Ann Grinnell
Velocity Medical Billing Services, LLC
Winnetka, CA

Do you like what you do?  Well, I do and I love to tell people about my business and my passion!  Two years ago I decided to leave my job of 23 years at a major corporation and start my own business.  I loved what I did but driving two to four thousand miles every month was getting very old.  My husband and I rarely got to spend time together because, not only was my job extremely time consuming, his was too.  He also worked for the same corporation and his hours were long (24-36 hours at a time) for days on end.  I wanted to do something that would give us more time for each other and for our daughter and her growing family.

So began the search for what to do.  It had to be something that I could do from home --- I had been "on the road" for too many years.  After investigating quite a number of opportunities, Dane and I decided the Medical Billing was the right choice.  I decided on an LLC and Velocity Medical Billing Services, LLC was born!  I had looked into many different courses but had no trouble deciding that Medical Billing Course.com was the one for me.  I graduated in May 2004 with a Special Honors Award for the course and a Special Merit Award for their "Understanding HIPAA" course.  I have never looked back and I thank Tammy Harlan and her course for my success.  Coupled with Duane Johnson's marketing skills and Tim Rapauch's technical expertise, I was set to go.  I signed my first client within my first month in business and a second client one month after that.

I have had several other events that have prevented me from marketing as much as I would have liked.  Kim, our daughter, had her second baby (Emily) and we babysat quite a bit for Anthony (her first baby) while our daughter worked.  She was finally forced to take maternity leave early due to complications with the pregnancy.  Emily is fine, however, and Anthony adores his little sister.  Kim is now expecting her third baby in October.  Even in the midst of all of this, I do have four clients and I'm sure I'll be signing a fifth within the next couple of weeks.

I have been blessed to meet so many new people since I took the Medical Billing Course.  Networking is so very important and rewarding.  As wonderful as the course is -- you can't learn everything that you will need to know even if you make a high grade.  Tammy told me over and over again that I would need to learn things as I grew and that I should welcome this and not be afraid.  How right she was!  I learn something new every day and I love to share what I learn with others.  That's another part of networking -- if you don't have an answer, someone else you've met is sure to have it.  With rare exception, I've found that other medical billers are very willing to help each other.  No one can have all of the answers, but we can help each other.

For anyone who reads this who is new to billing, my advice is "Never Give Up!"  Occasionally we have not-so-good-days, but most of them are absolutely wonderful!  Don't let the bad ones get you down.  Recognize them for what they are, learn from them, and keep going.  Read as much as you can on marketing and billing and network with other billers.  Just keep at it and be sure to keep track of what works for you.  What might work as a successful approach for someone in a small town may not work for someone in a metropolitan area.

Warmest regards to all of you!

Ann
ann@velocitymbs.com
www.velocitymbs.com