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Liz Johnson is the co-founder of The Ability People, TAP, a for-profit social enterprise dedicated to empowering the skilled disability population and helping companies enhance processes and adapt cultures.

Liz is also a former British Swimmer and Gold Medalist, who won multiple medals in the Paralympics, European Championships, and World Championships, just to list a few of her achievements. 

When I invited Liz to be a guest on my podcast, I wanted to find out more about the challenge of employing people with disabilities and how TAP is addressing this challenge. 

But I realized that I didn’t understand the issue correctly. Because I thought of it as a challenge!

But what if, instead of using the word “disability” we use the word “difference”?

Then the challenge becomes the opportunity.

Through the lens of differences, people with disabilities become a pool of opportunities many companies could tap into. And that’s where the work of The Ability People comes in.

This conversation made me realize how my understanding of the issue of hiring people with disabilities in companies was biased.I really enjoyed this conversation with Liz. 

I still have a lot to learn but I am already very grateful to Liz for showing me a brand new perspective. 

And if you are interested in hiring someone with disabilities for your own business for a freelance job, you might consider the new app that Liz and her team have launched recently.

She will tell us all about it at the end of this conversation.Hope you will enjoy the episode as much as I did!

EPISODE NOTES

ON Liz' Vision for the World:  where people feel comfortable enough to be who they are and still have the opportunity to succeed in areas that they want. (3:08)  

ON The the mission of Ability People (TAP): to create meaningful employment for people with disabilities, by removing as many unnecessary barriers as possible (5:03)  

ON Hiring people with disabilities and opportunities for businesses and companies (12:23)  

ON The employment challenge for people with disabilities (16:49)  

ON Liz personal journey with her disability (23:49)  

ON  Liz fighting for herself and her elite swimming career (28:14)  

ON Transition from swimming to launching her business (34:34)  

ON Lessons learned (38:09)  

ON Definition of success for TAP (41:08)  

ON PODIUM by TAP a revolutionary marketplace that connects freelancers and businesses (45:25)  

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CONNECT WITH Liz Johnson

The Ability People TAP: https://www.theabilitypeople.com/

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MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION:

Hidden Figures 

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Check out Liz' swimming achievements on Wikipedia

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Host: Leekei Tang

Contact: hello (at) betterbusinessfounder.com

Music credits: Ukulele Fun by Liosound Music / Wooden Xylophone by Floraphonic

LIZ JOHNSON BETTER BUSINESS FOUNDER

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