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Grow your business, Grow your community
Listed here are some free or low cost things you can do to make your business more welcoming and accessible.
The information includes suggestions on how to grow your business and community in making it more accessible to customers.
You can make it easy for customers to find, enter and move around your business.
Your services and how you communicate to your customers have an impact on your community and how well your business grows.
To grow your business you can make your business more accessible to customers who:
- Use a wheelchair, walking frame, walking stick, electric scooter, shopping buggy or pram
- Have difficulties with talking
- Have difficulties with hearing
- Have difficulties with seeing
- Are unwell
- Have difficulty reading
- Have difficulty finding their way around
How to make it easy for customers to find your business:
- Make the door and door frame different colours
- Have large clear signs
– avoid fancy writing
How to make it easy for customers to enter your business:
- Think about buying an inexpensive portable ramp if the doorway to your business has a step
- Adjust the door closer so it’s not too heavy to push open. Parents with prams will appreciate it too
- Move racks and shelves away from the doorway
- If you have displays or tables outside your business, move them to the street side of the footpath for clear access
- If you notice the footpath outside your business is uneven or dangerous contact your local Council so they can repair it
- If you’re planning to replace your front windows and door, get some information about how you can make the doorway accessible and compliant with the Building Code, from Scope’s Building Advisory Service
How to make it easy for customers to move around your business:
- Have signs that also have pictures to direct people where to go
- Have more space between racks and shelves for people to move around. Parents with prams will appreciate it too
How to make it easy for customers to tell you what they want:
- Give people time to communicate with you
- Have a pen and paper ready to communicate in writing
- Contact Scope’s Communication Resource Centre about communication aids that could assist you and your customers to communicate
- Think about having a section of your customer counter lowered. This is useful for people who use wheelchairs and its great for children too
Things to remember when communicating with people:
- Treat people as you wish to be treated
- Don’t worry about getting it ‘wrong’. Be natural. Be flexible. Be patient. Ask again if you don’t understand
- Ask if a person needs help, don’t assume
- Focus on the person when you’re speaking to them
- If you’re not sure, ask the person about the best way to communicate with them
- Some people will not be comfortable making eye contact with you during conversation
- Say person with a disability – not disabled person.
- Say person who uses a wheelchair – not confined to a wheelchair.
- Say accessible parking or toilet – not disabled parking or toilet
Services that can help you grow your business
For more information contact Abbie Moore, Manager Community Inclusion and Development at 0458 958 830 or view the Grow your business, Grow your community brochure (PDF 197 KB).
You can contact Scope for the services listed below either by phone (03) 9843 3000 or online.
- Scope’s Community Inclusion Unit
- Scope’s Communication Resource Centre
- Scope’s Building Advisory Service
- Scope’s Disability Educators Group
Contact your local council for your Local Council Metro/Rural Access Officer.
Partners in this project include Scope Victoria, the City of Whitehorse Metro Access Worker and the Knox City Council Metro Access Officer.
