Grace's story

An image of Grace in her wheelchair by the wharf with her dog

Striking out on her own: Grace’s story

Grace’s life changed completely when she developed Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) after a bout of meningitis in 2010.

“My body doesn’t maintain blood pressure properly, so I spend most of my time lying down,” Grace explains.

Having POTS impacted everything: where Grace could live, how independent she could be, and her career.

“After I got POTS, I quit work and moved back in with my mum. We spent years trying to get the right diagnosis and find the right support.”

Being able to look after herself – prepare meals, wash her hair, keeping clean – was the first priority. Once the basics were in place, Grace retrained as a bookkeeper to get back into the workforce.

But when she was ready to look for work again, there were further challenges.

“Employers were worried about the hours I could work or what clients might think about me working lying down,” Grace recalls. “That's when someone suggested I start my own business.”

Grace and her family found an organisation that supports people from marginalised communities to start their own businesses.

“Their help has been amazing,” Grace says. “They supported me to create a business plan, made sure I had all the requirements ticked to start a business, and checked in on me once we were up and running.”

Grace launched her business in early 2023. Since then, her business has grown and she now manages a team of five people.

“These days, my focus is on customer service,” Grace says. “I love working with clients to understand their finances, so that whether they’re numbers people or not, they can make educated decisions.”

As a small business owner herself, Grace is passionate about supporting the small business community.

“I grew up with small businesses around me and I feel they create resilience in communities,” she says. “I've been able to connect with other small business owners through local and national networking groups, which has been very inspiring for me.”

If she’d found the Disability Gateway when she first got POTS, Grace believes everything could have been different.

She could have received the support she needed for everyday living, which would have allowed her to retrain and start her business earlier.

“If I could give one piece of advice to people with disability, it would be to visit the Disability Gateway today,” she says. “My family and I might have avoided years of struggle not knowing where to get help. It would have opened up opportunities in my life much faster.”

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Audio

Visual

[Background music playing - soft piano]

I spend most of my time lying down.

A woman is lying down using a computer.

I’m generally up between one and four hours each day and by ‘up’, that’s standing up or sitting up.

A woman is lying down on a couch and laughing.

I’m Grace, I’m a bookkeeper.

After I got POTS it was really hard to find a job.

Grace is lying down in her home speaking to the camera.

In the end, I was introduced to a program that helped me set up a business as someone with a disability.

Grace is typing on her computer. She is using a headset to speak to a client.

I now have a team of six, including me. We provide bookkeeping services for our clients.

Two monitors with information about Grace’s business are onscreen.

I actually found the disability when I was still looking for supports.

Grace is lying down in her home. She is browsing the Disability Gateway website on her computer.

POTS happened suddenly to me, I didn’t have exposure to that beforehand.

Grace is laying down on her couch speaking to her support worker. A dog is at the foot of the couch.

So I didn’t have the language. So hearing now that there’s a hotline, that’s what was really exciting for me

Grace is dialling the Disability Gateway hotline on her mobile phone.

Because being able to speak to someone in my own language, it’s fantastic.

Grace is speaking on her mobile phone.

Having a business has opened up so much for me and I really love being able to support other small business owners be successful in their own businesses.

Grace is outdoors in an electric wheelchair. She is moving along a waterfront with a dog and her support worker.

[Background music playing - soft piano]

A closing slide appears with the Disability Gateway logo, the Australian Government logo and the website URL: www.disabilitygateway.gov.au