We recently connected with Kawanna Foster and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kawanna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How do you think about cost-management? Growing a business is always exciting, but often businesses run into issues when costs grow faster than revenue – have you experienced such an episode? Any advice for other operators around how to keep costs in line?

Growing a business is not easy. It comes with a lot of hard work and dedication. One of the things you have to be is diligent about the business costs. I invested in my business which required me to put money up front. Once I had the business up and running I made a separate account specifically for the business where I can keep an accurate track of the profits and spending. In order to keep cost under control as I have a growing business, I am sure to pay all the bills to keep the business up and running from my office space to purchasing actual material for class. I do this once a month and once all the bills including insurance is paid for, I move money to a savings account. I also make goals each month and keep a close eye on profits.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a Registered Nurse with a background in Intensive Care, Surgery, Dental, Gastrointestinal, Plastic surgery, Eyes and post operative Care. With my business I provide Basic Life Support (BLS) Classes which is normally for the healthcare professional. Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) another class for healthcare professionals in specialties like ICU and Emergency Room. And lastly I provide a heartsaver course including CPR for child and infant, use of an AED and first aid which is for the person with little to no medical background. This class is for school teachers, day care teachers, OHSA employees, babysitters, parents and the average person who would like to be prepared and equipped in case of an emergency. I provide hands on training with manikans that have feed back to make sure you are doing compressions correctly. I have AEDs that can be used on the manikans and provide feed back as well. My class is equipped with all the tools needed to be accurately educated. And practice prepares you for what can really happen in an emergency situation. One of the things I am most proud of and sets me aside from other instructors is my flexibility. I have access to my office at anytime on any day. I offer classes in the morning, afternoon, evening and night. Many healthcare proffesionals from nurses to doctors to technicians, work twelve hour shifts and I am able to work with them before or after work. I am also mobile and can travel to my clients so it is more convenient. I also offer some virtual services which is a big deal. In my career I have given CPR on multiple occasions and with my training and expertise I am able to make class fun and easy to learn.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I knew for about 5 years I wanted to start this business. I made a plan to work extra, save more and make sacrifices. I always knew there was a bigger picture ahead. I can’t sit here and say it was easy but I knew the reward and my passion for the business was bigger. I also did a ton of research with seeing how much I would actually need to spend. Once I did that I began to save money in a separate account specifically for the business. Every time I saved a certain amount I would check it off my list. And I will never forget when I really started doing work for the business. I was so impatient. I wanted to purchase and do everything in one day. But it took time and during the process I had no financial worries because of the decisions I made prior.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy has been networking and talking to people. Many of my clients have come from me being in the grocery store, nail salon, or Walmart. I wear my crew neck sweatshirt with my logo and I always carry cards on me in my purse and car. If I can leave my card at a business I do. I Purchased some simple clear plastic card holders that I leave in the car with cards just in case I need to leave a few. But word of mouth and just being approachable has really helped me,

Contact Info:

• Website: www.diamondlifecpr.com
• Instagram: @Diamondlifecpr
• Yelp: Diamond Life CPR
• Other: Google Diamond Life CPR