INTERVIEWS

Myrna "Mo" Aiello
Silver Spring, Maryland
myrna@tcsassociates.com

1 Q: What type of business is Technical Computer Services?

A: My company offers a myriad of services. We sell computers of various types, we repair printers, laptops, and computers, and currently we are involved with what is called federal Section 508, "accessibility for all disabled people." That is a new and recent challenge.

 

2 Q: What is federal section 508?

A: Because the government passed a new law called Section 508, the government must comply with providing all kinds of accessible services for all disabled people. One example is websites for people who are blind or low vision. For Deaf people, we have something called an NTS, which is a network for use of the TTY on the computer. Many federal government employees have access to this network using computers with a TTY modem.

 

3 Q: What is SBA 8A? How did this support help you?

A: The Small Business Administration had what they called an 8A certification. That was considered a special group set aside for persons who are recognized or considered minorities, such as Blacks, Hispanics, Hasidic Jews, Asian Pacific Islanders, and so forth. There were a number of categories, but women and disabled individuals were not a part of that grouping. I decided to apply as a woman and as a disabled individual. It was a long struggle.  For one year I fought to prove that I belonged in a minority group, and in the end I was successful and  was awarded an 8A certification.  That was one year ago as of this month.  Because of that, I have been very focused on SBA-8A procedures in the government. As a disabled individual, I am very sensitive to helping others with disabilities in the government sector, and feel that our products and services will benefit everyone in the federal government.  That is how Section 508 developed.  It became a new law under ADA.

 

4 Q: What made you want to own your own business?

A: There are two reasons. First of all, my family was in business. My father owned a large and successful business in Rhode Island and I worked with him while I was growing up. I learned from behind the scenes what it was like to run a real business. That motivated me to want to set up my own business and demonstrate that regardless of being deaf, I can run a business

just like anyone else. The second reason I wanted to go into business was because I met my husband Phil, before we were married, and found that he was skilled with computers. At that time, computers were a hot commodity.  So those were my biggest motivators to establish a business.

 

5 Q: Please talk a little bit about the history of your company.

A: I first established the business 8 ½ years ago, and we were the first software company in Prince George's county. The reason we started with software is because there were a few computer stores,  but no software stores. After giving it some thought, we decided to set up a software store for all the various computer brands like IBM, Apple, Atari, Commodore, and all of the companies that were on the scene at that time. Some are still around today and some are not. But we had a whole variety of software. We were the first and the largest software store in College Park.

We expanded to offer computer sales. We expanded in the area of training. We offer classes for Deaf persons and classes for those who can hear. We offer basic computer training courses and repair courses as well as TTY repair courses. We have many different areas of training.

That is something new that we are in the process of developing. It is training on how to communicate with co-workers or employers in the workplace in the government, and how to use adaptive equipment, such as TTY modems, and there are special voice reading devices for persons with disabilities. So, we offer training to the hearing co-workers or the Deaf co-workers, too. We offer sensitivity training.

 

6 Q: Who is your role model?

A: When I was growing up, my father was really my role model as well as his assistant.  But, beyond that, I really didn't have a role model. I only hope that I can become a better role model for other people in the future.

 

7 Q: What kind training prepared you for this position?

A: I learned on my own. I am self taught. I had no professional training at all.

 

8 Q: Do you believe communicating well contributes to the success of your business?

A: I do.  In business, communication is really a key factor because we deal with the public most of the time.  The majority of those people are hearing.  The people who work for me are hearing, or Deaf, or hard of hearing, and so forth.  But, as for the customers, we have many different kinds of customers, including those with strong accents and different ethnic backgrounds.

It can be easy or it can be very difficult to deal with the communication challenges. The relay service in particular can be very frustrating because we are making calls to hearing customers, to professional hearing clients or to top government officials, and they are turned off by the relay service. They start to wonder about Deaf people being in business and what kind of business Deaf people can do. The communication challenge is really, really tough.

 

9 Q: How do you communicate with your customers? Is it challenging?

A: But, as for the customers, we have many different kinds of customers, including those with strong accents and different ethnic backgrounds. It can be easy or it can be very difficult to deal with the communication challenges. The relay service in particular can be very frustrating because we are making calls to hearing customers, to professional hearing clients or to top government officials, and they are turned off by the relay service. They start to wonder about Deaf people being in business and what kind of business Deaf people can do. The communication challenge is really, really tough.

 

10 Q: Who actually runs the company?

A: I do. I am 100 percent the owner of the company.  I oversee everything, all management of the company.

 

11 Q: Who do you work with?

A: I work closely with my husband and my other business marketer and my technicians and we have several contractors that we send out on contract to the government or to private companies.  We hire and contract people on a contractual basis.

 

12 Q: What communication problems do you face with some of your customers?

A: Again, as I said before, hearing customers who come into the store pose a big communication frustration because sometimes I approach someone and ask them if I can be of assistance and they reply by speaking so rapidly that I can't follow. I'm a good lip reader, but lip reading is not everything, you know.  Using some ability to hear is not everything either, you know.  So, sometimes we try to navigate through the conversation and I inform the customer that I am Deaf.  That sends the customer into shock. Some people respond very positively and say that what I'm doing is wonderful.  Others are afraid and uncomfortable and unfortunately, many customers make a hasty exit.

 

13 Q: Why do you think some customers make a hasty exit?

A: What's wrong? I have to wonder. Perhaps I should not have told the customer that I am Deaf, but just tried to proceed with normal conversation.  However, I am not ashamed.  I am proud to tell people that I am Deaf and I want to show them that Deaf people can do things, too.  Nothing stops me.  I just keep going.  But I also feel the loss of a customer and when that happens, I can only hope that I get back many more instead of only losing them.

