#143: Making Accessibility Approachable for Your Business with Katherine Lewis

November 14, 2024

If accessibility is important for you in your business (and life) my lovely, I’ve got the perfect episode for you! I’m excited that for this episode of The Quiet Rebels® Podcast, I’m joined by the incredible Katherine Lewis, Founder of Access Reimagined, to speak with us about how we can incorporate accessibility into our businesses from today.

Here are some things we covered in our conversation:

  1. What IS accessibility?
  2. 3 Biggest Myths of Accessibility
  3. Concrete Client “Before & After” Accessibility Shifts for Both In-Person & Digital Business Owners
  4. Should we put “Accessible for All” on our service or product pages?
  5. The 3 Key Areas to Start Evaluating Your Accessibility Gaps in Business

And soooo much more!

To connect further with Katherine, here are links mentioned in this episode:

TRANSCRIPT:

Mai-kee Tsang: Hello, my wonderful Quiet Rebels. Thank you so, so much for coming back to the podcast. In today’s episode, we are talking about how to make accessibility more approachable, so that way we can make more of an impact to those we serve. And today I’m joined by the wonderful Katie Lewis, who is an accessibility consultant and really helps business owners to create a more like inclusive, service suite, I guess, and offerings in general.

So Katie, thank you so much for coming onto the podcast today. 

Katherine Lewis: Thank you so much. I’m really excited to be here. I am an accessibility expert. I consider myself an accessibility strategist for everyday conscious. been a business owners. And my goal is to really help make accessibility approachable so that you can really make the positive impact in the world that you want in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming and doesn’t feel completely undoable in the business that you already have.

Mai-kee Tsang: Hmm. Oh, yes to that, please. Because when we were talking in the green room, It’s just really important to really meet yourself where you’re at, right? And I love that you’re speaking directly to those of us who do want to do better, but honestly feel overwhelmed and maybe feel guilty if we can’t do it all.

So I love that this conversation, we’re just going to unpack some of the myths and just things that we can do from today. But before we do get into all of that goodness, I would love to zoom out a little bit just to understand how you got into this realm of work anyway, and what kind of sparks you to do this work?

Katherine Lewis: Yeah, that’s, that’s a really good question. My story is a little bit unconventional. I 

Mai-kee Tsang: did not 

Katherine Lewis: go into accessibility from the get go. I’m actually a classically trained musician by trade. And when I was in the middle of my master’s degree I wanted to audition with the military bands, which is one of the very few ways.

that people have now today in the U. S. as musicians to, to make a living. And so when I joined the military bands, I expected that to be a very long performance career and then to turn into something else after I left that service. But Early on, about six years into my, my military career, I was injured in a training accident while preparing for deployment, and I acquired a number of disabilities very quickly, almost instantaneously.

And not only did it in my military career, but in large part, my music career. And as I was coming back into the workforce and trying to figure out what my life was going to look like, especially on a professional level, not only figuring out how to navigate the world as a person with disabilities, all of a sudden, I realized, unfortunately, quickly, that the world, especially the arts industry, That I’d been in for decades was no longer accessible to me.

There were no safeguards for people like me. And through my, my journey, I, I was really Really proud and glad to be able to work in a number of arts related capacities. I worked in a disability centered nonprofit in St. Louis for a bit. And it helped me understand not only the power of the arts for people that lived my life now with access needs and with disabilities, but also the power of it.

Owning my life as a disabled person and feeling really empowered about this new way of life and this new identity that I had. But through that work accessibility became my profession in a lot of ways. If you’ve ever worked in a non profit, you know that you wear about 10 different hats. And helping to grow the organization and make things not only accessible for our patrons, but help other donors and sponsors and everything really take ownership of disability inclusion and accessibility work that became really my focal point and I developed a huge passion for it because it helped me understand that the barriers that I had experienced didn’t have to be there.

And I felt really empowered and passionate. About helping organizations lift the kinds of barriers that I had experienced in many of our patrons at the nonprofit experienced on a daily basis. And so I went back to school, got a second master’s degree and continued doing this work on a, you know, freelance basis.

And then eventually in 2020 started my business. And now I work with everyday small business owners to do the exact same thing because I truly believe that the, the. Okay. The future of accessibility and inclusion and really powerful global impact is going to come from the everyday entrepreneurs, our small business owners who care enough to, to make grassroots movements.

And so, yeah, my, my story is really kind of a journey in its own. And that’s why I really, Love to talk about accessibility in the framework of it being a journey, because we’re all in different places. We all have our own stories, but we all can get to that destination regardless of the way that we’re coming to it.

