Meet Vickie Williams

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

Vickie , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

For a long time I had no idea what my purpose was let alone what my career path would be. I always had the desire to work in the medical field but I was not very big on the clinical side of things. Although I have held a few clinical positions, I wanted to do more administrative work. I spent the majority of my early adult life working for a local hospital where I gained most of my experience. I am a very inquisitive person and am always looking to learn more knowledge to develop my skills. I was introduced to medical coding through one of the administrative positions I held at the hospital clinic. It was a psychologist office so it was very small and not very many codes used for their services. I can remember most of the info was already there on what we referred to as encounter forms, which is what the doctor used to bill for services. At the time, I had become familiar with a few codes that were related to mental health because I saw them often. However, I was not exactly sure what they meant and how they were used for billing. Of course, me being the inquisitive person who wants to know more, I started asking questions and learning more about medical coding. Several years and positions later, my real journey to medical coding began. I was now in a manager position and had billing staff reporting to me. As a manager, I believe it is important to understand what your employees do. So, once again my interest to learn medical coding peaked. I found out from one of my coders that there was another lady who worked at the hospital who taught medical coding classes. I felt like this was my first sign to invest into this career. I enrolled for the classes and started my journey to become a certified medical coder. Now, the class was very large! I think it was about 30 of us in the class. I am pretty confident in my abilities so the class size didn’t bother me much. However, some of the other people expressed their concerns about not having the attention needed to effectively grasp the concepts. I found myself becoming a tutor to a few of the people in the class with me. Once we sat for the certification exam, it was only about 7 of us who passed on the first attempt. I thought wow! So few of us passed the exam and I begun to ponder why? Afterwards, I started receiving more calls from people in the class who failed on the first attempt asking me if I would tutor them before they took their next attempt at the exam. I love to help people and felt the desire to do just that. So, I started tutoring people to help them pass the exam. I really was enjoying the tutoring and a few of the people made the suggestion that I start teaching classes. I had so much positive feedback that I said hey maybe this is something that I should really consider doing professionally. Now, I am a very spiritual woman and I do not make decisions without seeking guidance from God. I prayed about it God opened the door for me to start Williams Professional Coding Courses (WPCC). I was so nervous but excited! My husband is my biggest fan and he supported me through this entire journey. As a matter of fact, he provided me with the funding to get my office space and other necessities to start classes. Of course, anytime God blessed you there will always be haters and nay-sayers, so of course I had a few. The fear of what people thought and if people would support me was there in the beginning, however, my faith in God outweighed those fears and I pressed on. I officially opened my doors in March 2017. I went to social media as a marketing tool as well as posting flyers and handouts around local clinics and hospitals. I was filled with anxiety as I waited for students to enroll for my first semester of classes which were scheduled to start that April. Weeks went by and I had some inquiries from potential students but no one officially enrolled. Now to say I was not concerned would not be true. Of course I was concerned because I was sure this was what I wanted to do. I began to question myself as to did I make the right decision? Or maybe this was not the right time? I again went to God and asked if this is what I am supposed to do please let me know. I can remember the very next day I was contacted by an old childhood friend who was interested in taking my classes. She stated she was ready to enroll and make her payment. I was so happy! I started thanking God for providing the confirmation that I was where he wanted me. So, my first class, I had one student. I was so grateful for that one student that I poured into her as if it was a full class. I understand that God will sometimes start you out small to prepare you for greater! Needless to say, my one student sharing her experience on social media and word of mouth increased my enrollment for the next semester to full capacity! Also, I only accepted 10 students per class, as I remembered the feedback and outcome from the class I took. I wanted to have a strategy that would be effective and help students be successful at passing the exam. I was now on my second semester of classes with good enrollment and super excited to be running my own business. I was still working full-time, while teaching classes on Monday evenings and Saturday mornings. Yes, it was a lot! I was so happy to be an entrepreneur that I did not let it phase me. I started thinking, this is really something that I enjoy and maybe I should think about doing it as my primary job. As I stated before, when I am making life-changing decisions I must and will always ask God for guidance. After talking to God, I talked to my husband and shared my thought with him. He told me to do what God was leading me to do and he would support my decision. Guess what…I quit my full-time job and went full into my business. I sought assistance from my state economic development programs, and other grant programs. I was able to lease a building of my own and expanded my class schedule. I also got approved to be licensed as the first all medical coding school in the state! Thus the name change to Williams Professional Coding College. I also became a vendor for the state and an education provider for the local workforce centers. This allowed students in those programs to attend my school and their tuition was paid for. I was so humbled by all God was doing for me. I was overwhelmed with joy. I thought to myself, this is my purpose. However, God spoke to me and said no, this is a platform for you to carry out your purpose. I asked Him, what did He mean? Now, when you ask God a question, be sure you are prepared for the answer. From the beginning I would always pray and ask God to send me students, so when I started receiving students that were not your typical medical coding student, I was a little confused, but I love people and are willing to help anyone. Although these people were students, they came to me for much more than medical coding. These people needed healing, encouragement, support, love, and guidance. Some of them would call the school and share difficulties that they were experiencing and even ask me to pray for them. My students were no stranger to me praying for them as this was something I did before each class. More and more students were reaching out to me for spiritual guidance and support. I remember sitting in my office one day and it was like I had the biggest epiphany of my life! I heard God speak to me and said this is your purpose. I clearly understood His assignment and knew that my purpose was more than teaching medical coding but for God to use me as his mouthpiece/servant to reach the people who needed Him. The fact that I could teach medical coding was just a bonus He gave me for doing His will. So, to answer your question, this is how I found my purpose.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

WPCCollege works to train students the codes and guidelines of the International Classification of Disease-10 (ICD-10), Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) all components of Medical Coding. We offer affordable tuition and payment options for students. Our instructors are certified in various medical coding specialties and have many years of experience. We have online classes blended with virtual learning. We are also a licensed education provider for the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) who is the credentialing organization.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1. Prayer
2. Knowledge of market
3. Funding

As I shared, I am a very spiritual person so speaking with God is always first for me and the advice I would give anyone. Second, having thorough knowledge of the market you’re looking to enter is super important. Seek out the competition, evaluate to see if there is a need for your product or service. Third, is funding. Of course it takes money to make money and that is not just a cliche. You really do need to have a solid financial foundation because just as I experienced, you may not have a return on investment as quickly as you would like. Keep that full-time job for as long as you need to.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

My parents were the best they could be. They were never married so I lived with my mother in a mostly single-parent household. My mother, although she was not perfect (but who is) was the strongest woman I had ever known. She raised four children on her own in poverty but never gave up. She taught us to love each other but most importantly to love and trust God. I can remember seeing her sitting at her dining room table with her glasses on the tip of her nose reading her bible. She was truly a praying woman. Her unwavering commitment to God was the most impactful thing she showed me. I know that it is because of her faith and prayers that I am blessed today. I believe that I am still reaping the harvest from her work and prayers. I know if she was still alive she would be so proud of me. I have the same fighting spirit as she did. I only pray that I am as committed in my relationship with Christ as she was. My father, although not as present in my childhood did the best he could for us. As I reached adulthood he was more present and we had a good relationship. One impactful lesson I learned from my father was hard work. My father worked all his life. Even when he retired he still worked part-time. He was just that kind of man. He also attended church with my husband and I up until the day he passed. He worked really hard to make up for the time he missed from our childhood. I am so grateful for my mother and father because both of them in their own way contributed to the woman I am today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wpccourses.com
• Instagram: wpccourses
• Facebook: wpccourses