Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in healthcare but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Katie Taylor, Founder and CEO of Child Life On Call LLC., located in Austin, TX, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
At Child Life On Call, we know that parents want to be confident advocates for their children in their healthcare journey. Unfortunately, the healthcare system is highly complex and often leaves caregivers feeling overwhelmed. When parents aren’t engaged in their child’s care, healthcare costs rise, and patient outcomes fall. When doctors and nurses start using medical lingo, it’s confusing. When you can’t explain what’s happening to your child, it’s defeating. When you feel like you don’t know the right questions to ask to make informed decisions, it’s frustrating. Parents shouldn’t feel that way. They deserve to have the resources necessary to feel like confident, capable caregivers – even when they find themselves in an unknown world.
As parents, we know how they feel. As certified child life specialists, we can help. When child life services are accessible for families, parents know how to advocate for their children, they have the words to use to tell their children what is happening, and they are empowered to speak confidently with the care team. That’s why we created a one-of-a-kind app that gives them unparalleled access to tools and resources to help them be partners with the care team rather than bystanders. Our customers are healthcare facilities that serve children and families.
Tell us about yourself
After a decade of providing psychosocial care at the bedside, it was evident that there was a clear distinction between the patients who had empowered caregivers and those who did not. Children and adolescents that had parents that were present, assertive, and empowered had better outcomes, faster procedures, quicker discharges, and knew how to ask for what they needed.
Over the past 5 years as the host of the Child Life On Call podcast, I saw firsthand how technology and digital resources could empower parents, and I wanted to connect more families to child life services. Above all, as a parent during my own child’s medical experiences, I am equipped to advocate, ask questions, and speak up. My children walk into doctor appointments well-prepared and, most importantly, with a parent who feels confident and adequately able to support them throughout whatever challenge may arise.
Every parent deserves to feel empowered, like I do, to efficiently advocate for their children during healthcare experiences, and we won’t stop working toward that vision.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
A few months ago, one of the parent guests who were on the podcast reached out to tell me that another mother from India had reached out to her. The mother was at a loss and had 10 days to decide whether or not she would move forward in her pregnancy. Because of the podcast episode and the connection she made with our podcast guest, she is now 8 months pregnant and moved to a new city to find the best doctors for her child. As a business owner, there are lots of ways to define success, but nothing compares to facilitating this relationship between two moms.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Learning how to “turn off” my brain at night. I find I have to be really intentional about a restful, solid bedtime routine that focuses on quieting my brain is essential to getting rest.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Get obsessively curious about your customer and interview them endlessly before you design and develop your product.
- Show up consistently and compassionately - to yourself, your clients, and your meetings.
- It doesn’t have to be perfect - in fact - don’t chase perfection. Chase tangible progress, one step at a time.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://childlifeoncall.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/childlifeoncall
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childlifeoncall/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/childlifeoncall
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kfdonovan/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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