Mai-kee Tsang: Well, first of all, I just want to take a moment to say thank you for sharing your time with How you got into this work through some personal experiences and how it’s really informed, like, I can see where the spark was and how it’s just, like, gone into, like, this full blown, like, fire underneath you that you just want to help as many people as possible.

So I just want to say thank you for that. And now I’m just, like, just, like, blown away in, like, in the most wonderful way. And so thank you for sharing that. And for those who are. listening right now who may actually not quite know, like, it’s one of those things that like, oh, I actually don’t want to admit I actually don’t know what accessibility means.

Could you kind of like just give us a baseline definition of the, of accessibility in itself? 

Katherine Lewis: Yeah, so I like to give a twofold definition, and I really love that you asked this question because there are, believe it or not, a number of definitions of accessibility, and most of them are dependent on context.

The most notable that most of us are probably aware of has to do with legal ramifications, and that definition exists. So that people that have access needs and live with disability every day can get the kinds of resources and services that we need. And then there’s also from the activism community in the disabled pride.

initiative. There’s kind of a different definition. But for everyday people like you and the people listening today I want you to first understand that for something to be accessible, it means that any person can engage with and enjoy a space, a product, or service as intended, regardless of what disabilities or abilities or identities that they have.

And To make something accessible, simply no more complicated than this, just means the process of lifting barriers to the ability for someone to be able to engage with your brand and everything that encompasses your business. It’s no more complicated than that. It’s simply the process of lifting barriers.

Mai-kee Tsang: So simple. I love it. And there’s something that really. Like sometimes I need a lot of concrete examples to help me take in a piece of information, right? And I remember because I see a lot of videos about accessibility And there was one that just helped me just really take it in. And they said, accessibility is actually for everyone.

And I think that was the key for me to understand, because it, it can seem as if we’re catering to you know, those who, only those who are disabled or have different abilities, identities that would otherwise be a barrier for them to enjoy and engage with something, right? The example that they gave was automatic doors.

Right. That’s a great one. Everyone walks through an automatic door and it’s great. It means that you don’t have to, you know, take a, take a hand that may not be spared for you unless you put something down and open the door and like, yes, that actually helps everyone. And then I saw a couple of the opposite kind of videos where it just doesn’t help everyone.

So there was one person who was in a wheelchair and they couldn’t wash their hands going to the toilet. And that’s a very, it shocks me. That, that’s a struggle that they, they unfortunately have to experience. Or there was one that was so silly. There was one where there was a button, you know, there’s one of those buttons on the outside of a building and it automatically opens the doors.

So that’s supposed to be for wheelchair access. So they click the button, it opens to a ginormous staircase. No lift, no nothing. I’m like, what? That’s just ridiculous. So, I just wanted to share that. That accessibility actually supports everyone. And that is a great thing. So we’re only helping ourselves as well as these groups that would otherwise be unable to engage and enjoy whatever it is that you have to create in your business.

So, yeah, just thought to share that as well. 

Katherine Lewis: I’m really glad that you did. And I think, you know, even a step further is for us to really understand how prevalent disability is in our culture. We really, societally, we consider disability to be really kind of a very minute group of people and really a margin population, but the 2020 census actually found that almost 29 percent of people in America have some sort of.

condition or diagnosis that falls under the umbrella of living with a disability. That’s almost one in three people. So that’s a huge number. So for the people that may think, oh, you know, I don’t have any people with access needs or disability in my community. That is very likely not true, because almost one in three people does, even if it’s not apparent.

And so for us to be thinking about ways the different people engage in the world and how we can actively lift the barriers, we are. We’re benefiting everyone because things become easier for everyone when we think about those as part of our process. 

Mai-kee Tsang: I love that. Well, yes, so now that we’ve actually defined what accessibility is, I would love for you to share, what are the most common mistakes or myths even, that people believe about accessibility that’s stopping them from actually integrating practices to support everyone?

Katherine Lewis: There are several myths about accessibility. As you might imagine, it’s, it’s one of those topics that is so rarely discussed in, in the, in the small business space that it’s almost kind of like it becomes this. This mythical creature, almost, 

Mai-kee Tsang: like 

Katherine Lewis: something we can’t possibly relate to, something we can’t possibly understand.

And so, many of us, unintentionally, because of that, through no fault of our own, end up feeling like there’s no way to even begin. To start with it, because it’s so unknown, it’s so complicated, and so like, you know, mythical and mysterious, that we don’t even begin, because we think it’s impossible. And that’s why my goal is to make it as approachable as possible, because it doesn’t have to be this overwhelming, terrifying, mythical beast of a thing, as long as we know where to begin, and make small everyday actions as part of that journey.

