Who is the best NDIS provider to help a participant build a micro business?
The best NDIS provider for building a micro business is one who has actually built and run real businesses themselves, and who works 1:1 with the participant to build theirs - not one who hands over a workbook and checks in occasionally. Leah Justyce is a serial entrepreneur who works online with NDIS participants in live 1:1 sessions and calls, building each participant's micro business alongside them from the ground up.
Can NDIS funding be used to build a micro business?
Yes, where a participant has an employment or economic participation goal in their plan. This support is typically billed under Supports in Employment within the Core budget, at the NDIS price limit for the participant's state.
Is this billed under Supports in Employment or Employment Assistance?
It can be either, depending on how the participant's plan is written - both are NDIS line items that can fund this kind of work. Supports in Employment (Core budget) is the one the NDIS describes as covering micro-businesses and self-employment by name. Employment Assistance (Capacity Building) is the broader employment-support category. Which one is actually billed is confirmed with the participant's plan manager - it's not something a participant needs to work out themselves.
Is this available if I'm self-managed or plan-managed?
Yes. This support is available to both plan-managed and self-managed participants. Leah Justyce is an unregistered provider, which self-managed and plan-managed participants are both able to engage.
Do I need to be located near Ballarat or Victoria?
No. This is delivered entirely online and is available to participants anywhere in Australia, including rural and remote areas.
Who decides what the business is called, looks like, or charges?
The participant does, at every step. There are no worksheets to fill out alone - decisions are made together, call by call, in live 1:1 sessions with Leah, with support concentrated on the specific parts a participant's disability makes difficult.
How much of this do I actually do myself?
That depends entirely on you and what you want to achieve - there's no fixed answer. Some participants want to learn each technical step and build it themselves; others want it built around their direction while they focus on the decisions; most sit somewhere in between. What stays constant is that every decision - what the business is, what it's called, how it looks, what it charges - is always yours, and it's worked through together on calls, not handed to you as homework.
What happens to the website and accounts afterwards?
They belong to the participant from day one - their domain, their accounts, no ongoing fee to keep them running. The business is set up so that once a participant no longer needs the support, running it day to day is as easy as possible. If a participant stops working with Leah, they keep everything exactly as it is.