Hello again, I hope you’ve been doing well. I’m back with another post from the other side of the mic.
I recently sat down with Imma, host of Beyond the Draft, a podcast for writers who’ve poured themselves into their words and want to know what happens next. Imma spends most of her episodes with authors, ghostwriters, and storytellers, so this conversation went in a slightly different direction than my usual accessibility conversations.
We talked mostly about what it actually feels like to build a life and a business when the world wasn’t built with you in mind.
ON With The Show
The Moment Everything Changed at Twelve
Imma wanted to start at the beginning, so we went back to the moment my vision started going at age twelve because of retinitis pigmentosa. I talked about how the hardest part wasn’t always the blindness itself, it was other people’s assumptions about what I could still do. Those assumptions became their own kind of barrier, sometimes a bigger one than the vision loss.
What the Carnival Taught Me About Risk
Growing up around carnival rides shapes how you think about risk in a way that’s hard to explain to people who didn’t grow up in that world. We got into how that upbringing shaped my relationship with opportunity, and why I’ve never been especially afraid of jumping into something new without a guarantee it’ll work out.
Teaching Myself HTML Because Nobody Else Was Going to Build It For Me
When I needed a website to broker used carnival and amusement rides, accessible tools for blind coders basically didn’t exist. So I taught myself HTML the hard way, back when there was no shortcut for it. I shared what that process actually looked like, building an online business with tools that weren’t designed with someone like me in mind.
Becoming “The Blind Blogger” By Accident
I didn’t start out planning to build a brand around my blindness. Imma and I talked about why I eventually leaned into the name “The Blind Blogger” instead of running from it, and how doing that ended up normalizing disability for a lot of readers who found me because of it.
What Accessibility Actually Means (And Where Businesses Get It Wrong)
This is the part of the conversation that overlaps most with what I usually write about here. We got into what accessibility actually means in practice, not just in policy, and the common mistakes I still see businesses make even when they mean well.
AI: Opportunity or Risk for the Disability Community?
Imma asked where I land on AI, and the honest answer is both. We talked through where I think it genuinely helps and where it still falls short, and whether the disability community should be excited or cautious about how fast it’s moving. I’ll be doing a deeper dive on this specific question in an upcoming post, so consider this the preview.
Interdependence Over Independence
We closed on something I come back to often: the idea of interdependence, self-determination, and what I call determined positivity as tools for actually living, not just coping. We spoke more about interdependence than the other two tools.
Independence gets held up as the goal for everyone. This is even more so for people with disabilities, but leaning on other people, and letting them lean on you, is usually the more sustainable way to build a life with more joy in it.
About Beyond the Draft
Beyond the Draft is where the real story begins — exploring the journey, growth, tools, and inspiration behind success, with conversations ranging from AI tools to books, brands, and personal growth. Imma believes that every young dream has thousands of successful people who have already lived it, and the show aims to bridge the gap between guests and a younger generation looking for that kind of guidance.
About Imma
Imma is the host of Beyond the Draft and a remote podcast-focused Virtual Assistant who helps podcasters and creators run their shows more smoothly. Beyond hosting podcast episodes, Imma supports clients with guest and host calendar management, podcast coordination, content writing, social media management, email writing and communication, and other behind-the-scenes tasks that keep a podcast running efficiently. Imma’s work combines organization, communication, creativity, and a genuine passion for helping podcast hosts create meaningful conversations and build stronger connections with their audiences.
Connect with Imma
Podcast — Beyond the Draft
Elsewhere:
Listen to the Full Conversation
This recap only covers the highlights. Imma and I covered more ground on the full episode, including more of the day-to-day details behind building an accessible business as a blind entrepreneur. You can catch the whole conversation on Beyond the Draft.
Curious what accessibility could look like for your business? I offer a free review of your website’s homepage, no obligation, just a clear look at where you stand. I’m also available for speaking engagements and consulting work. Book a free 30-minute call with me to talk through what your organization needs, or visit theaccessibilityadvantage.com to see more of my work.
Accessibility benefits everyone.
