about the finances and the marketing. How about an exchange of services? We both help each other. Do what we have strength to do. You can network virtually. LinkedIn is a great place to network. You know, I have a LinkedIn account and people keep finding me and asking me questions. And you know, it takes me three minutes to help, so I'm more than willing to help. You know, or an in-person community event. You know, there is a meeting today that is for new entrepreneurs who are within the first few years of completing their business. Let's go and meet some people who may be having the same successes and the same problems that you're having, and talk about it. And don't forget to reach out to your family and your friends, because you never know who's going to be a valuable part of that network. You know, it may be just that stranger you meet at that networking event or it could be your brother. You never, never know. 

And some additional resources. If you don't know where to find a network, here it is. Check out SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives. It's a network of volunteer business mentors dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow, and achieve their goals. So far, they have helped more than 11 million entrepreneurs through free services. Including mentoring, workshops, educational resources since 1964. Remember, I spoke about them helping you produce a business plan. It's going to provide -- they also provide hundreds of free resources on score.org, such as templates, checklists, eGuides, blogs, you know, to include aspects of starting and running a business. From planning and management, marketing, and sales. All of those things are implicit in running your own business. Free help is out there, guys. It's all available to you at no charge, so take advantage of it. I think SCORE is a pretty good organization. I like them a lot. 

How about the Small Business Administration? The SBA maintains and strengthens the nation's economy by aiding, counseling, assisting, and projecting the interests of small businesses. And by helping families and businesses recover from national disasters. Lots of things happen. You know, I mean, I think. If people are telling me the truth, I haven't had the opportunity to watch too much news or weather, there's a hurricane coming and it's going to hit Florida. What happens if your business gets flooded out? The SBA is going to be there to help. What if you have questions about one particular aspect of your business that's just not working the way you think it should be? They can help. They can provide you with technical assistance to help entrepreneurs starting or operating those small businesses. Assistance in financing and contracting. Information on laws and regulations that pertain to your state or the federal aspects of running your business. And they have Community Navigators. The community navigator is a pilot program from the American Rescue Plan initiative designed to reduce barriers so that unrepresented or underserved entrepreneurs can access services that they need to recover, grow, or start their business. Entrepreneurs with disabilities are eligible for the program and can receive critical resources and assistance, including financial assistance to access capital. You know, that's money to buy product so that you can sell it. Contracting and procurement. Who are you going to need to contract with? There are vendors out there who you're going -- if you're running a convenience store, Coca-Cola is going to be one of your contracts to supply you with drinks to sell in your store. Marketing, operations, business development, and exporting. You know, industry-specific training. And we talk a lot about training, how to run the business, but is there something specific, you know, to what you're doing? Is there something that you may need some training for? And that, you know, comes with the territory. And you have community navigators at the US Small Business Administration, sba.gov. 
Disability:IN, it's a nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion worldwide. And certifies, we're going to provide certification for disability-owned business enterprises and veteran disability-owned businesses. And link them to organizations looking to diversify the supply chains. Some good contacts, some good money-making potential is all written into that one little sentence. A disability-owned business enterprise, DOBE, is a for-profit business that is at least 51% owned, managed, and controlled by a person with disability regardless of whether or not that business owner employs other people with a disability. And there's another link for you, Get Certified - Disability:IN at disabilityin.org. And that brings us to the next set of questions.

Jayme >> Hey, Ray, thanks so much. Off the bat, I do just want to address one question we're hearing from a lot of people today, and that is how to find a service provider who specializes in self-employment. And I'll go ahead and answer that one. If you go onto our website at Choose Work! and visit our Find Help tool, you can select -- you can do a search for a service provider and choose the specialization of self-employment. Doesn't mean that another service provider is not going to be able to serve you, but we do have a listing for folks, for providers who do specialize in that self-employment. So the first question I want to ask you, Ray, is related to all these family members that we keep talking about. So if my sister is going to help me handle part of my business, like responding to customer emails or maybe doing some marketing, and I am not paying her, does that count as an Unincurred Business Expense?

Ray >> You know, Jayme, this is one of the other magic things that's available for somebody who is self-employed. It wouldn't be an Unincurred Business Expense, but it would be considered unpaid help. And you would look at what your sister is doing, compare that to a similar job in your community, and Google some going rates per hour, you know, for that services community, you know, responding to customers, responding to email. And if that service was worth $20 an hour, tally up the number of hours that your sister is helping you. And that's another deduction from your income.

Jayme >> All right. Great. Thank you, Ray. We do have another question coming in from quite a few people, and that's along the lines of, you know, I really like this idea of self-employment. But before I jump into starting my own business, will I lose my health care?

Ray >> Oh, you know, health care is one of those things where, given the Work Incentives and the various phases of all the Work Incentives and as your income increases, it's really, really hard to lose your health care. Whether you're on SSI and receiving Medicaid, or SSI on Medicare. Now, that being said, it may cause you to incur a premium for some of your health care. The Medicaid buy-in is available to people who lose SSI completely, lose their cash benefits. And they pay a premium for their health care. The same thing with Medicare. The Extended Period of Medicare Eligibility, it can last seven and a half years after your Trial Work Period. The thing is, you've got to remember that if there's no benefit to withhold the premiums, you're going to have to pay that out of pocket. But the health care is there. The health care will always be there.

Jayme >> Thank you, Ray, and I encourage folks to go back and look at our March 2024 webinar archive on the Choose Work! website. It's titled, “How Will Work Affect My Medicare and Medicaid?” and goes into a lot more detail on that somewhat complicated subject. All right. Ray, last question for you before we switch it back to Derek. And it's, if I'm self-employed, do I have to report my wages to Social Security?