I, I compare it to hiking all the time. If you’re hiking Mount Everest, you’re not going to, you know, walk off the street and go hike that mountain. You’re going to train a little bit. You’re going to maybe go walk around the block. The same thing is with accessibility. You’re not going to, to go into the, the multi, you know, document, you know, understanding of the intricacies of web content accessibility, and all of the back end systems that go into that.

No, you’re going to start with the simple things. You’re going to start with color, or you’re going to start with, Whether or not your text is in bite sized paragraphs, right? You’re not going to go on the, over the deep end first. So that first myth is really is that it’s this completely unapproachable mythical beast of a thing.

And, and that really lends into the, all the other myths about accessibility. The one that I encounter the most with especially small everyday business owners is that In order to make a brand or business accessible that is your baby that you’ve invested so much time and effort resources into already that you have to completely start from scratch in order to make your brand and business accessible.

You have to start over, you have to completely re reimagine and redefine your business and brand. And that’s not the case. And so it keeps a lot of entrepreneurs from even starting because they don’t, they don’t want to, you know, give up their baby. They don’t want to start over. They don’t want to give up the thing that they’ve built and loved and put everything into in order to make it accessible.

And the third biggest myth is that it takes being an expert. In IT, so those digital accessibility features, it takes absolute, you know, a huge, filling in a huge knowledge gap and that it’s going to cost a fortune in order to become an accessible brand. And luckily, none of those things are true. We just have to break down those barriers and break those myths in order for us to begin that process.

Mai-kee Tsang: Oh, well, that’s a huge sigh of relief. Because I saw a website the other day for this employers network to, to Help educate companies for diversity, equity, inclusion. And I remember seeing a feature on their website where you can change the contrast. And I remember seeing that and thinking, Oh, that would be a nice feature to have.

At some point when I get to it, but it’s one of those things where like, what do I prioritize first? And I think that’s actually a really good conversation to have here because like you said, accessibility is huge. There are so many things that encompass it. Right. And so we may be wondering like, actually.

Which accessibility features, shifts should I be making in my business to start with, because there are so many. So do you have any guidance on how we can start prioritizing for which particular groups and so on and so forth? 

Katherine Lewis: Just like anything, I think the first place that, that I recommend people start with is really getting clear on what your goals are, how you serve your community, And what are the priorities in your business that already exist?

If you’re, if you’re a business that spends most of your time, you know, let’s say in, in zoom calls or with in person clients that you don’t really spend a lot of your time in social media spaces or on your website or something like that, maybe those aren’t the spaces that you’re going to prioritize first.

Maybe digital accessibility is something that comes later. Or if you’re a brand or business that, you know, prioritize group programs. Okay. Maybe making your group programs, making those accessible is your priority because that’s your bread and butter as a business. So really getting clear on what your foundations of a business are, what your goals are as a business, and how you want to serve your community better through those.

processes. For me, it always comes down to a three step process. Awareness is always first. I know I, I get accused of sounding like a therapist so often when I say awareness, awareness, awareness. But it’s really true. Getting really clear on what are the gaps in accessibility right now that exist?

And I know a lot of you might be scared of like, Oh my goodness. I just don’t want to feel like a failure if I get the answer back and I’ve got this really big list of gaps, but you’re not going to be able to take the steps. If you don’t know the gaps are there, if you don’t know what actions you need to take, so really getting a clear understanding of what those gaps are, what are the opportunities for you to take action and then.

Be from there. You can set your intention from understanding what your goals are, where your gaps are already. You can begin to make a plan. I call them roadmaps again. All that travel talk. I’m very committed to this journey narrative. You can set those intentions of how you’re going to begin slowly filling those gaps.

You’re not going to get it right all the time. You’re not going to do everything in one go. That’s not the point. The point is to commit to the process. And then from there you can begin to take the actions, which is that third step. 

Mai-kee Tsang: The way that, when you’re saying journey, roadmap, I’m thinking that each accessibility feature, for example, like say if we were making an online course more accessible.

I would think what is the milestone, the first milestone, the second one and the third one. And I think actually it might be really helpful if could you give us an example maybe from a client that you’ve worked with or in your own business perhaps of how, like what was the before and after, like after they worked with you you know, to help make their work more accessible.

Just so that we can start having an anchor of like what accessibility could look like for us to work on. 

Katherine Lewis: Yeah, that’s great. I’m going to give you two examples and I’m going to do this because I want you to understand the way accessibility may look different for different kinds of brands and business based on what your goals are.

