Join the Collective

Getting Started Cohort

Stop Guessing. Start Creating Content Everyone Can Access.

The Getting Started Cohort is a 4-week live group experience for small business owners and creatives who are ready to stop overlooking accessibility and barrier-free design. Start building it into how they show up online.

Next Cohort opens in September, 2026.

Join the Cohort!!

THE PROBLEM

You're creating content every week.
Graphics. Captions. Posts. Videos. Maybe a website that you've poured real time and money into.
Your audience is already out there, and some people may be missing important parts of your content because of barriers you didn't know existed.
Not because your content isn't good. Because no one ever taught you what barrier-free design actually looks like for someone building a business without a full team behind them.
You're not careless. You're just working with a gap nobody filled.
This cohort fills it.

WHAT IT IS

The Getting Started Cohort is a 4-week live group experience.
10 spots. One session per week on Zoom.
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This cohort runs once a quarter. If you miss this one, the next opening is three months away.
Each week builds on the last — starting with where you are right now and ending with a system you can actually maintain.
This isn't a course you watch alone and forget. It's a working session with a small group of people in the same boat, guided by someone who has spent years making barrier-free design make sense for real businesses.
You'll leave with practical changes made, not just a list of things to do someday.

What Is a Cohort?

A cohort is a small group of people who go through a learning experience together, at the same time, with a live guide.
  • It's not a course you work through alone on your own schedule.
  • It's not a webinar you watch and forget.
  • It's not a coaching program where you're the only one in the room.
It's four weeks of structured, guided sessions with a small group of people who are working through the same challenges you are — and an expert who's there in real time to answer your questions, help you apply what you're learning, and keep you from getting stuck.
Every session is live on Zoom.
Every session has a clear focus.
And because there are only ten participants, you're not invisible.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Week 1 — Where You Are Now

Before you can fix anything, you need to know what you're working with.

In week one you'll learn how to run a basic audit to identify digital barriers on your own content and website using a clear, practical framework built for non-technical business owners.

You'll learn what to look for, how to document what you find, and how to prioritize what needs attention first.

You'll leave week one with a personal audit snapshot and a ranked action list — not a pile of overwhelming notes.

Week 2 — Social Media

Your social content is the most visible part of your brand. It's also one of the easiest places to create barriers without realizing it.

In week two you'll learn how to write alt text that actually describes your images, how to add and format captions for video, how to check color contrast on your graphics, and how to make your branded content readable for everyone scrolling past it.

These are skills you can apply to your next post before the session is even over.

Week 3 — Website Basics

Your website works hard for your business.

This week you'll learn how to structure your content using proper headings, write descriptive link text, make your images accessible, and identify form fields that create barriers for users.

No coding required. No developer needed.

Just a clear understanding of what makes a website work for everyone — and how to make those changes yourself.

Week 4 — Your System Going Forward

One cohort can't fix everything, and it's not supposed to.

In week four you'll build a simple, repeatable barrier-free design workflow you can realistically maintain on your own.

You'll leave with a pre-publish checklist, a process for evaluating new tools and platforms before you commit to them, and a clear picture of what comes next if you want to keep going.

WHAT YOU'LL WALK AWAY WITH

By the time week four wraps up, you will:
  • Know how to run a basic format and design audit on your own content and website so you know exactly what needs attention first
  • Understand what alt text is and how to write what actually works for social media, graphics, and website images
  • Know the how and why for adding and formating captions for video content across the platforms you're already using
  • Know how to check and correct color contrast issues before publishing graphics
  • Understand how to structure website content using proper headings, descriptive links, images, and forms
  • Know how to spot common digital accessibility barriers before they become problems
  • Know how to build a simple barrier-free workflow you can realistically maintain as a one-person business or small team
You won't leave with a certificate.
You get something even better: the actual skills you can use the same week, applied to the content and website you already have.

THIS COHORT IS FOR YOU IF...

  • You own a small business, freelance business, or creative business
  • You create your own content and manage your own website
  • You've heard terms like alt text, captions, and color contrast but aren't sure how to apply them
  • You know digital accessibility and barrier-free design matter but aren't sure where to start
  • You want practical guidance instead of technical mumbo jumbo
  • You're ready to make improvements without rebuilding everything

This might NOT be a good fit for you if...

  • You want a done-for-you digital accessibility service
  • You need dedicated 1:1 support — a Barrier-Free Clarity Session may be a better starting point
  • You're seeking a professional digital accessibility certification
  • You're looking for advanced WCAG training
  • You're a web developer or designer looking for technical deep-dives — check out the Barrier-Free by Design course series instead
  • You already have extensive digital accessibility knowledge and experience

WHY ONLY 10 PARTICIPANTS?

