Self-Employment as Career Choice for People with Disabilities: Personal Factors that Predict Entrepreneurial Intentions

Identifying personal factors that can impact intentions of owning a business among people with disabilities can help to improve quality of vocational services and employment opportunities. This study examined personal variables that affect career choice, including proactive personality, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, fear of failure and optimism, as predictors of entrepreneurial intentions. Survey participants self-identified as having a disability. Results reported that proactive personality and entrepreneurial self-efficacy were significant predictors of entrepreneurial intentions. Accordingly, the research findings were found to be consistent with previous studies, suggesting that entrepreneurial self-efficacy is significant in choosing a career among people with disabilities. The self-efficacy instrument used in this study may assist rehabilitation counselors working with clients who may be potential entrepreneurs. Particularly when individuals with high levels of entrepreneurial self-efficacy demonstrate a strong belief in their ability to achieve goals, perceive low probability of failure and focus on opportunities rather than risks. Understanding the predictive power of entrepreneurial self-efficacy is a means by which practitioners may provide clients adequate tools and motivation in becoming self-employed.