St. Petersburg Times features Braille Works

Finding a Need, Filling It

Job Spotlight | Lou & Joyce Fioritto,
Braille Works Co-Founders

By: Ashley Grant | St. Petersburg Times Correspondent

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Seffner, FL | May 25, 2009 - What began as a business of helping the blind to gain independence became a mission of "Making The World A More Readable Place." Lou Fioritto, 62, who has been blind since birth, was out of a job and needed a way to make money. He wanted to help people like himself. He and his wife, Joyce, opened Braille Works in Cleveland in 1994. They moved the company to Seffner in 1996 and have been going strong ever since. The company mainly handles restaurant menus, but also it prints Braille bank and credit card statements for financial institutions as well as a few other commercial businesses.

Why did you start Braille Works?

"My wife and I went to a restaurant and they gave me a Braille menu in 1993. I had never been given one before. The menu didn't have a table of contents and there were quite a few pages of Braille, and so if I was looking for something, I'd have to touch every single thing on the page to find items."

"The first thing I thought is if I had a Braille company we'd do a table of contents. We were both entrepreneurial minded, and we decided to start a Braille company at that table. I started doing research, and in December of 1993 we locked in our first contract, although we didn't have any software or any equipment. We got our first job out for the phone company in Cleveland, Ohio, and then we picked up Applebee's, Bob Evans, Outback Steakhouse and other major restaurant chains."

What is your favorite thing about what you do?

"Knowing that we are making a difference out there. We are a Christ-centered company, and we work at that daily, and we make sure that our products have integrity. I can read my menu for myself, and I know that thousands of other people are able to read their menus and credit card statements for themselves and have the privacy to do so. This gives them one more step toward their own independence."

What has been the biggest challenge in your job?

"Money. It got pretty tight there for a while. We self-financed, and the stuff (we needed) wasn't cheap. It took everything we had. In 1994 or 1995, we took our last bit of my retirement savings out of the bank and put it in our checking account. I went to the Small Business Administration in hopes of getting a loan and this lady who had a master's degree in business helped me write a business plan. Finally, I walked in one day and she said the plan was acceptable."

Why is the plan so important?

"I had a lot of people telling me we should go after certain kinds of corporations and government accounts, and I took my eyes off of the restaurant industry and started marketing to government agencies and big business. I'd be up at three in the morning praying, saying we're going under. As a last resort I pulled out my bottom drawer of my desk and the whole business plan was centered on restaurants. The next morning I told (Joyce) we were going to be okay, and I got back on the phone and started calling restaurant after restaurant. I went back to my plan and the deals came through. Basically, we quickly learned that sticking to the business plan would always save us and keep us successful. When we divert from the plan, it is a risk for failure."

What are your plans for the future for yourself and the company?

"I'd like to see the company be able to get bigger clients, major bank and health care accounts as well as government accounts. For myself, I want to be in more of an advisory role."

[Last modified: May 26, 2009 02:17 PM]

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Comments

Marion Gwizdala-Schoch,
NFB East Hillsborough Chapter President (FL)
"What is great about this article is that it does not sensationalize the accomplishments of the blind, but portrays Lou & Joyce Fioritto as successful entrepreneurs because they didn't take their eyes off the prize! Enjoy the article!"
Marion Gwizdala-Schoch, National Federation of the Blind
- Founded in 1940, The Nation Federation of the Blind is the largest organization of the blind in America having over 50,000 members and growing strong

Liz Holmes,
Print Production Manager at Applebee's Services, Inc.
"What a great article! While I agree that both Lou and Joyce are "entrepreneur-minded", I have to say that they are both wonderful, caring people. This is very evident in the way they treat their customers and the quality of their products. Sometimes it seems that restaurant guests love to complain, but I've never had a complaint on the Braille and large print menus produced by Braille Works. Thanks Lou and Joyce, I am so glad you called me all those years ago!"
Liz Holmes, Applebee's Services, Inc.
- Braille Works has been providing Braille and large print menus to Applebee's since 1994.

Cynthia C. Casto,
Owner of Lake Geauga Appraisals
"It has been an honor to know Joyce and Lou since before they started Braille Works. One thing that was not portrayed in the article is the sense of humor they have! I am so proud of them."
Cynthia C. Casto, Lake Geauga Appraisals

Dawn Heinsohn
Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU)
"It is a great article, but I would have liked to see something more said about the quality of the work that is done. I have had Brailleworks do materials (Braille, audio, and large print) for trainings/meetings and they get everything done in a professional manner and get the materials to me when I need them. They are excellent to work with!"
Dawn Heinsohn, Independent Living Research Utilization

Braille Works

St. Petersburg Times

National Federation of the Blind

Small Business Association

Applebee's Restaurants

Bob Evans Restaurants

Outback Steakhouse Restaurants

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