We caught up with the brilliant and insightful KRISTIN L KAHLE a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Thank you so much for having me. This is so exciting! And well, let start by saying that while I was consulting and working on my doctorate, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed. Being the overachieving, insurance nerd that I am, I decided to read the ACA myself. I actually printed out the gazillion and two pages of the Act and curled up with it for a week. When I read it through the first time, I thought, Oh my gosh, employers have no idea what’s coming down the pipeline for them. McDonald’s hired me to do a feasibility study for a glimpse into how the ACA would affect their franchise owners, which ultimately led to my Ph.D dissertation on compliance complexities that employers face under the ACA.
Politics aside, the ACA and its implications for employers led me to understand that my job was to help American employers comply with its complexities. For me, it was all about giving employers a solution to a highly complicated problem that could put them out of business and in the poorhouse.
Navigate HCR began as a service company, but about a year in, I realized that to be scalable and help the most employers, it needed to be a software company. I started the company to help other people get a chance.

Kristin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Sure thing! For those who never heard of me before or of my company Navigate HCR, let me introduce myself. You can call me Dr.K., I am  the founder of a successful business, bestselling author of four books, business coach, consultant and an athlete. And as I already said, when the ACA came out, I managed to search for a solid team of talented specialists so we can assist brokers, employers, team leaders, and other companies on everything related to HR compliance, healthcare law, ACA, and many more legislative developments.
During my first years I wondered how could I make technology work in our favor and make all these confusing (yet important) processes easier. And after we succeeded, the next step was to share our knowledge and our tools with everyone who needed them.

But before this project came to life, I had to study really hard. I am a Certified Healthcare Reform Specialist, earned a DBA from Argosy University, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a BA from Pine Manor College. I can say that every challenge in my life has been about others saying “No” to me. And that’s how I started a collection of “No’s” that motivated me to achieve new goals. And those experiences lead me to participate in a book to tell my story.

At the moment I have four books that are the combo breaker to give a deeper look at my philosophy. The first step is developed in “Crash and Learn”, where among other well-named entrepreneurs you can find our stories of failure and how to move on from that situation. Then in “Notivation” I use the most powerful tool (sense of humor) to explain how saying “No” will lead business owners to better decisions. Plus, I structured the book thinking about how to help entrepreneurs to earn their first million dollars!
Some other of my adventures in the business world can be read on the pages of “Lead Like a Woman: Tales from the trenches” and “Lead Like a Woman: Audacity”. A compilation of stories where successful women share their stories about learning, leading, and achieving goals.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I have had many hard lessons. But to answer this question I will share with you a personal story that was painful, but helped me to get where I am right now. When my dad decided to start a new employee benefits business in San Diego, I applied to work with him. I was actually up against other candidates; my dad didn’t give me the job instantaneously because I was his daughter. He made me earn it, including calling my references and negotiating my salary, About two years into fun and success, my older brother Tim moved to California. He and my dad decided Tim would be joining us in the business. He didn’t apply and wasn’t required to interview, supply references, or negotiate his salary. My dad brought him as a partner at the same ownership level as me. He was not licensed and, unlike me, gave my dad a list of all the things he wouldn’t do in the business.

After several uncomfortable issues with my brother that included his personal life affecting his performance at the company and my job, my dad took his side. He should have had my back as an employee, I was doing business for his company, and he didn’t. I felt like my dad chose Tim over me, and as hard as it is to say, I think it was partly because I’m a girl and the baby of the family. That’s when I knew I had to leave the family business.

My dad’s decision NOtivated me right into starting my own firm. My dad and I devised a plan so I could take some clients and buy some clients. I also sold my ownership back to my family. I was barely scraping by, doing odd jobs here and there, cocktail waitressing and doing anything I could to get by in San Diego, which is challenging to do.

I ultimately frew the business doing fun and exciting insurance things, and eventually, another company came along and wanted to buy me out.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In a nutshell, my college boyfriend, he was older and I was in love with him, kept me in a room for 24 hours and beat me. I got away, went straight to the police, and reported it. At the time, I was 21 years old and didn’t understand the magnitud of my power. I knew, thought, I would never allow a man to do that to me again and that I would not allow hum to do it to somebody else. I took my ex to court and sent him to jail,
After that incident, I realized I didn’t want to be a victim. I didn’t want to walk around angry, and once I had my power back, I felt the most authentic thing that I could do with it was to forgive my abuser. He was in jail for six months.
For me, when I share my pain and mistakes, I stand in my power.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://drkristinkahle.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctork.k/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drkkahle
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/doctork
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thedoctorKK
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkristinkahle/