Sometimes a blind person does need help crossing a street: the fallacy of the independent business owner

By Dave Bahr

One day in the summer of 2011, a blind man and his guide dog stood at the corner of one of the biggest intersections in Schenectady New York. There were turn lanes and the cars rushed by. Suddenly, several people offered to help him cross the street. He allowed a woman to help since they were going the same way. True, there had been many crossings like this that he had crossed before, but the day was hot and all of the noise was getting to him. Everyone made it across safely, the man said thank you and goodbye to the woman and he and his dog went on their way.

You have probably figured out by this point that I am the person in the story. My name is Dave Bahr and I was born totally blind. I was doing an internship in Schenectady when that incident occurred. I had implicit trust in my guide dog, Katie. We had crossed dozens of streets like this one but we were both very tired. Asking for assistance was the right thing to do.

In the main, I am a very independent person and do things by myself. Despite being a widower and having lost Katie the guide dog, I keep a clean living quarter, eat a decent meal, and am a successful speaker, published author, comedian, and coach. When my wife was alive, she was my eyes just as Katie the dog was. Thanks to a service called Aira, nowadays, I get help with reading mail and cooking.

You are probably wondering what all of this has to do with business and team building. As the above examples have illustrated, I am an independent person but I will always be somehow dependent on an individual whether they be human or canine. Even though I am extremely self-sufficient, there will always be a time when I need help from somebody to do something. The same holds true in the business world.

There is a common belief that small business owners must be independent. They must be the sole owner and handle all of the decisions from accounting to sales and marketing. The gurus out there will tell you that all of this is possible thanks to technology, funnel strategies, and automation. None of this is true.

If you do not know how to do taxes or keep a balance sheet, you need to hire a human accountant. If you are not selling a product, you need to hire a human who knows about sales and marketing. Many so-called solopreneurs crash and burn before their business gets off the ground because they think they can do it all. “Tech will solve all your problems!” “This funnel strategy will make you money overnight!” Automate everything so you can live the life you love!” This is not how good businesses work!

Humans need connection. Even if the team that you create in your business is ad hoc and you hire one person as a virtual assistant, you are making connections. I will say it again, the notion of an independent business owner is a complete fallacy. A good business needs a team. Sometimes that team takes a little bit to develop. When I first got my guide dog, Katie, it took about 6 months for us to become a good working team. After that development, we spent ten years working together.

Looking back on that day in New York in 2011, I thought about what I could have done. I could have stood on the street corner and thought about when I was going to cross. I listen to traffic patterns to tell when the light changes. That particular summer day, my teammate shuffled a bit uncomfortably as her paws were hot on the sidewalk. I listened to my teammate’s needs. We got human assistance to speed up the process and made it across.

As a business owner, it is imperative that you have some sort of team. Accept that you will be dependent on somebody no matter what happens. Take that time to build the team, your business, bottom line, and overall well-being will thank you. Dave Bahr is an author, speaker, and comedian fo¬cused on demystifying the public’s perception of how to interact with people with disabilities. As the founder of In-Sightful Living, Dave works as an accessibility con¬sultant, aiding organizations to enhance their systems, environments, events, and cultures to be supportive of people with disabilities. Blind from birth, he teaches that having a disability is not a hindrance, but an asset.

Dave’s funny and often irreverent wit allows him to use storytelling to illustrate that people should not be afraid of disability. He encourages curiosity, tact, and hu¬mor over political correctness, fear, and ignorance