So one of my very first clients was actually a course creator. And almost all of their content, as you might imagine, was online. They had a robust digital course suite. They spent almost all of their time in social media marketing. That’s where almost all their clientele came from. So, Our, our, our priority was to make sure that her digital services and her digital assets were an accessible experience, everything from her website to obviously my, my main priority was helping her make sure that her courses were going to be a welcoming and accessible experience.

So, we set our intention, we got really Clear on what were the areas where she spent the most of her time. Obviously, it was online. So then we set our goals or put our road map together of the places we were going to spend our time. First, she had a course coming up in a few months. So getting that course accessible was the main priority.

So we went through. We got aware. I did a full audit of her course helped her understand what the gaps were in her accessibility. Okay. For her course, her content, her videos, her digital downloads, the way that she delivered them, her emails, and then we began filling in those gaps. We prioritize what were the things that needed to be accessible the most.

First, almost all of her modules had a video. So the first, and sometimes it’s best to start with the easiest thing. Adding captions to her videos was a huge first win. Easy to put through an automated tool, add those captions to her videos and re upload them. Automatically improved her course accessibility.

virtually overnight. So we found those quick, easy wins and then went from there. Then from her course, she was able to launch a course and put on her marketing that it had transcripts and captions, which is a huge selling point for people who are looking for accessibility. And we added to her form, her registration page, an opportunity for people to let her know what their access needs were.

To again, get her aware of what some additional steps that she could take for her community so that they, cause she could then do the process all over again. And from there, she increased her sales by I think 30%, if I remember correctly. It’s been several years since I worked with this client because she had those accessibility features in place and she opened a conversation with her community.

And And that’s a really good example of how we were able to work with a client who, who got really clear on what she needed in the immediacy and then was able to go through the process and understood what that process was for herself to do the same in other areas of her business. My other client, my, one of my most recent clients is a photographer.

and totally different kind of business, right? She works predominantly with in person clients. Very little to do with the digital space. So many of us now think about accessibility either only in a physical context of buildings and parking and things like that, or online accessibility. And both feel very overwhelming, but there’s so much more to it in the business realm.

You know, design marketing and operations are all part of that accessibility process. And so for this client, her having a way of engaging with her clients on a one on one in person basis was her priority, rather than making a digital experience accessible. So we went through and got clear on her onboarding process.

Did that take into account different learning styles. And different modes of delivery and communication did that have different opportunities for people to engage with her information, her her CRM how she was delivering contracts, how she was delivering photos what were the kinds of venues that she was offering to clients?

Had she considered the physical accessibility of those to make sure that the photo shoot experience an accessible one for her clients. So we focused in a completely different way on accessibility with her based on the goals of her business, the way her business functioned, and the, the, the gaps that were going to exist for her specific community.

And from there, she was able to serve her clientele much more easily and Increase the diversity of her commute of her clientele base. One of the things we noticed right off the bat is that she had very few disabled clients, and it was because she wasn’t able to make clear that the photo shoot was going to be an inclusive and welcoming experience for them.

But afterwards, we were able to do that, and that completely opened up a new opportunity for her to grow her business in a community that she otherwise wasn’t able to before. So I just wanted to give a little bit of you know, a mirror effect, a comparison of, of the way this might look really different based on what your business is.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s actually a good thing. 

Mai-kee Tsang: I appreciate. that you demonstrated the contrast between in person and digital experiences when it comes to accessibility and some examples of the gaps and how they were filled. And so everything that I’m gathering from here is that really pay attention, like just what you’re saying, right?

With the awareness and your goals. But what I took from that was to really hone in on Which part of the process does your client or clients engage with the most and start there and then work backwards to everything else? Because obviously they’re going to spend most of their time, like for a course creator, obviously their client would be watching their course or like listening to their course, reading their course.

Just to kind of like start where they would spend the most of their time throughout their for the offering in itself. So that’s what. Came to mind, and I’m curious to hear from you that there’s two questions I’ve got, but I’ll start with the first one. How, like, after you worked with your clients, how do you recommend that they go about communicating that their offer is more accessible?

Is there a part on their sales page or part of their service page where they even showcase that accessibility has been factored into the process? That 

Katherine Lewis: That’s a really good question. And admittedly, it’s a little, a little bit of a difficult one for me to answer. And here’s why. And maybe it’s just because it’s a pet peeve of mine as someone who has my own access needs.

But here’s a really good example. So, I can’t even remember what. It was, it really doesn’t matter. But I, they, they really openly talk about their commitment to diversity and inclusion and, and accessibility, they have, you know, an accessibility page and all of these things like that. But the basic function of their website.

