Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact me directly at ed@keeterconsulting.com or (616) 204-4380 if your specific question is not addressed here.

• Small Business

   

  • How do I access your services?
    • If you're currently a customer of Michigan Rehabilitation Services or the Department of Veterans Affairs, talk to your counselor about your interest in self-employment. He or she can help you to assess the appropriateness of self-employment for you at this point in time. If you agree that it's an idea worth pursuing, she/he can contact Mike Vuillemot or Julie Maurer at the CMU Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship to arrange for assistance through CMU with assessing and developing your business idea. You can request me (Ed Keeter) but may also be paired with another CMU Consultant who has either more expertise in your area of interest or greater availability to provide services.
    • If you're not currently with MRS but you are a person with a disability who is un- or under-employed, I suggest contacting MRS to determine what services, if any, they can provide. MRS can assist with determining the full range of employment options for you (including self employment) and can provide counseling and financial support with training, reasonable accommodations, equipment and small business consulting services, if appropriate.
    • If you're a service-disabled veteran whose circumstances are like those listed above, I suggest contacting the VA for the same reasons
    • If you do not have a disability, are not eligible for MRS or VA services or choose not to use MRS or VA services, you can contact me directly to discuss my pricing and services. If you have a long-term disability, auto no-fault or workers' compensation claim that is active, you may be able to receive some assistance with paying for small business consulting and/or start-up expenses through your insurer.

• Who pays for your services?
  • For MRS and VA customers who, with their counselor's agreement, are pursuing self-employment, MRS or the VA will pay for small business consulting services.
  • For individuals receiving workers' compensation, auto no-fault or long term disability benefits, your insurer may (not necessarily will) pay for some or all expenses related to pursuing self-employment. They may also recommend a service provider other than me, however.
  • Individuals not receiving services/benefits from MRS, the VA or insurance providers can pay out-of-pocket for services. Pricing is negotiable based on your specific needs and the time required for the work.

 

• What services do you provide, exactly?
  • Standard services include
    • an initial assessment meeting and report summarizing my initial impressions of the feasibility of your business idea, including rough estimates of the time, money and resources necessary to implement it. The assessment report also summarizes my impressions of your readiness for self-employment and includes recommended action steps for proceeding.
    • assistance with market, customer and competitive research, including (if needed) detailed demographic reports on target consumers.
    • assistance with creating a simple, clear, but detailed and comprehensive business plan covering customer/competitive analysis, marketing strategy, organizational design, goods and services needed, financial considerations and revenue & expense forecasts.
    • follow-up assistance with plan implementation as needed.
    • weekly or monthly progress reports
  • Additional services such as mentoring, web site design and software training can be also be provided as necessary.

 

• I have a great idea for a business or a new product. Where should I start if I want to turn my idea into a business opportunity?
  • First, check out my Business Idea Evaluator tool to "reality check" your idea.
  • Next, conduct some basic research online or at your library: Who is already providing a similar product or service? How many competitors are there? What will your start-up costs be (approximately)? How large is your target market? How are they meeting this need presently?
  • Finally, contact me or possibly another consulting resource like SCORE to evaluate your initial idea and research in greater detail.

 

• I want to be self-employed, but I don't know what would be a good business idea for me. How can I explore possible options?
  • First, focus on ideas dealing with work where you already have experience, skill and passion. Starting a small business is absolutely the wrong time to try on-the-job learning.
  • Check out the Keeter Consulting Blog, specifically the 1/6/09, 2/9/09, 3/18/09 8/25/09 and 8/31/09 entries, all of which explore this topic in greater detail.

 

• Disability Management

   

  • What is disability management?
    • Disability Management is a catch-all term to describe the range of things that a company can do to reduce, and more effectively manage, the number of cases where an employee is injured on the job and/or prevented from working (or working to full capacity) due to an injury, illness or pre-existing impairment (disability).
    • Aspects of disability management include
      • prevention, starting with new hire screenings, employee orientations and facility design;
      • managing and compensating employees in a way that promotes safety and wellness;
      • aggressive and proactive safety training and workplace modifications;
      • early, positive intervention when an injury or illness occurs, whether work-related or not;
      • immediate, detailed and action-oriented investigation of how the workplace injury occurred with the goal of preventing future instances;
      • coordinating commnication and collaboration between all involved parties: the company finance/risk Management functions, legal, human resources, safety/loss prevention, training, employee relations, internal and external medical and psychological health care providers, compensation, facilities design, insurance providers, actual line workers, executive management, etc.
      • proactive, aggressive and positive case management with the goal of expediting rehabilitation and returning the employee to work, even if in a new, temporary or reduced capacity, as soon as possible
      • providing employee accommodation analyses to adapt the work environment to allow an employee to function competitively in it despite having any impairments, a.k.a. disabilities or "medical restrictions."

   

  • What disability management related services does Keeter Consulting provide?
    • Provide planning, consultation and service delivery functions to businesses on all of he above.
    • Employee accommodation analyses on behalf of a current or prospective employee, employer or employee advocate, detailing options for providing reasonable accommodations consistent with both the Americans with Disabilities Act and existing company policies and practices.
    • Employee/Manager training and/or presentations related to disability management.