It's smart business to hire and cater to people with disabilities and the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce will show industry leaders how.

A workshop is planned for Sept. 29 featuring a prominent Canadian voice on disability and diversity issues, Roger B. Jones, who will provide tips and examples of how to do business with people who have disabilities.

"We'll give some good ideas around how people can make some changes," said Jones from his Burnaby office.

It's not expensive to make the switch toward more accessible products and services or to hire people with disabilities, said Jones, himself a quadriplegic who is in heavy demand as a speaker and trainer and travels all over North America with his business World Accessibility.

Jones says a change of thinking is all it takes to become successful in what will be a growing market as consumers age. In fact, people with disabilities make up 15 per cent of the population and have a combined buying power of $25 billion.

He recalls how a large technology company turned a poor selling mobile phone into a big seller simply by making the buttons larger and marketing it to seniors and people with low-vision.

"Now I'm finding that companies want to know what they need to do to reach this group."

At the workshop, participants will learn about the six steps towards success in building disability confidence in both the marketplace and the workplace.

They'll also get take-home tool kits with ideas for welcoming customers with disabilities.

Jones said society has moved in a positive direction in recognizing the need to accommodate people in a wheel chair, but more can be done.

"It's something as simple as putting a few blocks under a desk. If it's done with thoroughness, it's a benefit for everyone," said Jones, who noted that larger washrooms and wheel chair ramps make it easier for everyone to get around.

The "Welcoming Customers with Disabilities" workshop is part of the chamber's 10 by 10 initiative to encourage businesses to hire more people with disabilities. The idea is if businesses can become disability confident with customers they are more likely to hire people with disabilities, too.

Matthew Danchuk, director of marketing for the Tri-Cities 10 by 10 Challenge, said the chamber is working with agencies such as Polaris Employment Services and Douglas College's adult education department to promote the hiring of people with disabilities. The Vancouver Foundation is supporting the initiative with a grant.

"The chamber is sort of acting as a conduit, connecting business to the service agencies. And a lot of businesses don't know where to start out and they don't necessarily have time searching for all the resources. Ideally if they said 'I'm interested' [they would] just be connected to the right agency that would be a perfect match for them and that's what we'd like to do with this program."

• The "Welcoming Customers with Disabilities" workshop takes place at the David Lam campus of Douglas College, in room A2050. It runs from 8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with breakfast at 8:30 a.m. For more information, contact the chamber at 604-464-2716 or visit www.tricitieschamber.com