Business ideas for blind people work best when they build on a skill the owner already has, and blind and visually impaired entrepreneurs already run businesses in jewelry, apparel, piano tuning, voice acting, food and drink experiences, manufacturing, accessibility consulting and software.
A blind person can own a business, and support exists for the start. This guide gives real examples first, then how to start one, then the funding and programs in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Australia and Spain.
Can a blind or visually impaired person run a business?
Yes. The practical barriers for a blind owner are access to information and startup money, not the ability to run a company. Screen readers, braille displays and accessible apps handle most office work, and the guide to adaptive technology for blind users, the comparison of NVDA and JAWS and the list of productivity apps for visually impaired people cover the tools.
A person with low vision may combine magnification with a screen reader, and a vision impaired owner can choose whichever mix is fastest. Skills built through hobbies for blind people such as crafts, music or cooking often turn into the first product.
Business ideas for blind people, with real examples
Each idea below is a real business run by a blind or visually impaired owner, so it shows what already works rather than what might.
Braille jewelry and accessories
Elegant Insights is an online boutique selling handcrafted jewelry and accessories embossed in braille. The owner states on the site, “I am a business owner who is blind.”
Tactile apparel and design
Blind Girl Designs sells graphic shirts, hoodies, dresses, aprons and tote bags. The founder, Tricia, has worked in fashion for more than 20 years, lost most of her vision to retinitis pigmentosa, designs the garments herself and hand-prints the graphics with tactile ink.
Piano tuning and repair
Pitch Perfect Piano is a piano tuning and technician business in Northern Virginia run by John Pastorius, whom the business site describes as legally blind. The National Technical Assistance Center spotlight describes how he trained and then opened the business. Piano tuning is a skilled trade that can be run as a one-person service business.
Voice acting from a home studio
The American Printing House for the Blind profiled Satauna Howery, a voice actor and small business owner who is blind. She records from a home studio and works with a screen reader and a braille display. Voice acting is a service business that can be run from a home studio.
Food and drink experiences
Hoby Wedler has been completely blind since birth, according to his website. He runs Tasting in the Dark, which began in 2011 as a blindfolded wine experience, and co-founded the companies SensPoint and Hoby’s Essentials. Tasting in the Dark is built around tasting without sight.
Manufacturing
Srikanth Bolla, who was born blind, founded Bollant Industries in Hyderabad, India, in 2012 to make eco-friendly disposable products such as areca leaf plates, according to Wikipedia and The Better India. Bollant is a production business rather than a service.
Accessibility consulting
Léonie Watson is a co-founder and director of TetraLogical, an accessibility consultancy, according to the company’s team page. She said in a post to the WebAIM mailing list that she is blind and started a business.
Software and technology
Pneuma Solutions, founded in 2020, makes cloud-based applications for blind and print-disabled people, and its co-founder and chief technology officer, Matt Campbell, is described on the company site as a visually impaired software developer. In India, Krishnakant Mane, who said in a 2023 People Matters interview that he is a blind person in software engineering, founded Bookmatic, a Mumbai company whose OnlineKhata software handles bookkeeping, payments and invoices for small businesses.
Business consulting, training and speaking
Welby Broaddus runs Broaddus Business Solutions. His SHRM speaker bio calls him a visually impaired businessman who owns and operates a business consulting firm, and in a Canvas Rebel interview he said he helps people start businesses, writes business and marketing plans, and gives seminars on onboarding blind and visually impaired employees.
In India, Preeti Monga, whose speaker profile on Atypical Advantage lists her disability as blindness, is the founder and CEO of Silver Linings Services, whose work includes motivation training.
Vending, snack bars and cafes
Under the Randolph-Sheppard program in the United States, blind vendors run cafes and snack bars in government buildings. Louisiana’s state agency reported that Janice Foster’s Vittles Café passed $100,000 in gross sales, which is revenue before costs rather than profit.
How to start a business as a blind person
- Choose an idea that builds on an existing skill, using the examples above as a guide.
- Find the support program in your country from the next section, and contact it before spending money.
- Write a business plan. PASS in the United States requires one for self-employment, and lenders expect one.
- Line up funding from the sources in your country’s section.
- Set up accessible tools for accounting, email, payments and marketing before launch.
- Register the business and follow local licensing and tax rules for its type.
Business support for blind and visually impaired people by country
United States
The Randolph-Sheppard program was enacted in 1936 and amended in 1954 and 1974. It gives blind people priority to operate vending machines, cafeterias, snack bars and similar facilities on federal property, and many states extend the priority to state, county and city buildings. State licensing agencies recruit, train and license the vendors, and policies vary by state.
