Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Keisha Wilson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Keisha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
The business idea was birthed from passion and pain. I have been in healthcare for over 20+ years. I held various positions in large teaching hospitals and was a part-time consultant to various coding companies for the last 7 – 8 years.
I thought about doing the consulting full-time and on my own for a few years but was always hesitant, wondering if I would be good enough to do it. Between 2021-2022 I had a few conversations with a friend who asked why wasn’t I doing this on my own after explaining what I did. And why don’t you bet on yourself? Words that will always play in my head are “bet on yourself”. That was the start of the wheels turning in my head. That year I created my vision board and laid out words and pictures of being an “Entrepreneur, female boss, Be Your Own Boss, Make Room for the Unexpected, Resilience, Growth and Leadership and most importantly Faith and God”. I could not imagine that creating this vision board in the last year of 2021 would shape my year for 2022.
Fast forward six months, I created my LLC the first week of June, starting to put a plan in motion. 2 weeks later, my corporate job laid off myself and my team. I have worked since I was 13 years old. I was shocked that this was happening and happening the last year of my 30s. I spoke with my friend the day this happened, and he said okay, I am sorry this happened to you, it sucks that that happened, but now you know what to do. He laid out all the steps I needed to take and the books I needed to read. He said now you have time, so get it done. At the same time, my sister mentioned her company had a program called Selfmade for women entrepreneurs in all stages; Office Depot was sponsoring people. I applied for the scholarship and was accepted. So that August, I started the program, literally hit the ground attending workshops, taking their online courses, reading books and researching. I wanted to understand everything there was to the business because I had never owned one.
I knew this would work because this was something I was passionate about and prayed about. I spent the last ten years sacrificing time with family and friends to become an expert in the area by getting certified in six different areas of medical coding as well as becoming an approved instructor that can teach coding. I was the expert in this area in my corporate job; physicians, coders, auditors, IT specialists and other consultants came to me for guidance. Medical compliance and coding are challenging; you guide doctors, organizations, and private practices on proper documentation, coding and billing. You audit their work and tell them about improvement areas. Who likes to be told they are doing something incorrectly or that there is room for improvement? Not doctors. But that was my role which I love. I am told I have these soft skills that you can’t teach everyone. I attribute that to my major in college, Human Services; I was going to school to be a social worker, believe it or not. You have to be patient, and you need to be able to speak and communicate well. Although I changed course after being accepted to grad school, all the psychology classes set the foundation for my dealing with and interacting with others. In this line of business, you have to be the subject expert; you have to know how to research, stay current with policies and yearly guidelines changes, interpret guidelines, and explain them in a simple form for others to understand and implement.
So why not do this on my own? Of course, I could have quickly returned to corporate; many people were reaching out and looking out for me. But I am a woman of faith, and after much prayer, I knew this was the plan God had for me. But I decided to take my passion for healthcare compliance, auditing, coding and providing education and training to physicians, non-physician practitioners, coders and billers and turn it into my business and become a consultant. So, I created my platform and did what I was doing for others, but now pouring that passion and all those hours into my business and watching it flourish. That is how the idea of KW Advanced Consulting came about.
Keisha, 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?
When you see the abbreviations after my name, a lot of people tend to ask if I have the entire alphabet, and I often laugh. I am Keisha Wilson, CCS, CPC, CPMA, CRC, CPB, AAPC Approved Instructor. I am a Certified Coding Specialist, Certified Professional Coder, Certified Professional Medical Auditor, Certified Risk Adjustment Coder, Certified Professional Biller and Approved instructor with AAPC to teach medical coding in any areas I am certified in. I hold these certifications from two organizations AAPC (American Academy of Professional Coders) and AHIMA (American Health and Information Management Association.
I have worked in the healthcare field for over 20+ years, specializing in various areas of revenue cycle and compliance. I have held various positions in large teaching hospitals and acute, ambulatory care systems, including Outpatient Coding Specialist, Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) Specialist, Compliance Operations Coding and Billing Manager, Interim Director, and Consultant to various coding companies. I also currently sit on a Board of Directors for an outpatient mental health clinic and collaborate with the AAPC editors on various Primary Care Coding Alerts.
I spent the last ten years sacrificing time with family and friends to become an expert in the area by getting certified in six different areas of medical coding and becoming an approved instructor that can teach coding. I was the expert in this area in my corporate job; physicians, coders, auditors, IT specialists and other consultants came to me for guidance. Medical compliance and coding are challenging; you guide doctors, organizations, and private practices on proper documentation, coding and billing. These courses are intense; the certification exams are brutal, ranging from 4 to 5 hours and 40 minutes each. This field takes determination and discipline, there are many times I wanted to go hang out with my family or friends, but I knew I needed to study; I knew I did to research these guidelines and be ready for the questions that came my way in the morning. The sacrifice and discipline are what set you apart from others and what fueled my fire.
