The Shred Shed: One Man’s Path to Self-Employment

IMG 0729Like many self-employed business people, Errol Zinkand works out of his home office. He has a basic schedule that he follows each week, but it’s flexible enough that he can adjust or reduce his working hours if need be. Zinkand knows each of his clients personally, and business is going so well, he and his family are considering a future expansion.

Zinkand is one of the growing ranks of self-employed business people in the American workforce. He’s also one of the growing ranks of self-employed business people with a disability. His business meets a critical need in our data-driven, privacy-sensitive society: document shredding. He always enjoyed shredding documents, and that enjoyment was loud and clear during his job discovery process. Initially, the plan was for him to take a job within a company that would allow him to focus on shredding.

But, explains Zinkand’s job coach Jon Huff of Briggs and Associates, they ran into an obstacle while job developing. Big companies were outsourcing their shredding. Small companies didn’t have enough volume to require a permanent staff position.

That challenge, says Zinkand’s father Ken, led to an idea: “Wouldn’t it be great if we could just let Errol shred and make a business out of it?”

The first step was equipment. Zinkand needed a high-volume shredder to begin. He and his parents found a $2,000 shredder at the bargain price of $800. Next, he needed a workspace. His father Ken, who works in the trade show industry, converted a roomy shed in their backyard into a cozy office space. The final step was connecting with clients, and thanks to Zinkand’s relationships in his community and the work he and his job coach had already done while job searching, they were able to build a good-sized client roster.

A variety of small business people, including a number of attorneys, use Zinkand’s services. And unsurprisingly, there is always a jump in demand at tax time!

A visit to Zinkand’s workplace is a step into the cozy, personalized world he and his support team have created. He and his father keep chickens and grow a medley of mushrooms in the backyard around the small building that Zinkand’s mother Carol Rankin has nicknamed their “Shred Shed.”

Inside the Shred Shed, art hangs on the walls and lights give off a warm glow as classical music plays in the background. “I’m shredding with Jon,” Zinkand explains cheerfully, as he sorts through a large pile while removing clips. Jon, who is there one day a week to support Zinkand, smiles and says, “The way I see it, he’s the boss.”

Twenty-seven-year-old Zinkand comes across as a relaxed, happy young man who’s confident enough to welcome a stranger into his workspace with nary a disruption. According to his father, Zinkand’s work is what has allowed that confidence to bloom. “Errol did not do well in the day care support system. I think it was unfulfilling.” Ken adds, “He’s happiest when he shreds. It gives him some self-esteem. He moves with confidence.”

In addition to the intrinsic rewards, his business also gives Zinkand an income, allowing him to have his own financial resources. He enjoys horseback riding, swimming lessons and movies and he is able to pay for all these things using the money he’s earned.

For many people, including many with disabilities, self-employment can be more financially rewarding than traditional employment. The national data on people who use Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services to find employment shows that the average earnings for people who are self-employed are consistently higher than the wages of people in other employment situations. The average weekly earning for a VR client who is successfully employed is $365, but that jumps to $445 when we look at the VR client who is self-employed.1

That’s a powerful statement for the disability community, especially when you consider that everyone eligible to use VR by definition has a disability. Despite the potential lifestyle and financial benefits of self-employment, historically it has not received much attention as an employment option for people with disabilities. That is changing now with growing attention across the country in concepts like job discovery, customized employment and initiatives like STARTUP, a national project focused on self-employment for people with disabilities.

One reason sometimes given for a lack of interest in self-employment is concern over how an individual or family can juggle finances and remain eligible for disability benefits. An excellent resource to negotiate this is the Social Security Administration’s 2015 Red Book: A Summary Guide to Employment Supports for Persons with Disabilities Under the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income Programs. The Red Book, which is written in plain language, is helpful for all types of employment situations and explains concepts like Property Essential to Self-Support, or PESS, that allows a person to own property or resources essential to their self-support; and Plan to Achieve Self Support, a plan that allows a person to save for an employment goal.

Today, a growing number of Georgians with disabilities are tapping into their own power and potential through self-employment. These entrepreneurs create art, scan photos, grow vegetables and repair small engines. And those are just a handful of the possibilities. The beautiful thing about self-employment is its flexible nature and its variety. It’s all about matching up a person’s talents and gifts with an unmet need. And that match, when made well, is a powerful recipe for fulfillment.

Just ask Zinkand. You can find him in the shed, shredding away.

1“Self-Employment for People with Disabilities.” Office of Disability Employment Policy, United States Department of Labor. December 15, 2013. Page 6.

The 2015 Red Book: A Summary Guide to Employment Supports for Persons with Disabilities Under the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income Programs is available at ssa.gov/redbook/documents/TheRedBook2015.pdf or request a copy by calling 410.965.2039.

D’ARCY ROBB is the co-coordinator of Employment First Georgia.

Tags: Making a Difference