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Karen Wilson is the founder of West LA Neuropsychology and ChildNEXUS

Case Study: Amplifying Impact to Help More People

Carla Sorrell

In 2020, Dr Karen Wilson had a problem. She needed to quickly streamline her core business to make time for the launch of a new tech startup that had the potential to impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of families across North America. 

The 52 year old Granada-born, Ottawa-raised clinical neuropsychologist specializes in the assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents. She had been running her private practice in Los Angeles for a decade and held a prestigious academic position alongside her clinical work. She was recognized by California State University, Dominguez Hills, as an exceptional scholar and educator who is among the most distinguished experts in her field. 

But Karen wanted more. She wanted to reach more people. She wanted to go from helping dozens of children and families make better informed decisions about their care to helping thousands – or even millions of people. She had an idea for a new business that could amplify her impact. 

That idea was a tech-based startup that would connect families to specialists. It was scalable, allowing her to significantly extend her mission. And the need had never been greater. While the pandemic had negatively impacted mental health outcomes of millions of children and families across the world, it had also helped shift healthcare to a tech-based approach. 

Karen wanted to devote herself to her startup, ChildNEXUS, but between patients, students and research Karen was spreading herself thin. 

Investing to Scale

To capitalize on this opportunity she’d need to a) streamline her existing business and free up time so she could b) launch her tech startup. Karen knew she needed what PPP offers — personalized support creating a lucrative selling system that she could communicate through clear and direct messaging. She wanted to niche down, craft a scalable business model, and develop a powerful message that positions her company in a true Category of One. 

She partnered with the Safi Media team to implement the Preeminent Positioning System. The Preeminent Position Strategy is Part 1 of building a Jewel Business Model, a business growth strategy pioneered by Eleanor Beaton and Safi Media to 2x the number of women founders who sustainably scale past $1M in annual revenue by 2030.

Her investment paid off immediately. Unique visitors on her startup went from 700 to 15,000 in 90 days as a result of her streamlined messaging which included launching a podcast and consolidating her content strategy in line with her subject matter expertise. 

In using the PPP process to create a clear niche, powerful messaging and a strong, well-positioned offer, Karen not only streamlined and grew her existing psychology practice, she also generated massive awareness, recognition and opportunity for her new startup. In 2020, Karen was named a Founder of Change by the American Express 100 for 100 program. And in 2021, she was included as one of the Forbes Next 1000 upstart entrepreneurs redefining the American dream. 

Building a Jewel Business

The PPP gave her a roadmap to shore up her practice in a way that it could scale while becoming less dependent on her time. She did this without compromising the quality and integrity of her clinic’s reputation. In fact, she enhanced her reputation which enabled her to release clients from their dependency on her and build trust in her team. 

Before starting PPP she had one additional employee, another clinician, and she had never envisioned a strategy for scaling her practice by growing her team. 

“As a clinician, that’s not something that we’re taught to do in our training, we figure it out as we go along. To get advice on building a business, as opposed to serving clients, was really helpful.”

Now she employs three additional clinicians and has made a strategic promotion that enabled her to delegate operations. The result? She has created a true Jewel Business, continuing her growth trajectory at 30% and releasing more than 30% of her time to put towards the startup. 

Amplifying her Impact to Help More People

Karen continued in The Jewel Business Accelerator, a year-long program where Safi Media partners with founders like her to bring their Jewel Business to life by creating a 7-figure ecosystem. The individualized support offered by Team Safi has enabled Karen to “own my position as a CEO” and “stand in that confidence” to make the strategic decisions needed to grow a business. 

“I wanted to be in a space and get some support around my particular business and my particular goals, because my business is unique. I need individualized support around it.”

Since joining forces with Safi Media in Power + Presence + Position and The Jewel Business Accelerator, Karen has seen consistent revenue growth. This May, her private practice’s gross income is up almost 30% from the same time last year. Meanwhile, her net operating income is up 210%.

Her startup is experiencing similar success with a YTD gross income 92% higher than the same time last year. Meanwhile she is hoping to close a 500K seed funding round this year, something that would never have been possible if she hadn’t restructured her businesses and freed up her time. 

“I’ve never been in business to make money. That wasn’t my goal. My goal was to have an impact in the space. And I am able to do that on a bigger scale because of being in The Jewel Business Accelerator.”