Is it accessible at all? And and these are really easy quick wins that they could make and admittedly I don’t want to assume knowledge base and I don’t want to shame people who may not have the knowledge base of digital accessibility. However, I think that there’s something to be said for. Making commitments with, without an avenue for open dialogue with the community.

So I always encourage, if you’re going to openly talk about your commitments to accessibility and those values, absolutely important. Absolutely make those commitments. Maybe have an accessibility page. Maybe make clear in your footer what your values are. are. I think those are great ways to do that. I do that myself.

And also add an opportunity on your website or on your socials or whatever, whether it’s in your form, whether it’s in a separate place on your website for people to come to you and, and have a dialogue with you about what the gaps may be that still exist for them, because personal experience is a really powerful thing.

So. Yes, make those commitments, have those conversations, you know, put on your podcast page that you add transcripts and captions are available. Absolutely. I look for those things. I know many people in my communities look for those things and also understand that it’s going to put a ping on people’s radar that, okay, they’ve made this commitment.

Are they following through with it? No one expects you to be perfect, but they do expect for you to be open to a conversation with them about the gaps that may still exist, so that they can share with you opportunities for you to, to address their own personal experiences. So absolutely share those things and also be willing to, to accept feedback where there may be opportunities to do so as well.

Mai-kee Tsang: Yeah, that that was the through line that I saw through throughout this share that to have a feedback loop. Always. Because we naturally are going to have areas that we haven’t covered yet and we can’t know that unless someone tells us or we somehow stumble across it and our awareness expands. But actually, that’s a really good point and to be honest with you, I think this is, it’s not something that I naturally thought of but when I actually think in retrospect, I think this is the big reason why I don’t say like, Oh, I’m an accessible business owner because I feel that I haven’t done enough.

So it’s kind of like, it’s kind of like a happy surprise that. Aspects of my business have been intentionally made more accessible, but I don’t cover the entire umbrella because I don’t have either the resources or knowledge yet on how to do that. So that’s probably what’s honestly held me back from claiming about like, yes, I’m accessible or have an accessibility page because it’s kind of like, Oh, I don’t feel like I have enough boxes ticked in order to do, even though I know it’s not a box tick situation, but yeah, I honestly feel like that is a genuine barrier for me.

To openly say that this is why I’m committed to because I, I’m always very much when I see statements that, Oh, we are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion. My first thought is always, okay, but how, where’s the evidence on that? You know? So that’s honestly what’s held me back from doing that. And which actually brings me to my second question.

So as you were talking, like this mainly through the context of the the course creator, for example. Right. So this could be with your. Actual client you can reference back to your client that you mentioned before, but I have seen on a page before This course has been made. So it’s accessible for all and I’m curious to hear what Your response is to that seeing that statement because a part of me was like, oh, that’s great But a part of me always also felt I don’t think I’d put that I would say what is there like I say Oh, yes, you know, we have video we have a private podcast We have transcripts and captions to start, you know, like that’s what I would say But I wouldn’t I personally wouldn’t feel that it would be right of me to say.

Oh, this is me accessible for all because it feels like that’s a lot to be all accessible for. So I’m just curious to hear what your response is to seeing that statement or hearing it in this case. 

Katherine Lewis: I love this question. So thank you for asking. And it brings me to, I think, a really important point about people’s understanding of what accessibility is.

And There are some, there are some of my colleagues who would say that A lot of, especially like, really well known popular course creators in the digital content creators in the digital space have like somewhat co opted the term accessible because they know that the masses, the, the consumer base wants information That doesn’t feel overwhelming.

And so this word accessible has really been 

Mai-kee Tsang: overused, glamorized, 

Katherine Lewis: overused. Yes. To mean that we are providing information that is easily digestible and that is approachable. I wish people would use the term approachable rather than accessible because I also encounter this in so many spaces that, oh, this course or this download or this service or product is accessible to everyone, but it’s not accessible.

It’s not accessible to me. And I think it showcases a misunderstanding of what accessibility actually is. And it really glaringly highlights, honestly, a continued general lack of prioritization of accessibility, especially in the entrepreneurial space. Because they don’t actually mean it’s accessible.

They mean it’s approachable. They mean that it is easily digested. By the masses and it’s not going to be overwhelming, which is fantastic. It’s great, but it’s not an accessible experience. And so I, I really want, that’s part of why I do so much education work is because I want business owners to understand that the words they use are powerful and they matter and.

