As an owner of a business, you already know how your business works with your current workforce. However, employing a disabled person will enhance your business; you won't just be an ordinary business.  You will be the business that offers a chance to expand their horizons and so much more that comes with working with a disabled person. They could be the inspiration for your employees, community, or even yourself just by being involved in their lives. Business owners should expand their idea of employee prospects to hire more disabled people because a disabled person will increase the business’ tax benefits, but more importantly will improve consumer and employee perspectives on your business. 

Have you ever considered the tax benefits of hiring a disabled person? When hiring a person with a disability, that person has a greater economic value because of the tax benefits they bring with them to that business. The IRS says, “The credit provides employers incentives to hire qualified individuals from these target groups.  The maximum tax credit ranges from $1,200 to $9,600, depending on the employee hired and the length of employment. The credit is available to employers for hiring individuals from certain target groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment.” (IRS, “Tax Benefits for Businesses Who Have Employees with Disabilities”, IRS) For business owners looking for financial benefits, this tax credit is an incentive to hire people with disabilities. If one business receives tax benefits from hiring a person with a disability, then that business’ competition will strive to beat their competitors.  In this case, they will hire a person with a disability to receive their own tax benefits to match their competitors. It is apparent that a business’ tax benefits will only increase when hiring a person with any disability. 

While hiring a person with disabilities can raise a business’ tax benefits, it also improves the business’ image. Hiring a disabled person will only improve a business employees’ and consumers’ perspectives on that business. In a Daily Item article about an ongoing problem at the Walmart in Selinsgrove which is changing a greeter’s work requirements, Adam Catlin (a man with cerebral palsy) cannot meet these new requirements and now the community is outraged. As an example of comments responding to the incident, when “asked what kind of message Walmart is sending, one local advocate said, ‘the wrong one.’” (Eric Scicchitano and Francis Scarcella The Daily Item, “Man with disabilities fears job loss as Walmart shifts front-of-store role, DailyItem) Your success in the economy is based on the image you portray because the people in our society judge anything and everything. So, hiring a person with a disability causes a business’ image to automatically improve. The atmosphere around any person with a disability is open, accepting, and diverse. Any business would want to hire that type of employee into their workplace because it only brings in more customers and enhances the diversity of a workforce. Although hiring a disabled person may rise some challenges one thing is evident, if a business hires a disabled person, it will improve not only consumers’ perspective but also their business in general. 

When hiring a disabled person, a business’ image will improve; however other business owners who hired a disabled person believe that their disabilities cause the workforce to become slower and less productive. Wanda Thibodeaux says, “Disabilities sometimes mean that an employer is not able to work at a pace comparable to other employees.” After doing research and studies which leads to her findings, “For example, it may take longer for someone with a physical disability to move equipment, while someone with a mental disability may take longer to read and interpret documents.” (Wanda Thibodeaux, “The Disadvantages of Disabled Persons in the Workplace”, smallbusiness.chron) While this valid, the impact of hiring a person with a disability will have little effect on how efficient a business’ workforce runs. As previously stated, hiring a disabled person has little effect to the efficiency of a business’ workforce. Contrary to what some owners may believe, disabled people bring happiness and a sense of community to a business that cause employees to become more productive. 

When comparing how productive a workforce is with a disabled person, the productivity increases instead of slowing down. A disabled person matters. However, some business owners say that hiring a disabled person will slow down and lower the productivity. It has become increasingly evident to businesses, that if they want their business to benefit, they must be more lenient to meet a disabled person's needs. The frequency of disabled people employed should raise because of the escalation in tax benefits and how employees’ or costumers perceive the business.  Undoubtably, a disabled person ignites a better opinion of a business as well as better tax benefits.