Frances Denz MNZM author of Hope and Rehabilitation

Liam Butler interviews Frances Denz MNZM author of Hope and Rehabilitation

07 October 2014

In Hope and Rehabilitation $19.95 www.stellaris.co.nz Frances Denz MNZM graphically demonstrates the power of hope and work. Although Frances had cancer for thirty years, she established and ran four businesses in that period. Today Frances is a professional director of Stellaris which has a mission to give people the skills to take control of their own lives. The case studies of the benefits of business are guaranteed to make you sit up and take notice...

Business Case Study One

"Walter was sixty six and living in a very isolated part of New Zealand. He was two hours drive from the nearest shop, and phone and electronic connections were very poor.
He had an accident eight years earlier leaving him with back injuries which made it impossible to return to his previous employment.
He was also very depressed. He lived in a caravan in an area with the highest rainfall in the world, with no power or sewage.
He had spent five years trying to get a permit to utilise resources on his family land. When the permit came through, he was considered "too old" for any state support to start his business.

The organisation I worked with listened to what he wanted to do, and assessed his ability. He was passionate, had shown stickability (five years of trying to convince bureaucracy), and could start the business with $5000.
He was given a loan. He developed a thriving business and became confident enough to become a major player in the economic development of his community."

"Chris was a young man with a mild intellectual disability plus a hidden physical disability, and was functionally illiterate.
He wanted to set up a second hand business in a very small isolated town.
He had very little support from his family. The entire family was unemployed.
The business did not appear to be viable by normal standards, but entry costs were low. As he didn't have any money to spend, and no ability to borrow, he could not go bankrupt.
We therefore decided, on balance, that trying to run a business could be good for this young man, who appeared to have no other employment options.
We gave him a small grant of less than a thousand dollars for start up, which paid for his second hand dealer's license and some stock and a month's very cheap rental in a disused shop.
We negotiated with the local police sergeant for the provision for the dealer's license with the promise that we would supervise Chris's trading, and not let the business be used to launder stolen goods.
We visited once a month to help him with his record keeping, preparing tax returns, and checked that he was working within the law.
As he had very few customers, he had to do something, so he started reading the comics he had for sale, and then progressed to reading simple books.
He also learnt how to add up so he could do the banking. Having real money makes learning maths much more fun.
For someone with learning difficulties it is much easier to relate money to an activity, and then develop an understanding of the more abstract concepts of figures. Figures are in fact a symbol of an activity.
Because he was now a "business man" in his own eyes, and that of his family, he became more socialised, and became more involved in the community.
After some months, Chris's brothers became envious of his improved status, and wealth - which was all comparative.
They got jobs themselves.
The father then felt the family pressure to work, and he also became employed. Because the male family members were now away from home during the day, the mother was no longer subject to physical abuse, with frequent broken bones. She also was able to join the work force.
After two years Chris decided the business wasn't making enough money, so he closed it.
However a local business man sought him out to give him a job. He was looking for someone with "stickability", and proven ability to work at a comparatively boring job.
The full cost to the State for this programme was $5500, which included the $1000 grant. For this money the following outcomes were achieved:
- Two years self employment
- Functional literacy and numeracy skills
- Six people off state benefits
- Enhanced self image of entire family
- Reduction in utilisation of the health and justice system
- Rent on old shop paid, which helped the owner of the building"

Question One
Hope and Rehabilitation is full of personal insight, useful case studies and pragmatic advice about the role starting up a business can play in managing a disability. How can the Government make it easier for people who manage a disability to manage their own business for their own good health and to contribute to the economic growth of their local community?

There is only one area that I think the Government should be involved and that is in the area of making a small start-up grant available and making it possible for the individuals to easily reduce (and increase if required because of health problems) their benefit. This will require the WINZ staff to understand that the clients can achieve magic - but sometimes it takes time. And magic depends on where the client starts from, their skill base. But it is a personal magic. And that takes judgement which iron cast rules makes difficult.
The ACC system failed (except in Matts case where he had an excellent case manager) because they expect that businesses look like successful large businesses which will grow and look wonderful to the accountants. The problem with the ACC programme is that clients can go back onto a lucrative ACC benefit easily if the business fails. It has the wrong incentives. But for people on a very small WINZ benefit the chances are that their position will improve as it is hard to earn less in your business than the benefit! But crucially there needs to be the recognition that rehabilitation and setting up a business at the same time is a long slow process!

Matt, who is on the cover of the book told me the other day that he is now doing all his own shopping, travelling widely in his van, going to parties and functions etc. He no longer uses a hoist for showering, gets into his chair every day instead of lying flat in his bedroom. That alone has improved his lungs and therefore his breathing is stronger, his voice can now be heard and he has had less illnesses. He believes these improvements all date back to his first meetings with us. It has taken ten years to re-integrate into the community. Hard work on his part has made it happen. We were just the trigger because we expected him to do it. That is the power of hope and work.

Changing perception of capability is not a Government role. It is the role of those working with people with a disability. We are not there to care for them. We are there to support them as much or as little as required to care for themselves.

Question Two
Frances you explain good financial planning and adherence to a business plan underpin the success of all business people, disabled or not. Do you think that the number of business failures in New Zealand can be put down to poor planning and launching of ventures that were never going to fly?

There is a general perception that 80% of businesses fail in the first five years. That is not actually true! What happens is that when the statisticians go around the country counting businesses they can only count the ones that they can see! People go out of business for a variety of reasons which may have nothing to do with failing. These might include;
• They have sold the business to someone else and the name has changed
• They changed the name and the product to the changing market
• The market changes requiring a different skill set
• A better offer of a good job (very common)
• Boredom with the hard work
• Marriage break-up which might mean business sale or losing a labour unit, or kids to look after
• A new relationship requiring a different lifestyle or place
• Loneliness
These are not necessarily failures of the business but of life changes
Then you have the other things such as:
• No room for growth in the market
• Lacking the skills to grow
• No money for development
• Competitors are better than you
• Lousy product etc
• Lack of business skills
To me failure is if you go broke and don't pay your debts, thus hurting others. Otherwise it is a personal learning experience, and where is the failure in gaining knowledge?

Question Three
Frances you share the story of Walter a socially isolated depressed 66 year old man who with a loan of $5000 developed a thriving business and became confident enough to become a major player in the economic development of his community. How can older people who want to support or be supported by other older people to start up small business start doing good work?

My advice is to just start! A friend of mine who is 85 has just started a new business making pro-biotic relishes etc. His total initial cost was the purchase of the glass jars and the use of a registered kitchen once a week. Very little cost and he can grow as quickly or not as he can manage.
Starting small with a tiny investment is great as you have very little to lose! And join with others who are doing the same. Just imagine how much more interesting retirement villages would be if they became incubators for small businesses. Now there's a thought...

Frances is a finalist for the NEXT Woman of the Year being held on Thursday 9th October 2014.

To enter the book draw CLICK HERE Draw closes 21st October 2014.

Open to NZ residents only.

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