Why Should Your Business Be ADA Compliant?

We hear from business owners a lot as an ADA concrete contractor that trying to be ADA compliant is a lot of work and a lot of expense. Many business owners question whether or not it is actually worth pursuing. However, the truth is that ADA compliance is not an option, it is a legal requirement, and your business would be paying out a great deal more in legal costs and fines in the event of an ADA lawsuit than you would pay to get yourself compliant.

Aside from the fact that ADA compliance is the law, there are also a number of other benefits to your business that come with taking steps to meet the necessary standards with the help of an ADA concrete contractor like Protrk Construction. Let’s take a look at some of those advantages.

Increases Your Potential Customer Base

According to the US Census, almost 1 in 5 Americans has a disability. That equates to around 20% of the population. If you are not ADA compliant, you could be cutting your business off from 20% of your target market. In addition to this, when you turn away a disabled customer, you are also potentially turning away their friends and family who will take their business elsewhere. The Association of People Supporting Employment First states that disabled customers and their families make up over a $3 Trillion market segment. Choosing to ignore this significant market sector is not a wise business decision.

Attract the Aging Population

So, we have already demonstrated how large the disability community is, but ADA adaptations don’t just help those people. It also helps the aging community. In the past, certain illnesses and injuries were fatal, especially to older people. However, thanks to advances in medicine, people are now more likely to recover from those illnesses and thrive. This means life expectancy is longer, and there are more older people with age-related mobility issues on top of those who have a disability.

Social Responsibility is Attractive to Consumers

We touched on the fact that not being accessible to disabled customers might put off their friends and family, but even those with no disabled friends could feel the same. We live in an age where social responsibility makes companies more attractive to many people. In the same way that having ‘green’ credentials for your efforts to recycle and lower your carbon footprint, making an effort to be ADA compliant will help you be seen as inclusive of everyone in your community. Statistics show that 81% of consumers are willing to make a personal sacrifice, like traveling out of their way, to support a socially responsible business. Why not take steps now to make improvements that will bring your business into ADA compliance. An ADA concrete contractor like Protrk Construction can help with everything from design to build and on to certification.

Reputation is Everything

As noted above, being ADA compliant points to social responsibility. That is good for your reputation, and word of mouth spreads quickly, especially among the disability community. Disabled people will share positive and negative experiences with others in the community. There are even apps that allow accessible businesses to be marked. When one disabled customer knows you are accessible, they will make sure others know too! However, there is a flip side to this as well. If you are not ADA compliant, then disabled consumers will use the same process to make sure others avoid your business, creating a bad reputation. Not to mention that if you find yourself facing an ADA lawsuit, it sends a message that you don’t care about disabled people, and it can be tricky to rebuild your reputation afterward. Don’t wait to be forced into ADA compliance. Work with an ADA concrete contractor to make voluntary upgrades now and prove you care about everyone in your community, not just the non-disabled people.

Tax Write-Offs & Financial Aid Programs

If cost is one of the most significant factors holding you back from working on becoming ADA compliant, then there is some information that might be very interesting to you. Firstly, let’s start with the fact that if you are faced with a lawsuit, and the Department of Justice finds you in violation of the ADA, you may be facing penalties of up to $150,000. In some cases, you may find that hiring an ADA concrete contractor to get you compliant is much less expensive than a lawsuit! Additionally, there are certain tax write-offs and financial assistance programs for businesses working on accessibility. These will vary depending on where you are located, but the Disabled Access Credit is available to businesses carrying out ADA work and allows for deductions of up to $15,000 a year to offset the cost of the work.

These are just a few of the reasons why your business should be making an effort to address ADA compliance sooner rather than later. Your only defense against an ADA lawsuit is to get compliant.

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Design | Build | Certified

Why Wait to be "Forced" into ADA Compliance. If you are a public business or public property owner, save money, lawsuits, time and headaches by being prepared and avoiding it all in the first place. It’s time to call in the ADA pros. Use Protrk, an ADA construction expert, to Get it Done Right Prior to Forced Compliance. 

Call 415-813-9877 today or visit www.protrkconstruction.com for more details.