Today we’d like to introduce you to Zibora Gilder.
Hi Zibora, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
As a child, I always had a strong connection to entrepreneurship. My grandparents and my mother had me working at such an early age from working for their multiple companies from elementary through high school. I assisted as a hairstylist assistant, catering & restaurant worker at Golden Nugget restaurant in the North Houston Greater 5th Ward area.
I grew up as the oldest of three which is where I developed strong leadership skills. After high school, I attended Lamar University where I received a Bachelor’s Degree in American Sign Language. Due to my brother being Deaf, I had an interest in assisting Deaf people to achieve their highest goals. I was a natural-born advocate. While I was in college, I got the opportunity to work for Dragon Fly Educational Services where I was introduced to employment services.
After a couple of years working for the company in Beaumont, TX I moved back to Houston, Tx where I started Empowered Hands, LLC. A staffing agency for Deaf Individuals that focuses on their success in all parts of their life in 2012. Since 2012 I have been working hard to make an impact in this community by proving quality employment, education, and community resources & services.
This last year I was able to help over 200 individuals obtain employment and/or receive educational training. As a company, we achieved our 10th Anniversary in April of 2022 where we had an Art and Fashion showcase that gave exposure to Deaf-Owned Businesses, Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Artists, and Fashion Designers. I also started a catering company with my brother who happens to be Deaf. I love helping people and I look forward to the continued impact we will have globally.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This road has been full of obstacles. Transitioning from a worker to a business owner was full of challenges. I struggled with leadership and business communication initially. My solution to this was to take a business communication course from Houston Community College Downtown. This class helped me so much. I also struggled to understand which type of TAX entity I should become and Score Houston assisted me with that.
As I grew I needed assistance with Marketing and Sustainability and the Ramsay Michelle Group assisted me with that part of my business. My largest obstacle has been having the financial resources to assist the Deaf in all of these areas of their life that need support to assist them in obtaining and maintaining employment that doesn’t have funding sources.
90% of our services are at no charge to the client. We are mainly supported through our employment services. The support we give for community support like Domestic Violence, childcare, transportation support, or other life services we have had to be very creative and strategic financially to continue our services.
My motto has been little risk little reward. The only alternative is to not offer those supports which would directly impact our employment outcomes. So that is not an option. We have faced challenges but we continue to show up. Through our many partnerships, we can keep our work moving forward. I can’t leave out my faith in God has been a huge part of overcoming any obstacle faced.
We’ve been impressed with Empowered Hands LLC. , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a person-centered innovative staff agency for individuals with Hearing Disabilities. We specialize in services for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing clients. We provide employment services. Which include employment training, job placement assistance, life skills training, soft skills development, referrals to community resources, and educational services.
We work with clients as early as 14 and as old as 80+. For anyone with a will and ability to work will offer them services. We have assisted individuals in a variety of professions from dishwashers, and janitors, to chemical engineers. We also assist Deaf Entrepreneurs in starting up their business. We are different from any staffing agency. We have a very person-centered approach that focuses on what our client’s needs are along with helping our clients understand employer needs. We believe in education.
This education is only limited to our clients we educate our employers on ADA compliance and understanding that working with a person with a disability doesn’t have to be a challenge with the appropriate reasonable accommodations. I am most proud of the quality services that we provide that allow our customers to make a living wage. We are zoning in on their abilities and not limitations.
We are giving hope and changing lives allowing individuals to be able to better provide for themselves and their families. I would the reader to know that YOU can help by hiring persons with Disabilities. Showing your employers our story and just overall spreading the word that Deaf Individuals can do more than what you can imagine when just given the opportunity.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love my city. The food, the culture, the diversity, and most importantly the opportunities available. The thing I least like about Houston would have to be the traffic.
Pricing:
- ASL Interpreting Services to start at $45/hr
- Business Consulting starts at $250
- ADA Compliance and Staff Training start at $250
Contact Info:
- Website: www.empoweredhandsllc.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/empowered_hands
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/EmpoweredHands
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@empoweredhandsllc5182
Image Credits
Adrain Webb (https://instagram.com/ajwebbdigital?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=)
Jada Tibbs (https://www.facebook.com/jadatibbs)
Hung Truong (https://www.facebook.com/hungt6)
