We believe in disabled people being successful in their own businesses.

The Disability Business Network & the My Business Starter Programme is run by three leaders in the disability sector who have a proven track record in helping disabled people thrive: Selwyn Cook, Sandra Budd and ‘that blind woman’, Julie Woods. They are working together with CCS Disability Action, New Zealand’s largest pan-disability support and advocacy provider.

Sandra, Julie and Selwyn are delighted to be able to facilitate and lead the Disability Business Network and the My Business Starter programme. They invite you to request an enrolment form and programme dates now. 

Enrollment is open to all paticipants who identify with disability. Applicants will need meet eligibility criteria as required by CCS Disability Action. The My Business Starter Programme and the Disability Business Network is free of charge to approved participants. 

Julie Woods a.k.a. ‘that blind woman’ has never let the loss of her sight hold her back. She has learned how to cook without looking, to read with her fingers, juggle single parenting and has said “why not” so many times she’s now a Professional Speaker, Author, Advocate and Coach.

Self-employed since 2007, Julie recently teamed up with Selwyn Cook and Sandra Budd to create the My Business Starter Programme and the Disability Business Network. The three believe in self-employment as a pathway for disabled people, and can’t wait to share their story with you all.

Selwyn Cook enjoyed a career as a Shell and then Z Retailer in the Waikato owning and operating a multiple service station business for twenty seven years. His discovery of the talent pool that identified with disability had a significant impact on the positive performance of his business.

He has worked with organisations such as Workbridge, Enrich+, Idea Services and Blind & Low Vision New Zealand to recruit people with physical, mental and intellectual disabilities, In the last three years in business he employed over seventy job seekers through Workbridge alone.

Selwyn has won a number of awards for his work including the Attitude ACC Employer Award 2014, Diversity Works Diversability award in 2015, a City of Hamilton Civic award for Community, People and Wellbeing and was the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Local Hero winner for 2016. 

This led to Selwyn to take up a new challenge as the Workbridge Employer Ambassador. He has always been committed to reflecting diversity in the workplace and ensuring businesses become more inclusive of those living with a disability or illness. 

In the last five years Selwyn worked as an independent facilitator of Disability Employment implementing a service model he designed. This allowed him to continue to promote the benefits to employers so to consider the disability talent pool while also supporting great job-seekers and co-facilitators. 

He continues to be very much involved in supporting young disabled job seekers on their employment journey and towards self employment as a facilitator with the Disability Business Network & the My Business Starter programme.  

Sandra Budd led Blind Low Vision NZ (BLVNZ) as Chief Executive for 12 years following a senior health and disability career across Australasia. Her passion for improving employment opportunities for disabled people saw BLVNZ create the Accessibility Tick programme which is now the cornerstone of the NZ Disability Employers Network. 

She established her own business, focused on working with organisations and disabled people to unlock potential enabling more disabled and neurodivergent people to gain employment or become self-employed. Sandra provides consultancy and mentoring support to people and organisations to grow their potential to build inclusive workplaces. Her senior relationship manager role with NZDEN creates an opportunity to work directly with businesses to help them become more accessible. 

With Julie and Selwyn, they foundered the Disability Business Network, in partnership with CCS Disability Action, focused on their shared belief in disabled people being successful in their own business. Through its My Business Starter programme, which she co-facilitates, disabled people are helped to bring their business dream to life and the Network offers ongoing business networking and peer support.

Sandra was appointed as an advisor on Te Pou‘s Disability Workforce Development Group and is currently a Board Director and Risk Chair of the Hohepa Homes Trust Board/Hohepa Services Limited and Chair of the Little Miracles Trust.