Ray >> Absolutely. If you are making money, you need to report that to Social Security. Now, reporting for a self-employed person is very different than reporting for an employee. So you should be working with a benefits planner or your Employment Network to make sure you're doing that right. Because if your business makes $3,000 in this month, you need to understand that your rent, your expenses, are all going to be deductions to bring that down to something they call Net Earnings from Self-Employment or NESE. So it's a particular way to report. But yes, any time you are working and earning money, you need to report monthly to Social Security.

Jayme >> And again, once you get connected with a service provider, they can help you out with all of that. As it is somewhat complicated, again. All right. Thank you, Ray. With that, I'm going to switch back over to Derek to talk some about his self-employment experience. And Derek, my first question for you is, as someone who is self-employed yourself, can you tell us what you like the most about it?

Derek >> Thanks, Jayme. I appreciate the question. This is Derek speaking. You know, looking back at this, you know, I have a passion where I'm able to spend my work hours with something I'm very passionate about. And that is disability inclusion in employment and basically supporting disability rights. And when we started that business, we wanted to do that. I mentioned it, you know, from education to transition to employment. And so I feel like when I'm getting up each day to go to work, I'm able to be committed in that. But what happened next was something that I wasn't ready for. Perhaps it wasn't part of a business plan. I started working with young adults, and I found that it was such a rewarding part of my work. And in exploring and talking to young adults with disabilities across the country, I found out that teaching networking and how to find mentors through networks was something that was so rewarding that I don't even look at it as work. It's just part of giving back to the community. So I think those are two important areas that I really enjoy. The other area, it's not less important, but having more control over who I work with and what I can do. It's not like every day is like, you know, flowers and roses and whatnot. You know, there are tough days. But you know, I work with people that I really enjoy and I'm privileged to call colleagues and clients. And it makes a big difference. And I've spent part of my career in other places, and so I know that's not something to take for granted. And you know, for a third, you know, I have an opportunity to do a lot of remote work. And, you know, mostly hybrid in that regard, model for work at home. And I spent 18 years commuting. So transitioning away from a commute, it's not something I'll forget. It was a lot of time in a vehicle or a metro train. So those are, I think, the three main areas that I look at is the benefits of self-employment.

Jayme >> Thanks so much for sharing that, Derek. And I'll ask you one final question here today. What advice do you have for someone interested in becoming self-employed?

Derek >> Thanks, Jayme. This is Derek again. You know, for the right person, it's the right match. And I think it's coming up with, you know, if you're sitting there thinking about, I'm scared to make this leap. I don't know how to handle finances, or accounting, or the taxes, that there are so many available supports out there. We've talked about the employment team, the service providers, and the Work Incentives and benefits counselors. And then we talked about the entrepreneur team, the people at SCORE or the Small Business Administration or Disability:IN. These folks are going to do things for you that you can't imagine. I couldn't imagine it. And here I am about, you know, eight years in, and they've all been here for us. It isn't easy but knowing that you have a network of support around you can make self-employment happen. So you know, sometimes when we start the journey, we're worried because the first step, it looks like it's a great wide chasm. And then we take the step and we realize, oh, it wasn't that big of a leap after all. So I'd encourage you to start talking to your employment team about your plans and your fears. And know that there's a great number of people out there ready to support you.

Jayme >> Great. Thank you so much, Derek. And with that, we're going to start moving forward into our closing slides. I know we're at time, so I'll try and go quickly. So we've learned a lot during today's webinar about working for yourself and self-employment. And I do want to give a big thank you to both Derek and Ray for all of that helpful information. We know that it's a lot and it can get complicated. So we want to make sure you know how to connect with people to get some of your questions answered and get you some resources. 

So to get started, we have a few suggestions. First, you can contact the Ticket to Work Help Line at 1-866-968-7842. Or for TTY, 1-866-833-2967. The TTY line is a phone number for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or who have a speech disability and who use a text telephone to make and receive calls. And that is available along with the main toll-free number from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Second, you can visit us at the Choose Work! website at any time at choosework.ssa.gov., where you'll find more details regarding the topics covered in today's webinar, and you can access the Find Help Tool that I mentioned earlier. You can choose how to connect with us. The important part is to get started and make a connection, and the resources I just shared are for anyone eligible for Ticket to Work. You don't have to necessarily be interested in self-employment. So we do encourage you to reach out to us to get some more information. 

A little more information on how to connect with us. You can find us on social media or subscribe to the Choose Work! blog and other email updates by visiting choosework.ssa.gov/contact. This link also appears in the Web links pod under Ticket to Work contact information. Next, to get advice and encouragement and read stories about people who achieved financial independence with help from the Ticket to Work program, you can opt in to receive our text messages. If you're interested in receiving text messages from the Ticket program, please text TICKET to 1-571-489-5292. Standard messaging rates may apply. Again, you can text TICKET to 1-571-489-5292, and those standard messaging rates may apply. And you can opt-out at any time. Or you can always send us an email with your questions. Please don't include any personal information in there. You can email support@choosework.ssa.gov. Thank you so much for joining us for this WISE Webinar. We want to give another big thank you to Ray and Derek for this very helpful information. And we invite you to join us for our next WISE webinar on Wednesday, October 23rd, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The topic is “Ticket to Work: Supporting Access to Good Jobs for All.” Registration is now available online at choosework.ssa.gov/WISE, or you can call 1-866-968-7842. Or for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, dial our TTY at 1-866-833-2967. Thank you again for joining us today. This concludes today's webinar.