The work of a young, disabled entrepreneur is twofold: manage a successful business in a competitive economy and advocate for inclusion and tools for others with their condition.
As the holiday season approaches, and many nonprofits yield increased funding, Shane Burcaw of Laughing at My Nightmare and Chloe Sharaf of Together We Art both have captured the attention and donations from their audiences, though not without barriers along the way.
Shane Burcaw, the successful author, host of the popular YouTube channel “Squirmy and Grubs” and owner of Laughing at My Nightmare began his journey while in college with his cousin, Sarah. Shane became inspired to raise funds for Muscular Dystrophy after noting a lack of access to adaptive equipment.
“We’re not being kind to disabled people, we’re providing equipment people can’t get because of systemic failures,” said Burcaw.
Shane and Sarah founded LAMN as a side project while juggling classes and extracurriculars, which allowed them to test the waters of fundraising and public speaking while tweaking their presentations along the way. Among their biggest learning curves was learning to ask for help from volunteers and other professionals and allocating time for managing all aspects of the business like bookkeeping and answering emails from community members.
Shane also improved his ability to gracefully (and humorously) confront the stigma associated with disability in the professional world. Although younger generations understand Shane’s message, older generations still say, “You’re so inspiring!” after his presentations. Perhaps the trickiest audience to reach is other business professionals.
“Often, I’d be talking with a business person about fundraising, and I’d roll into the meeting with my wheelchair… and you could just tell they were thinking I wasn’t a real business person,” said Burcaw.
Shane and Sarah decided to expand the mission of LAMN to help erase these misconceptions via speaking engagements and through his YouTube channel, Squirmy and Grubs.
“I think it would be disingenuous to support disabled people financially but not talk about the issues in our society that creates the need for financial support,” said Burcaw.
Another nonprofit that seeks to eliminate stigma is Together We Art, which is founded by 16-year-old Chloe Sharaf. She creates care packages to send to other chronically ill teens that incorporate art with hopes of inspiring others who may feel isolated because of their illness.
Chloe began her nonprofit after drawing inspiration from her physical therapist and other advocates in the chronic illness community. After a year and a half of submitting paperwork to become a registered nonprofit, she got to work creating care packages.
“You need patience and determination for the trickier stuff that has less to do with what you love and more to do with the paperwork of it all,” said Sharaf, “On high pain days, I use my nonprofit to cope; it reminds me that I am not alone.”
Chloe has found comfort during her own illness journey by helping others consistently. She spends thirty minutes a day working on her business, which sometimes means working in the waiting room of a doctor’s office to stay productive. Since her audience is primarily other chronically ill people, she has not encountered as many stereotypes about disabilities. Her biggest hurdle is connecting to teen boys who are chronically ill.
“It can be really tricky to navigate masculinity and seek out help at a young age before you learn that your illness has no effect on your masculinity… and that seeking out help is more than acceptable,” said Sharaf.
She hopes to reach this demographic and grow her business by volunteering in hospitals, hosting peer-led Zoom support groups, and creating a book featuring the art and poetry of chronically ill people.
Both Chloe and Shane can agree that the reason their businesses have withstood the test of time is based on their passion and determination, which are skills they have learned from living with their disabilities.