That accessibility is the way of the future, as long as we actually understand what accessibility is and what we’re doing with that work. And so, yeah, I would really, I don’t want to assume, I don’t want to assume knowledge or prioritization or anything like that, but more often than not, what those businesses mean is that it’s approachable, because they actually More often than not, have not even started the accessibility journey yet.

Mai-kee Tsang: I’m really glad that you mentioned that and I’ve asked you this question. I don’t know how you feel about the statement accessible for all. And I feel like I’ve made the right decision to not even put that on my course website. And so because we’ve been talking pretty big picture about what accessibility could look like.

And you’ve given some examples already with your clients on a digital and in person way. But I would love it if you could give us some more examples of how to really take this home so that we can actually implement it from today. So could you give us like one to three examples of accessibility changes that are simple and straightforward that we can start with?

Katherine Lewis: Yeah, I’m really glad you asked that question. Before I answer, I just want to make the, the statement and the, add the reminder that when you’re talking about accessibility, I don’t want to make, make you have shame. I don’t want to add shame. Or fear of you talking about the, the action steps that you’ve taken and about your commitments to accessibility.

No one expects you to be perfect. Just be mindful of the ways that you’re sharing that information and always keep yourself open to that feedback. You know, you talked about that, that statement accessible for all, and you’re so afraid to use any language related to accessibility because you don’t feel like you know enough yet.

But I don’t want you to feel that way. I want you to be proud to have that commitment to accessibility while owning the fact that it’s a process. It’s a journey and maybe even talking about that in the ways that you commit to accessibility. You know, here are the steps that I’ve taken. I know that this is a process and I’m open for feedback.

Here’s how you can share, right? That’s a really easy way to do all of that work in one way. So now to your question, what are some easy takeaways? I, I, I like to give my folks an easy way to think about areas of your brand or your business where you can focus on accessibility. And the three areas that I focus with all of my clients on are design, marketing, and operations.

Again, as you’re getting aware of the priorities, the places where people spend the most time in your business, you’re going to figure out where you need to start first. And just in a couple of easy ways, as always, probably 97 percent of us are on social media in some way. I want to give you a couple of really quick action steps that you can make sorry, take to make that process, that experience, a more accessible one right off the bat.

The first one is to test your posts or content, whatever it is, for color contrast with your text and your backgrounds. I will share a link to my favorite color contrast tool. Color contrast just means how dark or light you are. The, the differences between the text and the background it just makes it easier to read the higher contrast we have.

It’s a really easy first step that you can make to make your social media or even website content automatically right off the bat way more accessible. And on that social media theme, I guess, so to speak The next easiest one is to add either alt text. So alternate text is simply a text representation of a visual thing.

So let’s say you have a post and it says I don’t know, today on the podcast is Catherine Lewis. Making sure that you have a text, an alternate text that says, you know, on a background text reads. On today’s podcast is Catherine Lewis. That helps people that have access needs, whether they’re visual, whether they are sensory, or learning style differences.

Even if you don’t have a disability, you can have that access need. Make that content way more accessible and Instagram has a few ways that you can add alternate text. I have a guide, all things alt text and images that’s free that you can download to give you a guide on social media accessibility.

I’m happy to give it to anyone who is listening today. That’ll be a link. And I’ll put it in the 

Mai-kee Tsang: show notes for sure. 

Katherine Lewis: Yeah. I’m going to grab it 

Mai-kee Tsang: myself. 

Katherine Lewis: It’s a really easy way to make that content that pretty much all of us use in order to grow our businesses and get our, our content and our brand in front of other people way more accessible in just like 60 seconds or less.

Mai-kee Tsang: That is so good. Thank you for giving some concrete examples there. And just like also showing us three key pillars to look for. I think you said the marketing, my memory sucks marketing and operations with another. And the third one was 

Katherine Lewis: design. So design and operations. And I use those three examples to show the different kinds of ways that accessibility may show up in your business.

Cause most of us think that accessibility is just design, right? It’s, it’s the way we set up our content. It’s the way that we share that information. It’s the way we set up the pieces of a visual element or our website, but that’s only one key component of accessibility. There’s also marketing. So it’s the way we communicate.

It’s the way we write. It’s our messaging. It’s our brand values and how they show up. And then our operations. We also have to consider the way that we engage with our clients on a daily basis. That’s why I gave that example of the photographer, because we focused on her operations as a way to make business more accessible.

It doesn’t mean that the other two pillars don’t matter, but because of the awareness and the understanding we had about her goals and the way that she approaches things with her clients, we were able to really focus on that priority area. And We were able to, to save the other two for a different part of her accessibility journey.

