Easy Life Business Plan

Write the mission and the money test

Put the purpose in one sentence that a lawyer can put in your charter: lower the cost of government by turning benefit costs into wages and taxes, and by publishing practical ideas for the federal budget.

• Know which pot of money you are helping. Disability Insurance (SSDI) is paid from the Social Security trust fund, which payroll taxes refill. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is paid from general tax revenue, so moving SSI recipients into work lowers general federal spending rather than the trust fund.
• Decide the numbers you will report every year: workers employed, wages paid, payroll taxes paid, and how many workers reduced or left cash benefits.

Form the for-profit benefit corporation in Pennsylvania

Incorporate in Pennsylvania under its benefit corporation law and write the fiscal mission into the articles, so directors are legally allowed to weigh it alongside profit.

• This company owns the three product lines: books, websites, and fiscal ideas.
• Pennsylvania requires a yearly benefit report, filed with the Department of State and posted on the company website, so the company's public results are part of its legal record.
• "B Corp" certification from the nonprofit B Lab is a separate, optional seal earned by an assessment. You do not need it to be a benefit corporation.
• Get an Employer Identification Number from the IRS and open a business bank account.

Form the nonprofit workforce organization

Incorporate a separate Pennsylvania nonprofit and apply to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status, because this is the organization that can join AbilityOne.

• It needs its own board, with a majority who do not work for or own the for-profit company. Include people with disabilities on the board.
• To qualify for AbilityOne it must keep at least 75 per cent of its direct labor hours done by people who are blind or have significant disabilities, measured each federal fiscal year.
• No profit may flow to you or any owner. The two organizations can buy from each other only at fair market prices with written contracts, reviewed by a nonprofit lawyer.

Hire a nonprofit lawyer and a CPA before signing anything

The link between a for-profit owner and a nonprofit is the part most likely to cause trouble with the IRS, so have it designed by professionals from the start.

• Ask them to review the two sets of bylaws, the services agreement between the companies, and any shared office or staff.
• Ask the CPA to set up separate books, payroll and tax filings for each organization.

Pick service lines that match your three products

Choose work your workforce can do for your own products first, then sell the same skill to the public and to government.

Pay real wages, never subminimum wages

Pay every worker at least the full minimum wage, and avoid the old Section 14(c) certificates that allowed paying people with disabilities less.

• Full wages are what make the payroll taxes worth counting, and many states have already banned subminimum pay.
• Competitive, integrated jobs also count better with state vocational rehabilitation agencies, which can refer workers to you.

Build the service corps structure

Give the workforce the parts of military service that people value: a clear mission, ranks earned by skill, a uniform or branded gear, and pride in public service, while keeping joining and leaving fully voluntary.

• Write career tracks with clear skill levels and the pay that goes with each.
• Build accommodations in from day one: assistive technology, flexible pacing, remote work, and shift lengths a person can choose.
• Use plain, respectful names for ranks and teams that describe the job.

Set up benefits counseling for every new worker

Before a worker starts, connect them with a free Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) counselor, funded by Social Security, so they know exactly how earnings will change their benefits.

• SSDI workers get 9 trial work months within a rolling 60 months with full benefits, then a 36-month extended period where benefits can restart in any month earnings fall below the limit.
• SSI workers can often keep Medicaid after cash benefits stop, under Section 1619(b).
• Medicare usually continues for years after SSDI cash benefits stop, and expedited reinstatement lets a worker restart benefits without a new application if their condition stops them working again.
• ABLE savings accounts let workers save without losing SSI eligibility, up to set limits.

Become a Ticket to Work Employment Network

Apply to Social Security to become an Employment Network, so Social Security pays your nonprofit when the workers you support reach earnings milestones and leave cash benefits.

• This turns the exact goal of the company into an income stream: you are paid when the government's benefit costs go down.
• Also sign agreements with your state vocational rehabilitation agency, which refers job seekers and can pay for training and equipment.

Register to sell to the federal government

Register both organizations on SAM.gov to get a Unique Entity ID, then list the industry codes (NAICS) for each service line from Step 5.

• The nonprofit then applies to join SourceAmerica (for significant disabilities) or National Industries for the Blind, which match nonprofits to AbilityOne jobs.
• Getting a job added to the AbilityOne Procurement List takes time, so start with commercial and subcontract work while you wait.

Sell to large federal contractors as a subcontractor

Large federal contractors are expected under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act to aim for 7 per cent of their workforce being people with disabilities, so a ready, trained workforce is something they want to partner with.

• Offer subcontract services, such as accessibility testing or document work, to prime contractors already holding federal contracts.
• The for-profit company can apply for corporate supplier programs, such as Disability:IN's disability-owned business certification, if you as owner qualify.

Claim the tax credits that apply

Ask your CPA to claim the credits for making the workplace accessible, and to watch for the hiring credit's return.

• Disabled Access Credit (tax code Section 44): a small business can get back half of accessibility costs between $250 and $10,250 a year, up to $5,000.
• Barrier removal deduction (Section 190): up to $15,000 a year for removing physical barriers.
• The Work Opportunity Tax Credit for hiring SSI recipients and vocational rehabilitation referrals expired on December 31, 2025, and has not been renewed as of the last check. Bills in Congress would extend it to 2030, so keep filing the hiring forms with your state, which is holding them as pending.

Measure and publish the fiscal impact every year

Publish a yearly report that shows what the company put back into public funds, because that proof is what wins contracts, investors and policy attention.

Add any SSDI or SSI benefits the worker no longer draws. This is an example to show the method, not a forecast.

Feed the results back into your books and ideas

Turn what you learn into your third product: write books and publish budget ideas from real numbers your own workforce produced.

• The company then proves its own idea: a disability workforce that pays into Social Security instead of only drawing from it.