After feeling hopeless about his future, inspirational young blind man launched his own business to create accessible products for the visually impaired, helping other young people at the same time.
Brandon, 23, from Plymouth, has been blind since birth and always felt frustrated at a lack of accessibility for the visually impaired, with fears for his own future in the workplace.
Before receiving support from The King’s Trust, Brandon had been unemployed for 16 months and had applied for more than 1,000 jobs without any success.
He struggled to get past the interview stage either due to a lack of experience or due to his disability.
A big source of frustration for Brandon was not being able to read his own birthday cards or menus in restaurants. He had the idea of starting his own business to tackle this issue, but he didn’t know where to start.
His work coach referred him to The King’s Trust Enterprise programme, which provides mentoring and funding opportunities to help young entrepreneurs across the UK set up their business.
Brandon set about bringing his idea to life and signed up. Now he is the proud founder of All Things Dotty, making accessible products for visually impaired people, their families, and businesses – from braille menus, to greetings cards, board games, card games, colouring books and art work. His aim is to become the number one disability service in the UK, then look to expand internationally.
Brandon also set up the UK Sight Loss Collective, acting as a liaison between government and public bodies, provides free Braille tuition services for people on a low income, mentors young people into work, gives talks in schools and is an ambassador for sight loss charity Devon in Sight.
Brandon says: “I was feeling hopeless for a really long time, constantly looking for jobs. I kept getting turned down. I wasn’t sure what I was good at or what I was worth.
“But Mum and Dad, with the help of my dog Bentley, helped pull me out. Despite my visual impairment, I don’t let it stop me from living my life and grabbing every opportunity life throws at me.
“Once I was supported by The Trust, it felt like there weren’t any barriers and I learned all the vital skills I needed. It’s always been my ambition to focus more on my own business full time, which, now that it’s taken off, I finally can.”
He adds: “I wish I’d had something like All Things Dotty when I was growing up. I am proud because people come and say thank you for turning their lives around. I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