In federal fiscal year 2018, according to the Rehabilitation Services Administration figures cited by VRTAC, 1,822 blind vendors ran 2,209 facilities, and average net earnings per vendor were $69,907. Utah’s Business Enterprise Program, for example, requires applicants to be legally blind and at least 18, with an entry exam and training, and its managers receive no wages and pay 10% of profit to the program.
For other businesses, the SBA microloans program lends up to $50,000 through SBA-approved intermediary lenders, with an average loan of about $13,000, rates generally between 8% and 13%, and terms up to seven years. The money cannot pay existing debts or buy real estate.
The Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) lets people who receive SSI or Social Security disability benefits set aside income and resources for a work goal, including starting a business, and it requires a written business plan for self-employment. Earned income can also reduce SSI, because the Social Security Administration does not count the first $65 of earned income plus one-half of the amount over $65.
United Kingdom
People with sight loss or partial sight can apply for Access to Work in England, Scotland and Wales, including when self-employed, and it can pay for equipment such as screen readers, support workers and training. In January 2022, RNIB and the British Business Bank announced a partnership to make Start Up Loans materials and applications accessible.
India
The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana offers collateral-free loans of up to Rs 20 lakh for non-corporate, non-farm small and micro businesses through banks and other lenders, in four bands: up to Rs 50,000, up to Rs 5 lakh, up to Rs 10 lakh and up to Rs 20 lakh, according to the Ministry of Finance.
For persons with disabilities, the National Divyangjan Finance and Development Corporation (NDFDC), formerly the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC), gives concessional loans. In a Lok Sabha answer of 17 December 2024, the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment said the loan limit was raised from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, that borrowers who repay on time have received a 1% interest rebate since October 2023, and that 88,133 persons with disabilities received financial assistance between 2019-20 and 2023-24.
The Eyeway summary of the schemes describes the Divyangjan Swavalamban Yojana business loan at 5% interest for small loans and up to 9% for loans of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, with an additional rebate for persons with visual impairment.
It lists eligibility as 40% or more disability under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, an age above 18, Indian citizenship and a relevant qualification or experience.
Australia
The Self-Employment Assistance program, which replaced New Business Assistance with NEIS in July 2022, offers workshops, business plan development, free accredited small business training, advice sessions and coaching through providers in 51 regions, and financial support may be available during coaching.
For disability-related costs, IncludeAbility says the Employment Assistance Fund pays for modifications and equipment, including assistive technology, for self-employed people who work at least 8 hours a week for 13 weeks or more and earn at least the National Minimum Wage.
Spain
ONCE, the Spanish national organization of the blind, runs an employment support service for self-employed members, updated in 2024. It lists loans of 35,000 to 75,000 euros at a fixed 3% annual rate repayable over 10 to 15 years, non-repayable grants of up to 37,500 euros, help with the business plan, and a reduced Social Security fee of 80 euros for two years for people who start as self-employed and were not self-employed in the two previous years.
The service is aimed at people with total blindness or severe visual impairment who are affiliated with ONCE.
Frequently asked questions
Can a blind person own a business?
Yes. Blind and visually impaired people already run businesses in fields from jewelry and piano tuning to accessibility consulting and software, as the examples above show.
What is the best business for a blind person?
The best business builds on a skill the owner already has and works with the tools they use. The examples above range from handmade products to services delivered from a home studio, so no single business suits everyone.
Are there grants for blind people to start a business?
Most support comes as services, subsidies and loans rather than open grants, and the programs differ by country. The country sections above list what applies in each.
What loans can a blind person get for a business in India?
The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana offers collateral-free loans up to Rs 20 lakh for small non-farm businesses through banks and other lenders, according to the Ministry of Finance. The National Divyangjan Finance and Development Corporation, formerly NHFDC, also lends to persons with disabilities, and its loan limit was raised to Rs 50 lakh, according to a December 2024 Lok Sabha answer.
What help is there for visually impaired people starting a business in the UK?
People with sight loss in England, Scotland and Wales can apply for Access to Work when self-employed, which can pay for equipment such as screen readers, support workers and training. RNIB and the British Business Bank also partnered on accessible Start Up Loans materials and application.
Can a blind person run a consulting, training or software business?
Yes. The examples above include an accessibility consultancy co-founded by a blind director, a software company co-founded by a visually impaired developer, and a business consulting firm owned by a visually impaired businessman.