 

14 Q: Do you use interpreters?

A: Here in the company, we don't use interpreters, but we have gone out to several workshops or seminars related to government purchasing and with our request, they have provided interpreters for us.  When we go to trade shows, conventions, and conferences, interpreters are provided.  That has been only within about the last five years or so, I would say.  Prior to that time, we would ask repeatedly, but were always told no because they couldn't afford it or just refused to get involved with it.  However, for about five years now, we have been fortunate to have had several interpreters provided.

 

15 Q: Being in the Deaf Community, is there an overlap between your professional and personal life?

A: Sometimes it is a challenge, but I believe in ethics. I never discuss my clients, be they Deaf or hearing, when I am at a social engagement.  If people come up to me and want to talk about something related to business or to their computer, I will go ahead and have that conversation with them, but I never give out names such as who bought a computer, or how much they paid.  No, I keep professional confidences.  I think this is crucial.  It's just like a dentist or doctor.  They do not discuss patients. The idea is the same.

 

16 Q: Is your field competitive? How so?

A: The business is indeed very competitive and not only competitive, but also the fastest growing business because computers are never the same from day to day.  They change from day to day.  They are always changing.  There is a new technology and there are new computers, and there are any number of things to keep up with, so I read a lot and I go to a lot of conferences and workshops and network by meeting professional people and just try to learn a lot.  I go to meetings.  It's really important in this business.  This business requires a lot of every day learning.

 

17 Q: What basic skills are necessary to start up a business?

A: Most important, first of all, is to have good hands-on experience to start with, for any business.  I believe that for any person.  I've seen many who don't have that.   It's really important to succeed in today's business world.   They have to have real, hands-on experience of some kind related to what they want to do in business or what they want to learn or know.  Then, they must have good people skills.  They have to know how to deal with different kinds of people.   Without those two things, they will never be successful.

 

18 Q: What does "hands-on-experience" mean?

A: Hands-on experience means real experience, touching, tasting, feeling, learning, knowing about whatever they want to sell or the kind of business they want to run.  They must have some kind of job experience, perhaps through an internship, but they must have actual experience in the field.

 

19 Q: Do you think you have equal access to information that can benefit your company?

A: It's better now than it was in the past, but it is still not completely equal or accessible.  No, for example, the Internet.  Something just came up recently that we were working on.  Many times on the Internet, there will be a class or presenter or a workshop provided, but it is not captioned, not at all.   So, one company called us and asked for web casting, specifically for the government because deaf people are employed there.  They wanted to do something on the Internet, and provide captioning.  We began to investigate and found resources scarce.  This is a new challenge for us and I feel it is something that is very important.

 

20 Q: Do you think that ADA has helped your company?

A: I would say yes and no.  Yes, because it provides for services such as interpreting.  The ADA provides for certain services for companies.  For example, when I go to workshops and conferences, if it were not for ADA, they would not provide interpreters for us, so we wouldn't have the benefit of going and learning.  So, I feel ADA is important in that aspect. In our company itself, not so much, because we don't use interpreters in our business.  We use them only for external purposes.

 

21 Q: What impact does using the Relay Services have on your business?

A: The problem with the relay service is that people are resistant to it and that is not an easy thing to overcome. I haven't been successful with overcoming that problem yet. Right now, because Phil and I both use voice, sometimes we use our own voice with the voice carry over system. That gives us a bit more control because we are speaking over the phone line ourselves. However, the relay people are the people in the middle and sometimes the service is not good.  Many Deaf people do not  have the same ability that we have, so I imagine it is even a tougher challenge for them.  I have been trying to work with the relay people to help them improve.  I am thinking about going there and setting up a meeting to explain certain things,  perhaps bringing in  a variety of Deaf business persons as a team to have a discussion and see how they can improve.   One idea is to hire people who specialize in business who would know how to deal with us in the future.

 

22 Q: Does it take everything out of you to succeed?

A: Yes, everything.  Most important is a lot of sacrifice, faith, patience, confidence, a good attitude about oneself, a positive outlook, a belief in making the business become better every day, and in growing and learning.  The one thing that is most important is that you must sacrifice a lot.

 

23 Q: What are some of your other goals?

A: I would love to be a mentor for a young Deaf woman.  I believe they need our support, especially a good role model. I would like to be able to share in the future.

 

24 Q: What other skills are important for success?

A: Writing skills, English skills, and reading skills, and math skills are important.  However, like I said, if you have good key people behind you then you can learn and move forward from where you are.

 

25 Q: What did your hearing family think of your early efforts?

A: I would like to mention that for many Deaf persons who are in hearing families, the hearing families are not very supportive of Deaf people being in business.  In the Old Testament, the Hebrew testament, any disabled person was entitled to nothing. Because of that, Deaf people felt challenged and if truly entitled to nothing, they then wanted to set up their own business to prove to hearing family members what Deaf people could do.  However, families have never been supportive.  They are resistant to the idea of Deaf people running their own business.  They have doubts and are not supportive, and it is both frustrating and challenging of Deaf people.  I look back to the time when I set up my business, and my father said it would be very tough for me to run a business as a Deaf person, and also being a woman.  Naturally, he supported me because he has a business himself, but in terms of the disability, he was resistant and wondered how a Deaf person could run his or her own business, and he doubted that it would be successful.

 

26 Q: How do you think your father would feel about your success?

A: He would be very proud of me, especially because I have accomplished a lot lately and the business has grown and proved itself well, and because I got the S.B.A. section 8A certification. I was the first Deaf woman to have done so. I am sure my father would be very proud.

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