I strive to bring my clients clarity to the ever-changing healthcare industry while assisting them in achieving the exceptional results they desire with their documentation and coding. I am passionate about my work and thrive on excellence. I understand the vital roles that everyone plays in an organization, from the front desk registration, provider documentation, coding, and billing to making sure claims go out clean and compliantly the first time. I go above and beyond to assure physicians, other qualified healthcare professionals, coders, billers, administration, and HIM’s staff are kept abreast of the ever-changing coding and healthcare documentation guidelines and payor policies. I ensure they are equipped with the tools and resources needed for success while increasing revenue, reducing denials, and mitigating risk.
I provide customized training virtually or in person, compliance & coding support, coding tools, and resources needed to keep organizations and private practices abreast of yearly guidelines, coding, final rule, and policy changes. I have supported organizations through routine compliance audits and specialized audits. I also provide webinars and virtual coding courses for people looking to become certified professional coders.
I am proud of my company KW Advanced Consulting! There are many amazing consultants out there. But I love that my company brings experience, value, integrity and passion to everything we do, from our online social media posts, blogs, newsletters, webinars, audits, and educational training. Everything is done with integrity and keeping our clients, future clients and my audience in mind. I want them to see, love, and understand what is being said or taught to them. We know we are doing an amazing job with the comments, feedback, testimonials, and messages of support we get, as well as when our clients see an increase in revenue, decrease in compliance risk and referrals to new clients made. When people see the brand KW Advanced Consulting, they know we are bringing integrity, facts, and current information to them.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn that it’s okay to talk about and brag about yourself regarding your business. It is okay to speak of those wins, what value you bring, and what sets you apart from your competitors. Keisha is a quiet person who loves people and networking. But I love to talk about others and not myself. Growing up, we were taught that if you talk too much about yourself, you are bragging and that no one wants to hear someone brag about themselves. Right? Wrong? Becoming a business owner, you need to brag about yourself or others who will never know about you and realize you provide that service and answer to the problem that they are having.
So, this is one of the hardest things I had to unlearn, and still a work in progress. I had to realize that there are others out here providing a similar service as me, but it’s the value that I explain, the wins, what sets me apart from others, and what accomplishments I have. Not to think lightly of my six certifications that took me years to acquire, and I do not hesitate to talk about the positions and different roles I held and the webinars I conducted. The doctors and coding and billing staff were left full of knowledge and asking for more training, which has given me the experience and expertise to build this business.
It’s those things that set me apart from others. It is something I have to tell myself every day that it’s okay to do. I have a reminder in my phone and post-its around my desk area. Each time I apply for a pitch competition or write a grant proposal, it gives giving the confidence to talk about myself and the business. This is the one thing I had to unlearn.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Getting laid off caused me to pivot. Either I can go back into corporate, or I can finally use this time to build my business. So, I decided to ride and work on my business. Allow me to have control of the decisions I make, the clients I work with and my time. There was that mental pivot that had first to take place. During the layoff, my family was going through something personal and life-changing that no one should deal with, but that affects many people. My mom was diagnosed with cancer and would require months of chemo and radiation. This also allowed me to see the layoff as a blessing in disguise. I now had to pivot as a new business owner and a caregiver. You can only imagine the stress level.
I would care for my mom and take her to all her appointments five days a week. We always were given the 7 am appointments, which worked perfectly for me. Then, I would come home and work on building the business for the rest of the day and at weekends. I also had to pivot now and realize I was in charge of my own time. Being a business owner, you no longer have that 9-5 schedule. You are working all kinds of long hours to get things done and get the business off the ground, so this is where that mental pivot comes into play. But it felt good that I could be there for her every step of the way. She is one of my biggest supporters.
I also had to pivot and wear multiple hats; I built my website, something I never did before and which took a lot of work and hours of research and testing. I had to pivot because now I have to manage my books; I am the marketing person, the writer (of the blogs), and the designer. I had to pivot and come out of my comfort zone and realize social media needed to become my friend; this is where my competitors and I need to be.
Pivoting was essential for me and allowed me to have a healthy mental, physical and spiritual mind and a successful business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kwadvancedconsulting.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kwadvancedconsulting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KWAdvancedConsulting
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kw-advanced-consulting-llc?original_referer=
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kwadvancedcons
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsefPkoEKm_H_7pOc76FQ7w
Image Credits
Damien Jackson Photography