We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shannon York. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shannon below.

Shannon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Over the course of your career, have you seen or experienced your field completely flip-flop or change course on something?

I held onto my 9-5 position for years after I felt like I was being overworked and underpaid. I entered into healthcare as a cardiovascular sonographer in 2008 after spending the proceeding 15 plus years working as a veterinary technician. I felt that I needed to move into a career that paid better and provided more long term stability. After graduating, I easily found a job and spent the first decade of my career as a sonographer learning as much as I could and getting my foot into as many doors as possible. Early on, I accepted a position teaching ultrasound techniques to students and physicians. For years, I enjoyed the balance of caring for patients and educating, both of which I found equally as rewarding. The only aspects of my sonography career that I was not enjoying were related to the bureaucracy we call health care. Long hours, few raises, less qualified team members being promoted because of who they were, managing unmotivated individuals, etc. My dream was to open an independent educational firm and travel to facilities to teach the specialized ultrasounds that are not historically taught in sonography programs, however I was scared to take the leap. I was also scared to walk away from 401K, PTO, and insurance. In 2021, amidst covid, I finally leapt though, and the net appeared. Sky Vascular started with 3 employees and a little more than two years later, we have grown to ten. All ten of my amazing employees have an expert level of training in the subjects they educate on and they all work hard every time they go out into the field to represent Sky Vascular. Everyone takes pride in being part of the team and I would never be where I am without them. And the icing on the cake is that we get to travel the world teaching what we are passionate about. The lesson I hope to convey is that starting a business is scary and there are no guarantees. But the only thing that separates those that follow their dreams in entrepreneurial and those that don’t is being willing to roll your sleeves up and give it a try! There are others who likely have the same dream and will jump on board with you. Also, don’t be afraid to ask as many individuals you know for advice along the way. You do not have to have a business degree to be a successful business owner. I am so fulfilled to finally be combining the things I love (healthcare, travel, educating, and being a business owner) all into one.

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?

Sky Vascular Consulting LLC was formed in May of 2021 as a vendor-neutral entity that is driven to provide expert clinical vascular ultrasound training with a primary focus in Transcranial Doppler (TDC) and Physiological Arterial ultrasound exams. We offer a variety of services including virtual and on-site training options, delivering presentations and instructional aids derived from validated evidence-based protocols for all peripheral vascular and neurovascular pathologies, software applications training on ultrasound equipment, and advice on billing and reimbursement. Our educational firm currently offers beginning to advanced training programs that are individually tailored to the needs of our clients. With the support of Shannon York, Sky Vascular Consulting founder, CEO, and lead instructor, the team has nearly tripled in size and is now comprised of eight expert Instructors, along with an Administrator and Operations Manager. To date, Sky Vascular has conducted over 300 assignments across the globe and now, along with providing services to hospitals and clinics, is proud to offer a multitude of educational opportunities within schools and educational facilities. Several of our Instructors routinely speak at engagements and conferences, aid with various research studies, and hold appointed positions with multiple highly regarded organizations. We also offer online Continuing Medical Education (CME), prep-courses for those preparing for board exams, Q&A sessions, and accreditation consultations. As a team, we are committed to the delivery of the highest quality of education available. Our team members all have accredited levels of expertise in their fields and we strive to maintain ambitious standards of quality control and internal staff training.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I initially opened up a company with a very similar structure and business model to Sky Vascular with someone who had a business ownership background. It became evident after a short time however that our views on running a business differed in some very important ways. I felt that it was important to keep our services affordable so as to not shut out any customers who were in need. I felt that it was equally as important to compensate our employees well so we could hire the best of the best and keep them happy. I was unwilling to compromise on some of my ideas and values. Finally, I chose to take the ultimate leap of faith and branch out on my own. As scary as it was, the story certainly ended happily. Two years later, we are all very content with where we ended up and it turns out I did not need a partner to be successful. I was able to learn everything I needed to on my own.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

There is no way to say for sure that I would or would not. I feel like every path we take leads us to our ultimate destination and we can never really go back. But we can always choose to go forward with new goals and lessons learned. Do I wish I had opened a business sooner? Absolutely. Would I try to encourage others to follow their dreams of becoming an entrepreneur? Absolutely. I plan to continue to open businesses for ideas I have outside of sonography. I plan to never take on more than I can handle without being stressed or risking the progress I have made, but I most certainly will never get tired of working for myself and providing opportunities for others.

Contact Info:

• Website: skyvascular.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/skyvascularconsulting
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/skyvascular
• Youtube: youtube.com/@SkyVascular