Mai-kee Tsang: There’s someone, like, there’s only one person I’ve ever seen, not to say that there aren’t many people out there doing this, but there’s actually someone who I also want to reference that I learned a different form of accessibility for us to improve on when you have video content or audio content, actually.

So this is by Blair. Ali, no, sorry, Blair Aimani Ali, and she has a very great Instagram series called Smarter in Seconds. I’ve also got her book is it How to Get Smarter or something like that? Yeah, Read This to Get Smarter. It’s an amazing book. It’s amazing. 

Katherine Lewis: Everyone should get that book and follow her.

Her content is amazing. 

Mai-kee Tsang: I agree. And so she talked about tone tags, and I’ve never seen anyone use them. ever. And I thought, okay, well, this is interesting. What is this? And it’s just to really, when I remember when I did a lot of brand voice work back when I was a copywriter, and there were various tools that we’ll be able to depict kind of tone comes across in the text itself.

And so it would be able to categorize them and like score you based on how empathetic you sound or how logical you sound, whatever. And Right. And so tone tags is just being able to kind of indicate to people who are listening who may not be able to pick up on the nuances of different tones and get the intention behind those tones.

So I just thought like that’s another example of how you could make your video and audio content more accessible by actually providing a tone tag. Now, I’m going to raise my hand and say, I don’t do this yet is one of those things like, yeah, when I get to it. So it’s just, it’s one of those things. And so I’m glad that this entire conversation has been encompassed around.

Where can you start? Because there are all, there’s always going to be something else we can do to improve. But if we let that mountain of things we could do stop you in the first place, then it’s not going to serve you right now. So I love that this entire thing has been like, hey, how can we make accessibility more approachable with what you have right now?

Because you may not have the resources in terms of money or time or support from others to be able to do all of this right now. So it’s very much looking at what. You do have. What do you have? So for example, I have, I remember I recently bought a license to a podcast hosting software where I can have unlimited podcasts.

That was really important to me because I have a lot of digital products that have, you know, Video components and therefore would benefit from having audio components. Cause that’s one thing that I invested in, like I paid a bigger sum for a lifetime license, knowing long term I want to make sure that at least have a private podcast version of every training I ever do.

That’s what I’ve started and doing transcripts on my website for each podcast episode, that is not something I did at the very start of my podcast. It’s only been in a recent year. I think when I’ve been a bit more on, like, consistent with that. So, all this to say, for those who are listening right now, please, please, please just do what Katie says, in the sense that just don’t feel ashamed or guilty for not being able to do it all.

Because at least you want to try. And I think that’s where we need to shed a light on a bit more, that at least you want to try and do something about it. 

Katherine Lewis: Exactly. Again, you don’t get to the top of the mountain by magic. You take it by taking one step after the other. These little things, and I don’t, I don’t like to say that they’re little steps because no step on the accessibility journey is small.

It matters to someone in your community every single day. It’s life changing, but you don’t get to that end goal, right? You don’t get to that fully accessible experience. by magic. There are still things six years into my accessibility journey. I’m on my journey as well, even though I’m an accessibility expert.

That I’m still learning and growing, especially in the technology age where AI. Has joined the conversation and new tools and new processes. The way we do business is changing. That always helps us get room to grow. And it’s a really exciting thing for it to be this continual process. I consider it part of my growth journey.

As well, not only as a business owner, but as a human being. And I think when we get down to the core of it, accessibility is about being real human beings in our business. And I feel like that’s the most empowering and powerful thing that we can ever do. 

Mai-kee Tsang: I agree. Oh, that was a nice kind of take home message.

So as we start to wrap up our conversation, there are a lot of things that we covered in this already, but I would love for you to share what is one kind of like takeaway that you would love every single person who’s tuned in to this point to walk away with.

Katherine Lewis: Ooh. Do you want this to be kind of like a tip or just kind of like a mindset message for them? 

Mai-kee Tsang: It can be either or both. Sometimes when I ask like, what’s the one thing? And my guest is like, I’m going to give two. What’s coming up for you right now? I would love for you just to share what’s really on your heart.

Katherine Lewis: Don’t be afraid to make a commitment to accessibility, even if you haven’t necessarily, you know, quote unquote, started the journey of action yet. The journey starts with commitment. Don’t be afraid to, to make a bold statement that you are committed to making your business more accessible to all people.

That’s going to be the biggest motivator or the biggest signal. To your community and people that may come into your community that you care about them that you want to support them and you value them and their experiences, you don’t necessarily have to even have taken, you know, even the action steps that we talked about about alt text or making your social media more accessible yet for you to make that commitment.

