http://www.theinclusivebusinessgroup.co.uk/, https://linktr.ee/theinclusivebusinessgroup

The Inclusive Business Group, Worcester (2026)

28/03/2024

Last week I attended for the first time - it definitely won’t be my last!

I spent most of the day listening to incredible speakers sharing their knowledge and expertise, their lived experience of disability and offering their advice to help attendees become more accessible and inclusive in their businesses. I’ve already been able to apply some of those tips within the organisations I work with and can see opportunities to do more.

I heard about inclusive design, the EU Accessibility Act, digital accessibility, how to have confident conversations about disability and making invisible disabilities visible.

It was great to meet people I’ve connected with online in person finally, and to meet so many new connections I’m looking forward to working with in the future.

Accessibility and inclusion is a long term journey. Even if you get it right one day, doesn’t mean it will always be right. Things evolve all the time and there’s always more to learn - and yesterday provided me with the opportunity to continue that learning.

Image ID: 4 panel members seated in front of a large screen which reads business without barriers, demystifying the EU accessibility act. The panel are 4 white peopl, 2 of whom are women. One man is blind and has a guide dog sitting at his feet. There’s an audience seated in front of them, a man providing sign language interpretation and speakers on stands in the background.

17/11/2023

This week I had the opportunity to speak at a networking meeting on the topic of online accessibility.

Generally speaking, people think it’s hard and/or expensive to make their online content accessible to all, so my job (in just 30mins) was to show them that it’s essentially free, provided it’s considered upfront.

Top tips?

Choose your colours carefully - is the contrast enough to make things clear?

Are the fonts you’re choosing easily readable or is anyone struggling to read your handwritten style text?

Do your images all have alt text?

Are you using image descriptions?

Do your videos have simple and accessible captions?

Do your hashtags work for all or have you forgotten to use capital letters such as or when choosing them?

Accessibility doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s one or two additional steps that make your content available to all. It might just convert into some additional sales.

Let me know if you need some help or you want to sign up for the next online accessibility 101 workshop!

Image description: a photo of Carrie, a white woman with shoulder length copper coloured hair wearing a green jacket. The photo is inside a purple circle on a white background. Purple text reads online accessibility, do you consider accessibility before publishing? Further text reads speaker and workshop facilitator.

05/08/2023

After what felt like an eternity of struggling and searching for answers, I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). The diagnosis brought some relief, finally giving a name to the relentless beast that had taken over my life. But it also meant that I had to face a new reality – I was mostly housebound, unable to work, and my health was deteriorating.

The road to finding a way to manage my condition was long and arduous. My rheumatologist referred me for physiotherapy, which led me to hydrotherapy. Slowly, through perseverance and the support of my healthcare team, I was able to start moving my body again. It was during this time that I discovered the concept of “pacing” – managing my activities and energy levels to prevent crashing and worsening symptoms. This valuable insight came from the online community I had begun connecting with, fellow warriors battling CFS/ME.

This journey took me to creating The Fatigue Network with a group of colleagues in the organisation I went back to work at.

Nearly 8 years later I’m bringing that expertise outside of work through The Inclusive Business Group.

Read the story behind The Inclusive Business Group here:

https://theinclusivebusinessgroup.co.uk/the-inclusive-business-group-our-story/

ID. Photo of Carrie, a white women and shoulder length brown hair wearing a cream top underneath a pale green jacket. She’s sat at her laptop and holding a yellow mug of coffee smiling to camera. Purple text to the left reads After what felt like an eternity of struggling and searching for answers, I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).

25/05/2023

Does your organisation use employee passports?

A passport is a document owned by the team member who has a disability, health condition or caring responsibilities.

It explains the things the line manager needs to know, in as much detail as the team member is comfortable sharing.

It sets out the adjustments needed - whether that be physical things like a different desk or chair, technology like dictation software or working pattern flexibility.

It also sets out the agreement between both parties on checking everything is working as it should be, and how best to communicate with each other.

They’re an incredibly useful tool to help make sure everyone is sticking to the agreements made, and helps if the team member moves teams or the line manager changes - it can enable continuity of support.

Nobody else needs to see it, or even know you have one.

Employee passports are one of the topics of discussion in our peer support groups, including templates and guidance for managers and business owners with staff with disabilities or long term health conditions.

Contact me if you’d like help establishing passports in your organisation.

Image Description: purple square with text which reads Employee Passports in a 3D style font. The inclusive business group logo is at the bottom of the square.

19/05/2023

Today I delivered an introduction to creating accessible content online to a group of small business owners.

We talked about:

Colour contrast
Appropriate fonts
Use of emojis and gifs
Captions for video
Alt text and image descriptions
Hashtags

It was brilliant to see the attendees start to make adjustments to their social media presence right away, making their content more accessible not only to those with disabilities or health issues, but everyone.

Contact me today if you’d like to join an upcoming introduction to creating an accessible online presence class.

Image description: photo of Carrie, a white woman with warm brown hair wearing a white tshirt and green jacket. She’s sitting in a cafe at her laptop with a yellow mug of coffee next to her and she’s smiling. The photo has a purple border with white text which reads The Inclusive Business Group in the top left corner.