Because this isn't a webinar.
Keeping the group small allows everyone to ask questions, receive feedback, and apply what they're learning to their own business.
You'll have opportunities to discuss your content, your website, and the challenges you're facing with digital barriers in a supportive environment.
When all 10 spots are filled, registration closes.

PRICING

General Enrollment

$247
Total cohort size: 10 spots. No exceptions.
Q3 Cohort is closed. The next opening is in September for the Q4 2026.
Cohort graduates receive first access to the Barrier-Free Collective at $97/month — a $50 savings off the open rate. This offer is available for 48 hours following graduation and is not available at any other time.
Working through this material one-on-one with Shawna would typically require more than $1,300 in consulting and advisory services.
The cohort covers the same core concepts in a collaborative small-group setting for $247, making it one of the most affordable ways to get direct guidance and support.

Frequently Asked Questions

The 2026, Q3 Cohort is open now and starts July 8. Register now to secure your spot or join the waitlist to be the first to know when the next one opens.

Once per quarter. If this cohort fills or the timing doesn’t work, the next opening will be announced to the waitlist first.

10 spots maximum. Small by design — so everyone gets real attention and the group stays focused.

Zoom. Sessions are 60 minutes, held once per week for four weeks. You will receive the Zoom links via the email you provided at registration. 

Yes. Recordings are shared with registered participants within 72 hours. Recordings will include a transcript and captions.

None. This cohort is built specifically for business owners who are not developers or designers. If you can manage your own social media and update your own website, you have what you need.

Access to your social profiles and your website. A willingness to look at them honestly. That’s it.

Graduates receive a 48-hour exclusive invitation to join the Barrier-Free Collective at $97/month — ongoing monthly Zoom sessions with Shawna and a small group of peers. It’s the natural next step for people who want to keep the momentum going.

The Barrier-Free Collective is a small-group monthly membership for business owners who want to keep the momentum going after the cohort ends. Each month you get a 60-minute live Zoom session with Shawna and a small group of peers — bring your real work, get real feedback. Between sessions, the community is there for async questions, wins, and accountability.

Membership is capped at 15 to keep it intentional. Cohort graduates get first access at a reduced rate within 48 hours of graduation.

Please review our Terms of Service for full refund policy details.

You’ve been putting this off long enough.

Your audience is already out there — scrolling past content they can’t read, clicking links that don’t work for them, leaving websites that were never built with them in mind.
You don't need to know everything. I'll teach you.
Ten spots. Once a quarter. This is the one.
You'll leave with practical skills, completed improvements, and a clear path forward.
Join the Cohort!!
Enrollment is limited to 10 participants.

MEET YOUR GUIDE

Hi, I'm Shawna Barnes.
For years, I've helped businesses, entrepreneurs, creatives, and organizations make their websites and content easier for everyone to use.
What I've learned is that most people aren't ignoring digital accessibility because they don't care.
They're ignoring it because no one has explained it in a way that feels practical, approachable, and realistic for someone who already wears ten different hats...OR...they have absolutely no idea it's a "thing".
That's why I created the Getting Started Cohort.
I want to help you understand what matters most, where to start, and how to make meaningful improvements using the tools, content, and platforms you already have.
Throughout the cohort, you'll get live guidance, practical feedback, and the opportunity to apply what you're learning directly to your own business.
Shawna in a teal sleeveless top pointing to the side with a playful expression, wearing black-and-white cat-eye glasses in her home office.
Because ensuring barrier-free design shouldn't feel like one more thing on your to-do list. It should feel like a natural part of how you show up online.

A Few Quick Facts

  • Founder of S. Barnes Designs, LLC
  • Barrier-Free Design (aka Digital Accessibility) consultant, educator, and speaker
  • Web designer and developer with years of hands-on experience
  • Creator of the Barrier-Free Design Model (BFDM)
  • Trainer for entrepreneurs, small businesses, nonprofits, and organizations
  • Known for making accessibility practical, approachable, and jargon-free
  • Service-Disabled Combat Veteran, using lived experience to inform her practice

Not ready to commit yet?

Get on the waitlist and be the first to know when the next cohort opens.
S. Barnes Designs, LLC is registered as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) through the Small Business Administration (SBA).
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Cable, WI 54821
Phone: 715-558-1861
info@sbarnesdesigns.com
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