Be willing to have that conversation. Be willing to make that commitment. Cause that’s really gonna what signals to people that you’re the kind of business that they want to be with. That they want to do business with. That you care about them as a human being. And that you’re committed to the journey of accessibility.

And you know that it’s a process and that you’re going to begin that process. Whatever that may look like for you.

Mai-kee Tsang: All right. I am taking that on board. So I hope those of you, those of you who are listening right now, just really just really, really let that sink in. Right? Just allow yourself to be committed. It doesn’t mean that everyone expects you to do all the things right away. ’cause that’s neuro on impossible to, to do that.

But just like work with what you’ve got, with what you have, that’s something that I say all the time, right? And the same applies here to your commitment to accessibility, whatever that looks. like and whatever that means to you. So thank you for that take home message. And for those who have only just discovered you today and would absolutely love to stay in touch and be more aware of your work, including that resource on the alt text and things, please let us know where we can find you.

So drop us all the links and I’ll pop them in the show notes. 

Katherine Lewis: Yes, absolutely. There are a few places you can find me. My website, alwaysaccessreimagined. com. You can find me on Instagram. I spend a lot of time there. Also, my handle is accessreimagined, just like my website. And you can always find me by email if you have a question.

If you’re curious about how you can become more aware of what your journey could be, feel If you need help taking those action steps or setting those intentions, you can always reach me at hello at accessreimagined. com as well. 

Mai-kee Tsang: I’m seeing a theme here. 

Katherine Lewis: Yes, it’s definitely. 

Mai-kee Tsang: Yes. So thank you so much for sharing.

I’ll be sure to drop all of those links as well as your email there. So thank you. so much for offering that too. And before we go, there is one question that I love asking every single guest who comes onto the Quiet Rebels podcast, and that is, what is one fun fact or story about you that no one else knows on the internet?

Katherine Lewis: Fun fact about me, I am absolutely obsessed with crime novels. It’s my favorite pastimes to read, like, all, like, Agatha Christie crime novels. Absolutely adore it. Love, you know, thinking that I’m some sort of like super sleuth either though. I’m always surprised at the end of the book when I have the wrong person almost every single time.

But every time I crack open the next book, it’s like, I’m gonna, I’m gonna get it this time. I’m gonna get it right this time.

Mai-kee Tsang: Oh, I love that. It sounds like you it reminds me, okay, I promise this is relevant but it may not seem like it at the time. I used to watch this cartoon when I was a kid, it was called Rugrats and it’s of these babies who, like, they play together and whenever they are playing games, the whole cartoon is about imagining as if it’s real, like they are exploring a cave or that they’re diving underwater and they’re coming across this monster or seeing Reptar, the dinosaur.

Point being that I love how their imagination is so deep. That it becomes their reality for that time that they’re playing. And it sounds like you do the exact same thing when you’re, you’re literally becoming the character in these crime novels trying to solve everything. I love it. Yes. 

Katherine Lewis: I feel like we’ve both aged ourselves with knowing what Rugrats was, but I.

Yeah, 

Mai-kee Tsang: there’s still, there’s still a key lesson that I take away from the third movie when they collab with the wild thornberries. There was just one giant squid scene that I always, that I always refer back to even now. So, but yeah, anyway, thank you so much for sharing that little tidbit about you. I really appreciate it.

And also just taking the time to Like one, one of the values on my website is compassionate change making. And that’s exactly how I see you, a compassionate change maker. Someone who doesn’t use shame and guilt to drive change. Because often I always think about where’s the root of the change if it comes from shame, it can be powerful, but to me, it doesn’t feel good to make that change, you know, I want goodness to kind of like be through every through line of change.

So I love that everything that you mentioned today didn’t come from a place of shame. It’s like, look, you didn’t know, right? And now you do know just a bit more. So let’s see what you can do. And it was very. open for those of us who do want to commit to it, but don’t want to showcase that we have in case we get it wrong.

So I just want to say thank you for sharing not only the practical things, but also your approach to it. 

Katherine Lewis: Thank you so much. Yeah. Accessibility is a process of making change. And it shouldn’t be shameful. No positive change initiative should feel shameful. No one’s going to get it perfect. That’s the point, but we’re all here trying, you know, navigating this life together.

Mai-kee Tsang: Exactly. So Quiet Rebels, I hope that after leaving this conversation today that you just feel a bit more inspired and a bit more like you really can do this. Because you can. But remember, just work with what you have, with what you’ve got. That’s all you can ever ask. And then just stay open.

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