16/05/2023

Thursday is Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

What does accessibility mean to you?

What do you want to see companies doing to improve their accessibility to disabled and chronically ill staff and customers?

Image description: purple square background with white text which reads what does accessibility mean to you? In the bottom left corner is a small image of the inclusive business group logo of white circles overlaying each other and the business name in white text.

12/05/2023

The 12th May is International ME Awareness Day - do you have ME, CFS, Long Covid or other post viral fatigue conditions? Continuing to work whilst managing energy limiting conditions can be extremely difficult, and is impossible for those most severely affected.

“Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) is a long-term (chronic), fluctuating, neurological disease that causes symptoms affecting many body systems, more commonly the nervous and immune systems. M.E. affects an estimated 250,000 people in the UK, and around 17 million people worldwide.

People with M.E. experience debilitating pain, fatigue and a range of other symptoms associated with post-exertional malaise, the body and brain’s inability to recover after expending even small amounts of energy.”

Source: Action for ME

Image Description: purple background with white text which reads 12th May - International ME Awareness Day, followed by a large speech mark and text which reads ME affects approximately 250,000 people in the UK.

29/03/2023

Hi! I’m Carrie, the face behind The Inclusive Business Group.

Ten years ago I was climbing the corporate ladder, obsessed with exercise and almost always running everywhere at 100mph.

Then I got sick pretty much overnight.

It was an ordinary virus, but my lifestyle meant my immune system wasn’t exactly performing at its best. After a few weeks most of the viral symptoms left, but the absolute exhaustion and pain didn’t. By that point I couldn’t work, no matter how hard I tried. Pushing just made everything worse - when I did manage a few hours at work I’d end up having 24hours in bed asleep before trying it all over again.

I was signed off work, became a human pin cushion whilst I was tested and tested and tested, eventually diagnosed with CFS/ME. I stayed off work for almost a year, then had a phased return to work for nearly six months.

During that time I met a group of staff in my organisation who also had Energy Limiting Conditions - others with CFS/ME and some with MS. Together we established The Fatigue Network - an employee resource group designed to support staff with Energy Limiting Conditions and those going through diagnosis.

I’ve been leading that network for the last 7 years, grew it from a few dozen people to over 500, and won awards for the impact and support we’ve provided as a group.

I’m one of the lucky ones, because my health has stabilised at a higher level than it was a few years ago, and I’ve gained a huge amount of experience in building and leading networks.

The Inclusive Business Group is here for small business owners with disabilities, for employees in SMEs which are too small for their own staff networks but need that peer support.

There’s a link below to sign up to the waiting list, ready for the groups launch later this year.

You don’t have to do it alone.

https://mailchi.mp/ef92f130d394/support-group-for-disabled-chronically-ill-business-owners-and-staff

ID. Purple square with white text which reads meet the founder Carrie Pawley, next to a picture of Carrie, a white woman with brown hair just above her shoulders, she’s wearing a blue roll neck jumper.

28/03/2023

25 per cent of small business owners are disabled or have a health condition (I’m just one of them - are you?)

21% of working age adults are disabled - so if you run a business and employ 5 or more people and think none of them are disabled in any way, statistics would suggest at least one of them has a disability or condition - and it may well be invisible as many are.

The "purple pound" is the money spent by disabled and chronically ill people in the UK and is reckoned to be worth around £249bn to the economy - so if you’re not considering how to connect with disabled customers, you’re missing out on your share of that money!

ID. Purple rectangle with white text which reads a few stats…

26/03/2023

Today is Purple Day.

Purple Day is an international grassroots effort dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy worldwide. On March 26th annually, people in countries around the world are invited to wear purple and host events in support of epilepsy awareness.

65 million people have epilepsy worldwide (including my daughter, my dad, my uncle and my cousin).

Approximately 1 in 100 people have epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder of the central nervous system, specifically of the brain . It is characterized by the tendency to have recurrent seizures.

The brain is made up of billions of nerve cells or neurons that communicate through electrical and chemical signals. When there is a sudden excessive electrical discharge that disrupts the normal activity of the nerve cells, a seizure may result.

Source: https://www.purpleday.org/

ID. Purple rectangle with white text in the centre that reads Purple Day.

26/03/2023

1 in 5 of the working-age population are classed as disabled
more people are reporting a long-term health condition or disability than did so eight years ago

1 in 3 disabled people feel there’s a lot of disability prejudice.

1 in 3 people see disabled people as being less productive than non-disabled people

The Inclusive Business Group is a new initiative designed to support business owners and employees of micro businesses and SMEs with disabilities or long term health conditions, whether diagnosed formally or not.

Connect with a peer group who understand the challenges you face. Get support through training sessions, webinars and meet ups. Build the confidence you need to flourish in work, advocate for your needs or support staff with disabilities.

Sign up to the wait list to be the first to hear when doors open later in 2023.

Get connected, get supported, get confident.

Hosted by Carrie Pawley, award winning public sector disability network leader.

Find out more about Carrie and connect with her online via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carriepawley/

https://mailchi.mp/ef92f130d394/support-group-for-disabled-chronically-ill-business-owners-and-staff

Image Description: Purple background with white text which reads The Inclusive Business Group next to a white circular pattern.

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