( ENSPIRE Feature ) Entrepreneur Dr. Reddix Shares Her Experience With Her Healthcare Consulting Organization and New Book
Dr. Angela Reddix, founder, and CEO of ARDX and a highly sought-after speaker, entrepreneur, innovator, and philanthropist. Reddix created ARDX as an independent healthcare consulting organization, which has emerged as award-winning, thriving healthcare management and IT consulting firm with multi-million dollar contracts and more than 125 employees.
Inspired by the success of her firm, Dr. Reddix launched a digital book project: “The Reddix Rules: 5 Principles for Becoming a Successful Leader.” The digital book highlights the fundamental principles to her successes, insights on becoming a leader, shaping a corporate culture that builds success, and overcoming life’s obstacles.
Reddix’s brand has an active digital and social media following. She is in the process of releasing her highly anticipated book: Envision Lead Grow: Releasing The Boss Within hitting Amazon and notable book stores across the country, Spring 2020, giving another nod to the successful CEO and Entrepreneur.
On top of her diligent work at the forefront of entrepreneurship, she has created a nonprofit empire that helps create a path for underprivileged teenage girls to follow. Reddix has dedicated herself to her nonprofit called Envision Lead Grow (ELG). The organization focuses on growing an entrepreneur mentality into many middle school-aged young women who spend nine months immersing themselves into the lifestyle Reddix holds close to her heart. Not only is she a boss, but she is simultaneously creating thousands of girl bosses to come.
Reddix also exudes a vibrant media presence. She has shared both her personal and brand story and entrepreneurial journey with digital and print media outlets and recently captured an audience as a TEDx Eustis speaker at the top of the new decade and was recently honored on Monday, February 24, 2020, in Washington, DC by Essence as a trailblazer.
For those that may not know what a healthcare consulting agency does, can you explain the purpose of your agency?
Founded in 2006, ARDX is a Virginia-based corporation that has undergone significant growth as a Woman-Owned, Minority-Owned, SwaM certified company and Small Business. ARDX’s mission is to improve the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of healthcare for our nation’s most vulnerable populations. ARDX has been a leading government healthcare management and technology consulting firm for over a decade. ARDX’s understanding of the policy behind our nation’s evolving healthcare environment is what sets ARDX apart. Committed to delivering quality the first time, every time, our process-driven philosophies have earned ARDX, a CMMI Level 5 appraisal, and ANAB certification. Additionally, the ARDX Quality Management System is ISO 9001:2015 certified by Intertek.
Our areas of expertise include:
- Project Management
- Program Integrity
- Evaluations and Data Analysis
- Technology Services
- Communication and Outreach
How has this COVID 19 pandemic affected your business?
ARDX has been fortunate in the fact that in 2016 we had a three-year strategy to move from a brick and mortar business to a more remote strategy organization. As a result, our organization easily transitioned to a fully remote team as a result of the requirement for social distancing. The use of technology, such as Microsoft Teams, DocuSign, webinar tools, and telecommunication, we can streamline our decision models. COVID19 has directly impacted our workforce, and our focus has shifted to understanding the new legislation, specifically the implementation of the Family First Corona Response Act. The changes from the Act have required shifts to our timekeeping system, policies, and procedures. Ultimately our goal is to ensure the health and safety of our Associates and to meet our customers’ needs.
What is the major shift in healthcare that can allow your business to thrive and still help others?
ARDX currently assists the Department of Health and Human Services in the areas of Medicare Part C, Medicare Part D, and the Affordable Care Act. As the senior population continues to increase, it increases the workload. We develop education tools and systems to support healthcare finances and systems. We have recently diversified our service offering to include cybersecurity, which opened us up to a tremendous amount of opportunities.
How has your consulting business allowed you to teach/coach other potential business owners?
I firmly believe to whom much is given much is required, and in 2018 I launched a second for-profit, XDRA Health Solutions (XDRA). XDRA is taking a holistic approach to inform and supporting C-Suite leadership by building healthy organizations inside out. XDRA offers coaching and lessons in the following areas:
- The 10 for 10 Practicum, a step by step practicum that provides students with the framework for growing their federal contracting company to new levels of success and revenue. Moving forward, XDRA will also incorporate its remote readiness strategy to assist potential business owners with working through times of crisis and uncertainty.
- Doctor to Doctor, a program about reviving organizations from the inside out focuses on mental wellness, resiliency, and business acumen of small business C-Suites.
- Since the onset of the pandemic, XDRA has been hosting “Mocha Moments” with business leaders regarding the Family First Corona Response Act and the Stimulus Package.
- As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, certified healthcare professionals will become increasingly more essential. Certified professional billers and coders are crucial in ensuring the quality, accuracy, and security of digital and traditional medical information vital to providing quality patient care. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for certified skilled HIM professionals will increase 22% through the year 2022. XDRA is working on getting ahead through their Workforce Development Training that consists of the following:
- Certified Professional Biller
- Certified Professional Coder
- Certified Professional Medical Auditor
Can you tell us why you started a nonprofit ELG? What communities and types of individuals does this program serve, and why?
As a lifelong learner, I had reached a point in my career that I was ready for the next chapter, and I decided to go back to school for my Ph.D. As I began my research for my dissertation, I was interested in the data and statistics of entrepreneurs that developed from underserved communities. Not only the communities but females in those underserved communities. Research shows that children who grow up in poverty are more likely to remain trapped in the cycle of generational poverty. There is a higher number of high school dropouts, teenage pregnancies, and acts of crime. As a little girl born into poverty, I was able to rise to the ranks and was on the front line of implementing key health care legislation such as the Affordable Care Act. I found my story was not in the literature, and I had a thirst for learning what would happen in these communities of poverty if they provided this information. Research demonstrates that entrepreneurship is a way forward, by creating business owners, we will build pathways out of poverty. Using the Deliberate Practice Model and Experiential Learning as the backbone of my research I created Envision Lead Grow (ELG) and the curriculum, The 8 Seeds of Success. The mission of ELG is to increase the rate of entrepreneurship and break the cycle of poverty for middles school girls in underserved communities throughout the United States. ELG is committed to helping girls build their future through entrepreneurship by creating a community to support their success. We are transforming communities of poverty into communities of prosperity through the promise of middle school girls. By the end of 2020, ELG will have a pipeline of One thousand girl bosses in 48 states.
Tell us about your upcoming book. What can readers expect from it?
Envision Lead Grow – Releasing the Boss Within is based on the principles I developed by for my non-profit, Envision Lead Grow, which is an entrepreneurial program for young women across the US to help them begin developing their skills to become successful entrepreneurs. The principles I share help women shift their mindset from hopeless to a life of purpose and fulfillment. My Eight Seeds of Success creates the foundations of not only how to build a successful business but how to build a successful life.
How are you personally staying motivated or active with your business during this global pandemic?
I stay motivated through prayer and daily devotionals. I have also begun to create voice recordings that I send to my tribe each morning that connects scripture and song to my testimony and where I am that day. I believe these recordings spread light in a season of darkness and creates hope where there are moments of hopelessness. Professionally, I have designed opportunities for my team to demonstrate opportunities for gratitude. In essence, we recently had a gratitude hour where Associates picked one fellow Associate to share what they were grateful for. I also send out weekly updates that provide tips and how to feel a sense of normalcy. These updates allow my Associates to see as an organization we are continuing to move forward as a business during this time, even with our lives turned upside down.
