Bill Walsh and Shirley Weathers, Ph.D., own UWISE.BIZ and provide all services. The services are based on those developed through a series of projects under the umbrella name of UWISE (Utah Work Incentives Self-Employment) Walsh and Weathers staffed from 2005 through 2008. The idea of UWISE sprang from the understanding that, although self-employment isn’t for everyone, it is an under-utilized employment option that can be appropriate for some people—with or without disabilities. Working with 65 individuals in three UWISE projects funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, we discovered that a set of services not available through other sources could help people make better choices about self-employment and increase their chances of success if they decide to pursue small business ownership.

Providing these new services requires expertise in business, plus policy, benefits planning, and experience working with people with disabilities.

Our policy capabilities are based on over 30 combined years of work in public policy research and advocacy working in the non-profit community, primarily for 15 years at Utah Issues Information Program, plus work for various clients of Walsh & Weathers Research and Policy Studies over the past 15 years. We have extensive experience with policy analysis on both the state and federal levels, lobbied for low-income and other social services issues at the Utah Legislature and work with Congressional committees on targeted federal issues.

Added to that, we received certificates of completion in 2005 for the 56-hour, SSA approved training course required for Benefit Planning Assistance and Outreach (BPAO) benefits planners. In 2009, we completed SSA approved Community Work Incentive Coordinator (CWIC) training, requiring 32 hours of classroom training and 8 weeks of testing and assessment. We have also completed 16 hours of training on Self-employment for People With Disabilities, 36 hours of PASS training, and an additional 25 hours of related in-service training. We and policy specialists of the Social Security Administration, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Child Care, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Section 8 Housing Assistance engaged in six months of intensive policy research to identify and understand self-employment rules for those programs. During the course of the UWISE project, we provided initial benefits planning services based on self-employment rules to 45 individuals and have responded to the ongoing needs of those who went on to plan and start businesses.

Our business experience comes from owning Walsh & Weathers, Inc., (an S-Corp) since 1996 and Bill’s involvement in a family business over a 20-year period. Through Walsh & Weathers, Inc., we own and operate two businesses in addition to UWISE.BIZ:

Walsh & Weathers Research and Policy Studies, a consulting firm specializing in public policy research and analysis on health and social services issues and serving clients from educational institutions, state agencies, and non-profit organizations;

Rosebud Llamas Utah, a part-time outfitter-guide service operating in three areas of the state and offering training clinics and other educational activities involving llamas. We also run the Rosebud Guest House to accommodate clients for llama activities and other visitors.