Blind entrepreneur rolls out radio business

SAGLE — On the phone, Dwain Miller’s voice has all the resonance and distinctive character of a radio announcer. Not surprising, really, since he spent some time in the broadcast booth and on the air.

These days, Miller’s involvement in the radio world is focused on selling CB and amateur “Ham” radio equipment and accessories. When potential customers call his home-based business, they get expert counsel — with that broadcaster’s voice at no extra charge — from a man who can get them set up with the right kind of system or help them troubleshoot just about any kind of radio-related issue.

“And all the time they’re talking to me, they have no idea that I’m blind — until they meet me,” Miller said. “It’s funny, but if they did know, they might think, ‘This guy’s blind. He doesn’t know anything.’”

Blindness is a stigma that business owners such as Miller have to constantly overcome. In his case, as in the case of hundreds of other blind Idahoans every year, the Idaho Commission for the Blind & Visually Impaired provided training and assistance to land a job or turn a good idea into an active enterprise.

“My job with Dwain, as well as with all of my other clients, is to get them to work,” said Sherry Maxwell, vocational rehabilitation counselor for ICBVI’s Coeur d’Alene office. “As an agency, we work with about 150 blind people a year in the five northern counties. We put about 67 blind people in the state back to work and 17 of them were in North Idaho.”

In this region, training and placement programs have continued to thrive, even in an economic downturn, she added.

“North Idaho is the agency’s most productive area in the state,” the counselor said. “And this has already been our most successful year yet.”

She called out Miller’s situation as a ready-made success story. Sitting in his dining room, Maxwell quizzed him about the items he keeps in stock. Dropping right into the business mode, he turned around and, as easily as a sighted person, began to hold up boxes and outline the benefits of the Cobra and Uniden radios he carries, as well as the Wilson CB antennas displayed beside them.

Along with new and used CB radios, amateur radios and antennas, Miller sells microphones, coaxial cable and accessories — with his initial inventory funded by ICBVI as part of the training and placement process.

To get to this point, Miller was required to leave his wife, Chrissy, and 4-year-old daughter, Amanda, for a period of 10 weeks as he traveled to attend vocational classes at the agency’s Adjustment and Training Center in Boise. Attendees live in dorms and take part in a daily routine that consists of mobility training, computer courses, classes in using Braille and career guidance counseling.

According to Maxwell, Idaho excels in the area of client choice when it comes to finding employment for the blind. Miller is a believer in the program, more so now that he is starting to get traction for his start-up business.

“Some people who have major disabilities don’t have to work, but I wanted to do something,” he said. “I went down and talked to Sherry and she said, ‘We’re going to make this happen.’

“There are a lot of blind people who can work and run their own business,” he went on. “There are people like me who want to go out and get to work instead of griping about it. There are so many things they can do.”

The agency’s placement record for blind and vision-impaired clients includes construction workers and roofers, Harley-Davidson mechanics, medical specialists, restaurant staff, retail clerks and U.S. Forest Service employees. Other individuals have opted to open their own businesses, including licensed massage therapists, landscapers, accountants and financial managers, or sales and service ventures like Miller’s.

“There’s always an option and there’s always an opportunity there for those who are willing to put forth the effort,” he said. “If you can’t find a job going to work for someone else, you can start your own business.”

Blind since birth, Miller was bitten by the amateur radio bug at the age of 14. Now 40 years old and holding a General Class Amateur radio license, he has amassed a body of experience and skill that led him into this narrow business niche. Far from disappearing, he explained, the industrial and personal use market for the products he sells has increased due to economic considerations and the region’s geography.

“There are a few reasons I went into this,” he said. “Most of the communications companies have gone into cell phones, because they make more money at that. But a lot of industries — like logging and excavation — are still using CB radios on the job.

“And when the economy takes a downturn, people look at that $100-a-month cell phone bill and start thinking about alternative ways to communicate,” he added. “For those who live in areas with no cell service, radio can be the answer to their problem.”

Radio communication can be a life-saver in more critical situations, which is why, as president of the local amateur radio club, Miller volunteered the group to provide emergency communications services at the Bonner County Fair. A series of classes, he said, attracted a number of younger enthusiasts to the club, bringing new blood into the Ham radio ranks.

Along with vocational rehabilitation programs, ICBVI offers services for older individuals experiencing vision loss and hosts a summer work experience program for younger blind people ages 16-21. This summer, three of those workers will hail from the Idaho Panhandle.

“I don’t look at people’s blindness, I look at their willingness,” Maxwell said. “Dwain is a prime example of someone who has the willingness to make things happen — and I think he’s going to make a go of it.”

“Well, I do have a vast amount of experience and troubleshooting skill that I bring to my business,” said Miller, adding that life has given him all the sales experience he needs. “Being blind, I’ve always had to sell my capabilities. If I believe in something, I can sell it.”

“You sold me,” Maxwell said.

For more information on products and services available through Miller’s start-up radio business, contact Dwain’s Radio Sales at (208) 290-1878.

To learn more about training and placement programs offered through the Idaho Commission for the Blind & Visually Impaired, contact Sherry Maxwell; for Independent Living Services programs designed for blind and vision-impaired individuals who wish to remain at home, call Michelle Grandstaff. Both can be reached at (208) 769-1411.